WHAT WE LEARNED AS BLUEBIRDS PUT BITE ON WOLVES
LOCAL MAN MENDEZ-LAING THE BLUEBIRDS IDOL HOW do you stop Nathaniel Mendez-Laing right at this moment? Even his former club Wolves didn’t have an answer, but then neither did Aston Villa, Sheffield United or Portsmouth.
It’s five goals in as many games for the Birmingham-born winger, dropped as a youngster by the Molineux club, but on hand here to drill home Cardiff City’s winner after 77 minutes.
It was just desserts, after Laing had ran the Wolves defenders ragged the whole afternoon. He’s a big unit, but has the acceleration over five yards to leave his marker chasing shadows.
He was simply too much for Barry Douglas at Molineux and once again sealed a famous win for this rampant Cardiff side. Warnock has found a real player here from the lower divisions, that’s for sure. ZOHORE SHOWED WHY HE’S SO VITAL THERE were several decent candidates for Man of the Match on the back of this one, but Kenneth Zohore showed exactly why Cardiff City have to keep him.
The pre-match build-up was dominated by talk of the Dane supposedly being the subject of an accepted bid from Brighton - a suggestion that Cardiff have since categorically dismissed.
It would have been easy for Zohore to become distracted ahead of such a big game, but he was magnificent once more in leading the line. This is a player surely destined for Premier League football one way or another, just not yet.
Not with Brighton, anyhow. No chance.
There were numerous moments against Wolves where he genuinely appeared to pull a chance out of nothing, although his ability to take the responsibility placed on him in his stride is arguably just as impressive as technical talents.
Cardiff City have a top player here. PLAYING DIRTY? IT was just that kind of game. The kind of game when the referee’s whistle blew every few minutes and every time it didn’t sound, the home fans demanded a free-kick.
At times, amid a frenzied atmosphere and the frenetic pace of the match, Cardiff were drawn into the odd reckless challenge, most notably by Joe Ralls and Loic Damour towards the end of the first half. The Molineux fans were certain that a 45th-minute challenge by Damour deserved a red card, but referee Scott Duncan showed yellow - one of four bookings in a feisty first half.
Cardiff’s physicality won’t worry Warnock; it unsettled Wolves in just the way the veteran manager would have wanted. DYNAMIC DAMOUR BRINGS SOMETHING DIFFERENT WHILE Lee Tomlin is an expert when it comes to unlocking defences that sit deep, it was obvious from the first whistle that Neil Warnock’s selection of Damour was an astute call. This game, against a fluid Wolves side, required something different.
The Frenchman wasn’t fazed by the hostile atmosphere at Molineux, putting himself about (earning a yellow card in the process) and never shirking his defensive duties.
In that regard, Damour is the perfect man for these away trips. He gives you an extra body in in the middle but possesses the energy to support the front men. In short, he looks another outstanding find by Warnock and his scouting team. ENTERTAINMENT FACTOR IT would have been easy to suggest that Neil Warnock would have set his team up to stifle the creativity of the hosts, particularly with flair player Lee Tomlin taking his place on the bench.
But Cardiff came to the Black Country with a real intention to have a go at the hosts.
Zohore was his usual physical self, Damour put in the sort of performance that was the definition of box-to-box midfield play, and Mendez-Laing terrorised Wolves left back Douglas the whole afternoon.
It resulted in a pulsating contest that saw the two sides create plenty of chances. It had the hallmarks of a top-of-the-table clash, the teams showcasing some moments of genuine quality and was a terrific advert for the division.
To win these types of contests will be particularly pleasing for the Bluebirds boss.
What a game. What a win.