ISSUES OUT OF LEFT FIELD FOR THE BLUEBIRDS
CARDIFF City extended their unbeaten run to 11 games under Mick McCarthy, but failed to regain their place in the top six after a scrappy goalless draw at Huddersfield Town.
Chances were at a premium for both sides, although Cardiff were perhaps fortunate to escape with a point after Yaya Sanogo drove a penalty wide 15 minutes from time.
Under the circumstances, it was probably a decent point for the Bluebirds.
Here are the key talking points to emerge from the John Smith’s Stadium.
A GAME TOO FAR?
LET’S be honest, while there were some positive performances, it was a largely incoherent display from Cardiff, particularly in the final third.
Many will point to the absence of first-choice wing-backs Joe Bennett and Perry Ng as a key factor, and admittedly there wasn’t the same sort of attacking spark in the wide positions that we’ve grown accustomed to in the McCarthy era.
That’s not to do down the performances of league debutants Tom Sang and Ciaron Brown, who both showed encouraging signs of what could be yet to come, although it’s difficult to overlook the fact that neither really offered too much in terms of creativity in the final third on Friday night.
Missing two players so crucial to a system that’s galvanised City over the last few weeks was always going to be a blow, but there were perhaps some tired legs elsewhere. Kieffer Moore, for example, is a player that McCarthy is asking a lot of at the moment given his lack of other real quality options up front.
It’s a tough season for everyone, but there’s certainly an argument that the demands of four games in 10 days may well have started to catch up with City.
McCarthy claimed as much himself after Friday night’s stalemate, which incidentally was the first time Cardiff have drawn a blank under the new manager.
He said afterwards: “They’ve had a tough schedule as well I think, but we’ve just been done with the Wednesday, Saturday and then Tuesday, Friday, in terms of our energy levels.”
On the flipside, Cardiff now have something of a luxury in an eightday break before their next game, and they’ll need their sharpness back against a Watford side gunning for the play-offs themselves.
Hopefully a chance to recharge the batteries will go some way to addressing some of the issues here.
THE HARD WORK STARTS NOW
LOOKING back on it,
McCarthy might still view this as a point gained, particularly after seeing his side give away a penalty so late on in the game.
But, let’s be frank, this contest never looked like being the spectacle befitting the occasion of McCarthy’s 1,000th game as a manager, and it would certainly have been nice to celebrate his new two-year contract at the Welsh capital with a win.
The man himself, like many of those watching, won’t dwell on this result. Sometimes you have to just take a point and move on, and it’s important to remember that Cardiff’s momentum is still moving in the right direction.
The arrival of McCarthy’s new deal will certainly make it easier for him to look at the bigger picture - and address some of the big issues that are likely to crop up this summer, regardless of whether they are successful in their push for promotion to the Premier League.
Just one example is the uncertainty around Bennett’s contract, with his current deal set to expire this summer, which given his obvious importance to this team will surely be a key item on the agenda.
“Me and TC couldn’t have had a better audition could, we? If that didn’t pass us, there would be something wrong. But we’re really thrilled. I’ve had really good support from Vincent, from Mehmet, from Ken.
“I was excited about the job when I was coming down on a three, fourmonth contract and now it’s even better!
“We’ve got a chance to start planning. What players will be here. Who’s out of contract, who’s on loan, can we start planning or looking to sign some players of our own and then just getting our teeth into the job will be great.”
INJURIES ARE A CONCERN, BUT THE NEIL HARRIS PLAYBOOK IS STILL ON THE SHELF
HE may put a brave face on it, but the sight of Joel Bagan coming off with a dislocated shoulder will have been a big blow for the Bluebirds
boss, whose wing-back options are seemingly dropping like flies at the moment.
After missing the trip to West Yorkshire with a knock, McCarthy is hopeful that Perry Ng will return for next week’s clash with Watford, which is a comfort.
But with two players now facing lengthy time on the treatment table, it’s the left side that now seems a big concern.
McCarthy was pleased with the contributions of Ciaron Brown when he came on, although wing-back is not a position he’s ever really been too familiar with, and while he was solid defensively, there was little to suggest he could really offer the sort of attacking threat that’s made this system so effective.
McCarthy has some difficult calls to make, and some real pondering ahead of him this week, and finding a solution will be crucial to his hopes of getting his team firing again.
One thing he certainly won’t be doing is turning to Leandro Bacuna.
Neil Harris was a keen observer in the Sky Sports studio on Friday night, and it’s pretty fair to say McCarthy never agreed with his predecessor’s idea of playing Bacuna as a full-back - a view that has resulted in some very positive performances from the midfielder.
And, despite the concerns over his options in the full-back/wing-back role, it seems there’s still little chance of him changing his mind.
A resounding “no” was all McCarthy had to say on whether Bacuna could yet be seen as an option.
“Why have I got a problem at fullback?” he added. “We’ve had dreadful luck with them. But what about the luck that Tom Sang’s come in and played at right wing-back.
“Browny was equally good. He’s come in as a sub and he’s done a really good job. If that’s what we’ve got then that’s what we’ll go with. But I was delighted with those two, they were very, very good for debutants.
“If you give them [the young players] a bit of trust and support, a bit of love, they can play.
“They know that and they’re always going to be playing better if they know I’m trusting them to be in the team. They were really very good today and hopefully they can continue that.”
COULD THE FREE AGENT MARKET BE AN OPTION?
MCCARTHY dropped a surprise admission post-match that his side came close to signing Huddersfield’s penalty villain Yaya Sanogo in January.
Sanogo was unattached at the time after being released by Toulouse, but Cardiff were apparently denied due to work permit issues.
With the departure of Robert Glatzel, and the relative inexperience of Max Watters and Mark Harris, it’s not too difficult to see why a striker was high on his list of priorities.
In terms of his current injury concerns, McCarthy’s clearly keen to plead the case for youth as a potential solution, but he is seemingly open to strengthening his options and has suggested that he may well cast an eye on the free transfer market again if needed.
“I’m not going to moan about it or whinge about it,” he added. “If there was somebody around that we could bring in that might just help.
“But if not, the lads who are here, they’ll play.”
Jazz Richards is still a free agent by the way....
GEORGE Horan and Mike Wilde showed the oldies can be goodies as well as they fired home the goals that earned 10 man Connah’s Quay Nomads a 2-1 home win over Newtown.
Jamie Insall’s early dismissal made life more difficult that it should have been for the defending champions on their return to action in the JD Cymru Premier League and they were forced to come from behind after Alex Fletcher opened the scoring in the 16th minute.
It was Newtown’s second game in a week and they were hoping for a second win to move them further away from the relegation zone.
But the champions, with new signing Neil Danns providing influential in midfield, hit back to take the points and stay within striking distance of table topping The New Saints.
After third placed Bala Town forced a goalless draw at Park Hall there is now only one point between the top two, with the Nomads in the box seat with a game in hand.
Danny Williams earned Haverfordwest County a first half penalty against Cardiff Met and then the home striker calmly stroked home the spot kick for the only goal of the game.
It meant the Bluebirds were able to move seven points clear of the students in the race for the championship play-off.
Corey Shephard, Kurtis Rees and Elliot Scotcher dominated the midfield battle for the Pembrokehsire outfit and behind them Wojciech Gadja had little or nothing to do in the home goal
A 90th minute free-kick from Jamie Veale earned battling Aberystwyth a share of the spoils at Caernarfon Town to ensure they went home with a much needed point.
Having been down 2-1, the visitors thought they had got back on level terms when John Owen hit the back of the net just before the end.
Marc Williams broke free, was fouled by Gareth Edwards and Aber had a free-kick. But as the ball broke free, it came to Owen who thought he had scored.
Unfortunately for him, the goal didn’t count because the referee had blown for the foul.
Owen had given his side a first half lead with a beautiful volley, but debutant Jacob Bickerstaff made an immediate impression following his loan move from Wrexham by notching the equaliser.
Two minutes later, Caernarfon were 2-1 up as Sion Bradley scored.
Nathan Wood proved the matchwinner for Penybont at Flint Town United with the only goal in the game as they recovered from their midweek defeat at Newtown, while Barry Town United also won with a single goal on the road thanks to a first half penalty from David Cotterill at Cefn Druids.