WHAT A WEEK FOR THE BLUEBIRDS AS THEY WIN AGAIN
WITH a smile as big as the Trent that runs behind the City Ground, Neil Warnock clearly enjoyed this one.
Waiting for his cue from the travelling support in the corner, he punched the air in time to the chant and added to the delight of a set of fans already infatuated with the veteran manager and his side. Entertained? You bet they were. There had been a warning from the Yorkshireman in the lead-up to this trip to Nottingham Forest that without their most explosive winger, without their star striker, without their midfield dynamo, his Bluebirds might not be as impressive as they can be. He warned it might not be as exciting, not as thrilling, not as entertaining.
It did not mean they weren’t capable of continuing the enjoyment by getting a result, he added.
And he was right — but how can you say it’s not entertaining watching this Cardiff team looking more and more like a promotion winner with every passing week?
Entertainment comes in different forms, from the joy of Junior Hoilett’s 24th-minute set-piece opener that gave Cardiff a lead you knew they would keep, to the superb strike 14 minutes later from Danny Ward that would impress any football watcher.
And there is an entertainment in seeing just how Cardiff are able to dismiss sides with an authority and confidence that says everything about where they are in the table.
Forest, a team in form and on a roll at home, were never in this. The win means the Bluebirds are ahead of Malky Mackay’s promotion class of 2013 at the same stage. The clean sheet means they have now conceded just 13 in 19 games, collecting nine clean sheets along the way.
This win on the back of victories against Brentford and Barnsley keeps them second and within distance of a Wolves team who may be seen as a more thrilling outfit on their day, but promotion winners are made of much more. Cardiff can do both.
It’s a fact known and appreciated by the man leading this side and, with Norwich at home on Friday when he turns 69, he will fancy a celebratory week.
For all the moans and groans about Warnock from those who like to dismiss him — and there a few here with memories of his days as Notts County boss — the man is an entertainer. When he did get stick from the City Ground regulars, there was a cup to the ear in true pantomime style.
And there he was at the end, playing the hero to the fans worshipping what he and his honesty have brought a club struggling to find a way forward before his arrival.
They say always leave them wanting more and, while he often tries to remind people of the realities of budgets, Cardiff fans are dreaming of what more this season can bring.
There is every chance Cardiff can get better, more dynamic, when they welcome a fully-fit Kenneth Zohore, Aron Gunnarsson and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing back. All three were missing again here and, yes, their presence might have given Cardiff a more explosive edge, but that didn’t mean Cardiff were any weaker.
The qualities were there to be seen, Sean Morrison impressive at the back, Joe Ralls excellent in midfield and Ward showing his growing worth as, following a third start in succession for the first time since arriving in the summer, he begins to gather some momentum. It’s safe to say he’ll be high in confidence after a 25-yarder that had fans entertained.
It wasn’t thrill-a-minute stuff from the visitors, but neither did they lack ambition or ability when the time was right.
Indeed, in an indication of the role
Ralls was going to play all afternoon, the midfielder was helping Cardiff to ask early questions as good interchanges led to a shooting chance. The tight angle for the 11th-minute opening was always going to favour Jordan Smith in the Forest goal.
Still, despite the save, it was a sign that Cardiff could have joy from a Forest defence not as imposing as their recent City Ground record suggested.
Indeed, Cardiff ’s opener on 24 minutes, was the kind which a more robust defence would have dealt with in a far more convincing manner.
Not that that is any concern of Warnock who, in contrast, had seen his backline stay solid when Forest had probed. A Sean Morrison slice when Keiran Dowell got space wide didn’t look great as the ball ballooned behind with Neil Etheridge waiting to collect, but the limited danger was being dealt with through a mixture of shape and sheer determination, as seen when Sol Bamba threw his body in the way of one shot.
At the other end, winning a freekick as Paterson looked to counter, the Bluebirds bodies carried such underpinning abilities into the Forest box. The result was Morrison flicking on and Hoilett, one of the shortest men on the pitch, wanting the ball more, heading home his fifth goal of the season.
In credit to Forest, they continued to look to play, in the way Mark Warburton has instructed. With former Wales man David Vaughan dropping deep to receive the ball, Craig Bryson would set off in pursuit of a press, only to be unable to stop the passes playing the hosts up the pitch.
Cardiff were guilty of losing their shape and concentration a little, allowing the runners to get between men. Tyler Walker was one of them and, when Bamba’s blocked shot led to Daryl Murphy being teed up in front of goal, Warnock was thankful the Irishman skied his shot.
A goal to the good, Cardiff could afford to be reserved, yet you did feel a little sympathy for Ward when, having latched on to Bamba’s ball out of the box and towards the final third, he found six red shirts closer to him before the first blue came into his vision.
Perhaps it prompted the striker to go alone the next time such an opportunity came along. Sure enough, two minutes later a lofted ball over the midfield saw Ward control, drop the shoulder to inch between Michael Mancienne and Joe Worrall and have a crack. His fourth goal since the summer was undoubtedly his best. That’s entertainment.
Given Cardiff ’s defensive record this term, the feeling all around was that it was already game over the moment the 38th-minute effort hit the net. It certainly would have been had Mancienne, perhaps making some amends, threw a big block to stop Bryson’s first-half injury-time shot from the edge of the box.
From then on it was Cardiff’s control that saw the game out. It took energy, intelligence and organisation but, even though Forest threw greater caution to the wind and extra attackers off the bench, only once did the Reds worry.
Walker, with a terribly tame execution, blew it the one time the Cardiff backline were breached.
But you never doubted Cardiff would hold out. You don’t doubt that the Bluebirds fans in the corner enjoyed it. If Cardiff can continue at this rate then it’ll be worth watching.
Bring on the entertainment.