BLUEBIRDS DENIED AS TYKES HIT BACK TO TAKE POINT
CARDIFF City were forced to settle for an opening-day draw after Marlon Pack’s header was cancelled out by Barnsley’s Toby Sibbick. It was a rip-roaring affair, bettered by the fact supporters were packing inside the stadium for the first time since February 2020, and the fans were served up a footballing feast.
After a disallowed goal apiece it was Cardiff who seized control of the tie when Pack sent his headed effort goalwards just before the hour.
But Sibbick’s impressive equaliser meant both teams had to share the spoils, which, all things considered, was probably the right result.
After 17 months without supporters, the atmosphere inside Cardiff City Stadium ahead of kick-off had reached fever-pitch.
The tributes to Peter Whittingham and other Bluebirds supporters who are no longer with us whipped the supporters inside the stadium into a frenzy in the opening few minutes of the game and it spilled over into how the game began.
City were trying so hard to please their adoring fans that little mistakes crept in and Barnsley looked to capitalise.
After applause rang out in the seven-minute mark to remember Whitts, a lapse in concentration afforded a gilt-edged chance to Barnsley’s Carlton Morris. Fortunately for City, his shot from the edge of the box whistled narrowly over the crossbar.
Cardiff had to weather an early storm and had to wait until just after the half-hour for their chance - and it was a biggie.
Joel Bagan did excellently to intercept a Barnsley pass in his own half before releasing Ryan Giles down the left wing. The Wolves loanee then whipped in a perfect cross for Leandro Bacuna, but the midfielder fired his volley over the bar from close range.
That chance then appeared to give City a head of steam and they got a foothold in the game. In fact, it looked like they had scored the opener when Curtis Nelson nodded the ball into James Collins’ path, but the striker’s diving header into the back of the net was adjudged to be offside, much to the dismay of the 17,000-strong City supporters in attendance.
But the Tykes had their fair share of chances, too. One, in fact, drew the save of the half when Cauley Woodrow’s driven shot across goal forced Dillon Phillips into a tremendous low stop which was tipped around the post.
While Barnsley looked in more control, Cardiff looked dangerous on the break.
The impressive Collins then turned provider for another City chance, when his low cross looked to have handed Cardiff the opener on a plate. But Bagan, haring in at the back post, was beaten to an easy tap-in by the back-tracking Michal Helik, who slid in to dispossess the young Bluebirds just two yards from goal. It was honours even at the break, but the first 45 of the season was action packed.
Cardiff flew out of the traps after the break, it must be said, and it manifested in Bacuna missing another big chance.
It was Giles again who was the creator, picking out the midfielder at the back post with another excellent cross, but Bacuna’s sliding effort was miscued and just evaded the post before flying into the stands. It was met, understandably, with gasps of desperation.
But it wasn’t long before Pack made amends. Giles simply could not be kept out of the game and his pearler of an outswinging corner was met by the towering Pack, who sent his bullet-header careering into the back of the net.
It was all going so well for City, but the Tykes always looked like they had a goal in them. Albeit the manner in which they equalised was not what we had become accustomed to.
We had been used to intricate
passing and nice movement, however their equaliser was about as route one as it gets.
Substitute Josh Benson pinged a 50-yard cross-field pass into the path of Sibbick and he trapped the ball expertly before smacking it past Phillips and into the bottom corner.
The Bluebirds tried their damnedest to find a winner, even throwing
Kieffer Moore on for the last throes of the match, but it was no use. The match had fizzled out and, with it, so too had the chance of getting all three points.
TOM Daley dropped a strong hint he could compete at the next Olympics in three years’ time after collecting bronze in the men’s 10 metre platform with a near-faultless display in a gripping final.
Daley (pictured) topping the podium alongside Matty Lee in the men’s synchronised event was one of the feelgood stories of Tokyo 2020 and although solo success continues to be elusive, he claimed his fourth Olympic medal.
He led at halfway at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre but a minor error from his fourth dive and the excellence of Chinese pair Cao Yuan and Yang Jian, who took gold and silver respectively, meant Daley settled for a third Olympic bronze.
It may not yet be the last hurrah of an Olympic career that began at Beijing 2008 as Daley has not ruled out continuing to Paris 2024 and could be enticed by the prospect of mixed or team events being put into the schedule.
While the only thing he did confirm is an imminent period of rest, Daley thinks a unique system of exercise called gyrotonics he has incorporated into his routine since son Robbie was born in 2018 could prolong his diving career.
“I hear of rumours through the grapevine that they might put in the mixed synchro events or a team event into diving, which would mean three more events - that might be worth sticking around for,” the 27-year-old said.
“Regardless of what that decision is, I’m definitely going to take a break over the next six months or so. I’ve been doing it for 20 years and my body needs a bit of a break.”