BLUEBIRDS BOTTOM OF PILE AFTER SPURS WOE
WEMBLEY is supposed to be the place where football dreams are made. For Cardiff City, it is fast turning into a nightmare venue and they sank to the bottom of the Premier League table after this defeat.
Just across the road, at the famous old stadium, the Bluebirds recorded perhaps their most famous win by beating Arsenal to lift the FA Cup.
This, however, was their fourth setback in five appearances at the new ground, the 1-0 loss to Spurs follow- ing previous agonising games against Portsmouth, Blackpool and Liverpool.
The solitary FA Cup semi-final win over Barnsley seems something of a distant memory in the context of everything else.
Eric Dier’s eighth minute goal did for the Bluebirds this time – frustratingly from a corner. Weren’t Warnock’s Cardiff meant to be the masters of set-pieces themselves? So to lose to free-flowing Spurs in this manner was particularly annoying.
It was one heck of an ask to expect the Premier League newcomers to get back into the game after that, but any outside hope they did have was totally extinguished early in the second half when Joe Ralls was given his marching orders for a foul on Lucas Moura. Ralls’ red card seemed to divide opinion, with many Cardiff fans saying it was harsh.
But it was cynical, he made no attempt whatsoever to play the ball and referee Mike Dean had no hesitation in reaching straight for his pocket.
Roared on by their magnificent fans, who taunted Spurs at one point with ‘ How bad must you be, you’ve only scored one’, Cardiff never gave up and skipper Sean Morrison hit the post with a second-half header.
They gave a decent enough account of themselves, but the result makes it eight Premier League games without a win and with Huddersfield drawing at Burnley, Cardiff sank to the bottom of the table.
The international break is much needed by Warnock and his team. They need to regroup, need to have a rethink, lick their wounds and come out firing when Fulham visit to Cardiff City Stadium on October 20.
Being bottom is not what anyone wanted and by hook or by crook, Warnock has to galvanise the players again because Fulham really is mustwin.
Warnock shuffled the pack in an attempt to end the Bluebirds’ seven match winless run, this time picking Callum Paterson in the problem centre-forward position and giving the side greater balance with a proper three man midfield and Josh Murphy and Junior Hoilett providing the width.
It looked a much better set-up, one designed to frustrate Spurs, so the last thing Warnock needed was yet another defensive lapse as early as
the eighth minute to set his Bluebirds on the back-foot almost from the word go.
It’s one thing to be picked apart by Spurs’ flair players from open play, another entirely to sloppily concede from a set piece as Cardiff did from Kieran Tripper’s corner.
There was an unlucky bounce of the ball as Davison Sanchez headed downwards, but Dier responded much quicker than Joe Bennett to slam home from close range.
Ah well, game plan already pretty much over, with Harry Kane in the Tottenham ranks, already the fear was how many would the home side get in the remaining 82 minutes.
Yet far from rolling over, the Bluebirds really got stuck in, played some neat football, and gave Spurs plenty of food for thought of their own at the other end of the field.
They were desperately unlucky not to equalise in the 22nd minute when Murphy put on the after-burners and made Danny Rose, no slouch himself, look like a Tottenham tortoise. Latching onto a Paterson header, Murphy raced clear and flicked over the onrushing Hugo Lloris, only for Toby Alderweireld to get back and clear just before Hoilett could bundle the ball over the line.
Hoilett then worked an opening for himself on the other side and seemed certain to score, but took an extra touch for some reason instead of shooting, lost his footing and the chance was gone.
Cardiff were indebted to a brilliant piece of defending by Sean Morrison immediately after the restart as he spectacularly cleared off the line to deny Moura.
But their already uphill task got even more gargantuan in the 58th minute when Ralls was sent off for that lunge at Moura.
Did he deserve to go or not? Many Cardiff fans think it was a harsh call by Dean.
But Ralls made no attempt to play the ball and while he will say he took one for the team as Spurs tried to counter, he blatantly took out Moura and Dean felt he had to go.
There was no shame in defeat for Cardiff who battled throughout, but the winless run has to end.
The first match back after the international break is the perfect opportunity to start climbing that table.