ZOHORE DOUBLE DESTROYS TOWN
Dane is on fire for boss Warnock
CARDIFF manager Neil Warnock insists he would not swap Kenneth Zohore for any other Championship striker after his double inspired this triumph over Ipswich.
The Danish forward struck either side of half-time to make it nine goals in his last ten matches after Luke Chambers had headed the Tractor Boys in front.
Joe Bennett finished the job with his first goal for the Bluebirds to extend relegation threatened Ipswich’s winless run to seven games.
And Warnock hailed Zohore, after changing his mind on the striker from when he first arrived at the club.
He said: “He was a waste of time when I first arrived, he just walked about and always had his gloves on.
“But he’s a nice lad – it was a crucial moment in his career and the penny has finally dropped for him.
“He’s got every attribute a good striker needs, you can’t coach him.
“You wouldn’t swap him with any in this league. There have been a few players like him who have surprised me like Victor Moses and Phil Jagielka.
“If you had told me we would have had 51 points with eight games to go, I would have snapped your hand off.”
It had all started so well for Ipswich when Chambers rose highest at the far post to head a Tom Lawrence free-kick past Allan McGregor in the Cardiff goal.
Zohore saw a tame shot saved in reply, but he was not to be denied his eighth goal in ten games. Jazz Richards whipped a cross into he far post and captain Sean Morrison headed the ball back across goal for the Danish striker to power home from close range after 36 minutes.
Junior Hoillett was cruelly denied a goal that would have given his side the lead when he turned and shot against the post from inside the penalty area.
But they completed the turnaround five minutes into the second half thanks to in-form striker Zohore. The 23-year-old flicked a long ball onto Hoillett who sent a deft backheel into the path of Zohore and he calmly finished with his left foot past Bartosz Bialkowski.
And the game was up for Mick McCarthy’s men after 63 minutes when Kadeem Harris rounded Cole Skuse before feeding Bennett, who fired in his first league goal since 2014.
Ipswich are now only five points clear of the relegation zone, despite this being a first defeat in nine – although they did draw the previous six outings.
And McCarthy admits they must now scrap for their Championship future.
He said: “We’re in a relegation scrap, there is no denying that. I’m looking over my shoulder at teams behind me not in front.
“I haven't shied away from that. We can’t afford to play like that because there is always somebody that scraps their way out.
“It’s amazing the fight you see when you are battling your way out of the relegation zone, but it can be quite the opposite when you get dragged into it.
“We all need to regroup. We have some huge games against Birmingham and Wigan coming up so we need to compete better and play better.
“It’s important that everyone’s in it together and we need to make Portman Road a tough place to go from here until the end of the season.”