Moore reasons to smile as Ojo finds his best form and Harris finds right blend
CARDIFF City came out swinging for the second time in four days and produced another stellar display to down Huddersfield Town on Tuesday night.
A brace from Kieffer Moore and a Robert Glatzel striker sealed a comfortable 3-0 win for the Bluebirds which produced an assured display.
Here, Bluebirds correspondent GLEN WILLIAMS goes through some of the big talking points from the clash at Cardiff City Stadium.
Sheyi is on fire
It is difficult to pick out individual performances when a team, as a whole, has played so well, but it would be remiss not to acknowledge Sheyi Ojo’s emergence over the last few games.
In truth, the Liverpool loan star has been good for the most part since joining on loan at the start of the season, but the last two games, in particular, he has been in white-hot form.
As every football fan knows, it is a rare treat to find a winger who consistently turns out top-level displays - it is why the very best go for such huge transfer fees.
And, given Ojo’s lengthy track record of loan spells away from Anfield, it was expected that he might enjoy happy periods and at other times he might go quiet.
But on the evidence of the last four days, and, in his defence, most of this season, he looks a really shrewd acquisition by the club, a player whose chest is puffing out further with each passing game.
On Tuesday night, he was once again directly involved for two of the three goals. For the first, he beat his man and sent in an inviting cross, a striker’s dream really, for Kieffer Moore, who gleefully tapped home the easiest of chances to get the Bluebirds on the board.
For the third goal, Ojo slotted a sharp, pinpoint pass into Robert Glatzel, who spun his man and finished emphatically.
Ojo has three goals and four assists in his last 11 matches and this is the sort of output Cardiff fans, and Neil Harris,
had been crying out for from their wingers.
It is the sort of example Josh Murphy would love to follow, should he eventually get a run of games in the team like Ojo.
On that left-hand side, rather than being put on the right, Ojo looks a real threat. His ball in for Mark Harris’ goal against Luton Town last weekend came from that side, too, and he really seems to be causing defenders trouble.
On the left, on his stronger foot, he looks far more willing to send crosses in which Moore can pounce upon. When put on the other side by the manager, Ojo’s penchant for cutting in on his stronger foot can perhaps stymie that opportunity to cross and give Moore the service he needs.
We all accept that wingers are going to be inconsistent, especially dribblers and tricksters like Ojo who are encouraged to beat their man and showcase their individual brilliance, so when they are in a rich vein of form it is certainly something which needs to be acknowledged.
And manager Harris waxed lyrical about the 23-year-old wide man after yet another impressive display.
He dubbed Ojo one of the team’s mavericks, the creative players who give an extra dimension.
“Maybe taking Sheyi out for those couple of games has freshened him up. He had an opportunity to look from the sidelines and see where he can develop,” said manager Harris.
“I believe in him, I think he is a top player. What people miss is his athleticism, it’s not just about his pace when he runs forward, but his discipline as well, his attitude to run back is phenomenal.”
Is Kieffer final piece of the puzzle?
If we are talking about top acquisitions, just how good has Kieffer Moore been in a Cardiff City shirt? He looks the real deal.
Last season, Harris was muddling through with his selection, trying to find his best striker or combination up front, that doubt has now completely vanished. Moore is the kingpin and he is leading this Cardiff City line the best anyone has for perhaps a decade.
If he continues in this vein for the rest of the season, by hook or by crook, the Bluebirds will be up near the top end of the table.
Any Championship team looking for promotion needs a player who is going to score the goals to take them there and in Moore Cardiff fans know they have a top player in this division.
How long have the Bluebirds been crying out for a 20-goals-per-season striker? And now Moore, who scored his sixth and seventh City goals of the season on Tuesday night, looks every inch that man.
Last year, Cardiff experimented with the abrasive workman in Callum Paterson, the poacher in Danny Ward and the import who was adjusting to the league in Robert Glatzel in a bid to find the best fit.
Moore, though, is the complete package.
He has a great first touch, is excellent with his back to goal, wins every aerial duel he goes for and can finish like the best of them, as we saw with his first goal against Huddersfield. He is nailed-on Cardiff’s first name on the team sheet now and looks stunningly good value at a pinch under £2m.
Only three players – Brentford’s Ivan Toney, Blackburn’s Adam Armstrong and Norwich City’s Teemu Pukki – have scored more goals in the Championship than Moore this season.
And when you think Cardiff have not
been playing their best football for the vast majority of the time, that number should only rise if they keep performing with the greater adventure we have finally seen in the last two games.
He bullied the Huddersfield defence on Tuesday night, as Harris put it, and gave them a torrid evening. I can imagine no centre back in the division is looking forward to coming up against him this term.
Keeping him fit and managing him will be key.
A case for the defence
Given the glut of goals Cardiff City have scored in the last four days, it can perhaps slip under the radar just how good the defence has been.
Two clean sheets in four days has laid the foundations while the attack in front of them finally clicked.
So often we see scrum-halves of fly-halves in rugby struggle when their pack is being dominated and that feels like an apt analogy for the Bluebirds’ defence over the last two fixtures. The defence has been sturdy, compact and uncompromising and has afforded greater confidence and momentum to those in front of them.
Curtis Nelson was a tower of strength against the Terriers, for me, his best performance of the season. He won every header, made a number of crucial interceptions which appeared to slip under the radar and was the last man, scrambling and putting out the fires when his side needed him to.
Sean Morrison, too, was his more usual consistent self, proving to be a nuisance in the opposition box from throw-ins and set pieces while sticking to his defensive duties well, too.
But the full backs were also excellent. Joe Bennett is really looking back to his best recently and he was terrific again against Huddersfield. He is enjoying linking up with Ojo in front of him and is really benefitting from Mark Harris making those runs down the channels, he now has an easy out ball and he finds his man down the line with impeccable regularity.
He made two crucial interceptions which sparked attacks, nicking the ball from in front of the man he was marking. After the first, he went on a marauding run upfield and you could see the confidence coursing through him. It was a joy to see, in truth, and that is the Bennett Cardiff fans want to see every match.
And Leandro Bacuna, too, what a great performance from him. Two in two matches, it must be said. You have to forego his positional play, really, because it is not his natural position, but he was like a bulldog the way he outmuscled his opponents.
Bacuna bombed forward when the Bluebirds were on the front foot and used his pace and athleticism to sprint back when the ball was lost.
To a man, they were brilliant against Huddersfield and have been, as a collective, for 180 minutes now.
Stick or twist?
With seven goals and six points in four days, having selected the same XI twice, Neil Harris is now clearly faced with a dilemma for Saturday’s trip to Watford.
Does he rotate his squad or go with the team which has played so well and brought home the bacon with two emphatic wins?
Harris highlighted after the match that there were a number of “tired legs” in that second half and that was evident.
Young Mark Harris, who again put in another very good display, struggled with the high intensity of the press in the second half and the manager sought to make changes.
You could see there were others, too, who tired as the game went on, which has to be expected given the jammed fixture schedule.
So, heading into another big clash against the impressive Watford, how does Harris approach it? Is it time to ring the changes a little with tough games against Stoke City and Swansea City also on the horizon? Or does he go with the team which seems to have found the perfect formula?
“I have to try and make the right calls,” Harris said after the match.
“We have to be careful of players. We have to trust the group and I’ve got to get the tactics right but make the subs at the right times.
“I was a pioneer of being able to go to five subs. The last two games we’ve been able to see games out comfortably with fresh legs to protect the players in the long term.
“While we have to ensure due care and attention, I want to win.”