CITY’S JOY AT SOL’S RETURN
AND IT’S NOT JUST CARDIFF FANS SALUTING HIS RETURN AS THE BIG MAN MAKES AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT
AS the dust began to settle on Cardiff City’s brilliant win over Hillsborough on Sunday, there was one particularly poignant moment to reflect upon on a satisfying afternoon in a sunlit South Yorkshire.
Sol Bamba made a beeline to the travelling Bluebirds fans and applauded every single one of them.
It was obvious what that return to the pitch meant to him. And the feeling from the supporters was mutual.
Because, given the circumstances, Bamba was brilliant against Wednesday.
The colossal, imposing central defender many City fans were desperate to see return was back and he delivered.
He was thrust into an unfamiliar position of three at the back, having replaced Nathaniel Mendez-Laing just before half-time, but that didn’t matter. He was just champing at the bit for his opportunity.
The defender’s most telling contributions came in the dying moments of the match, which dispels any notion that he is struggling to get back up to Neil Harris’ required fitness levels. With the Owls pushing for a late equaliser, substitute Atdhe Nuhiu was proving a thorn in the Bluebirds’ side and, as the clock ticked over into stoppage time, the hosts piled the pressure on to City’s backline.
Barry Bannan lofted a brilliant diagonal ball towards the six-yard box, where Nuhiu looked certain to head home the equaliser.
Bamba, however, sprung from an unfavourable position to clear the danger and took a clattering from Nuhiu and Neil Etheridge in the process.
He threw his body on the line, was desperate for those three points and in that moment he showed the heart and desire which have been the hallmark of his game for so many years. But if he thought, five minutes into stoppage time, his work was done, he was made to think again.
He saved his best intervention for two minutes later, the seventh minute of time added on.
Nuhiu flicked the ball past Bamba and hurtled towards goal. He approached the edge of the box and, in a one-on-one with Etheridge, had a golden opportunity to level the tie.
Somehow, out of nowhere, Bamba recovered to make the most crucial tackle of the match, sending Nuhiu’s shot agonisingly wide. The added bonus? The referee didn’t see the touch and gave the goal kick. Match over. Many could have been forgiven for fearing that Bamba might never truly come back in the capacity they had hoped, such was the severity of his ACL injury and the fact he turns 35 next month.
But his appetite for the game appears to be insatiable and getting back out on to the pitch represented a dream come true for him.
“I was dying to play! I’ve been waiting for that moment to come for a long time,” he said after the match.
“When you come back from a longterm injury, all you dream about is being back on the pitch. I was very happy that I managed to do that today.
“When I’m on the pitch I try to give
100 per cent and I’m glad we managed to get the win.”
Now, of course, Harris has a huge decision to make on New Year’s Day against QPR.
Not only will he have Aden Flint and Curtis Nelson, the incumbent centrebacks, at his disposal, but captain Sean Morrison has also served his threematch ban.
And dropping Bamba after that display? Well that is an incredibly difficult call. What is for certain is that he now has a crucial part to play moving forward this season.
Harris is still tinkering with his backline and it appears he is as yet unsure what his ideal centre-back pairing actually is.
Could a reprisal of that promotion winning duo of Morrison and Bamba be on the cards, perhaps? Or will the manager opt for three at the back, which clearly worked so well at Hillsborough?
It is as yet unknown, of course, but the Ivorian was typically diplomatic in his assessment of the scenario.
“There’s a lot of competition for places, but that’s what you want in the team,” he added.
“It will drive everyone on. Everyone is doing well, and the manager will have to make some decisions.
“Obviously, everybody wants to play, but we’re all a group and we support each other.”
Of course, no one is saying Bamba is perfect. He is not a textbook centre back and will likely produce the odd blunder.
But as the season wears on and the tough fixtures and crucial away trips begin to take their toll, there are few better you would like alongside you in the trenches.
Therefore his performance up at Hillsborough can only be a positive for the club and his manager was effusive in his praise after the match.
“I thought Sol was excellent when he came on,” Harris said. “He was very, very impressive.
“We’ve got quite a senior squad of players, quite a lot of players over the age of 29, 30. But when you’ve got senior players like that, you can rely on them.”