HAT-TRICK HARRY ‘CAN BE ANFIELD HERO’
CARDIFF City manager Mick McCarthy has said in no uncertain terms that he believes Harry Wilson is good enough to force his way into the Liverpool side next season.
It came after the Wales international smashed one of the best hattricks you will ever see in a 4-0 drubbing of Birmingham City on Saturday afternoon.
Wilson took his goal tally up to seven for the season and sent a timely reminder to the Anfield hierarchy of the sheer quality he possesses.
McCarthy has already said it is highly unlikely the player will be back in the Welsh capital next season, but sees no reason why Jurgen Klopp shouldn’t be considering him next term.
“Why could he not go back to Liverpool and play there?” McCarthy said after the win over the Midlands side.
“He is their player. I’m not going to pick and choose where he should go, but he is absolute quality.
“He is a great pro.
“Even the first game when he was left out and everybody was shocked, he responded brilliantly.
“That’s what I love about him. His ability and sheer determination to play.
“He is Liverpool’s player and I would love to see him go back and play there.
“But he has been to Hull, Bournemouth, Derby, here. I think he feels he got a raw deal from the Premier League from his time at Bournemouth, because they got relegated and almost like it reflects badly on him.
“It shouldn’t do. I saw him play for them. I sincerely hope (the Premier League) is where he is next year because that’s where he deserves to be.”
McCarthy said that Wilson had been “arguably our best player” since he took charge of the club back in January.
He has shown moments of true quality over the course of the last few months and on Saturday turned in his best display yet.
And McCarthy lavished praise on the Welshman’s performance, lauding his hat-trick as “wonderful”.
“It’s as good a hat-trick I’ve ever seen,” the Bluebirds manager added. “It was fabulous.
“The first one is absolutely awesome. It was sublime, that, the outside of his left foot, not really set to hit it and he pulls that out.
“The second one, he bent it around the wall and the third one just popped the tin hat on it.
“It was wonderful. As good a hattrick as you’ll ever see.”
This was back to the clinical, uncompromising Bluebirds we saw at the start of McCarthy’s reign and Birmingham could not handle it.
Wilson struck twice in the first half to hand City a commanding lead before substitute Mark Harris looked to have sealed it with a sensational finish in the second half.
But Wilson wasn’t done there. He sent a late free-kick bending into the far corner to ensure the match ball was his.
That disciplined, organised shape we saw at the start of McCarthy’s tenure was back and a crispness of passing and clarity in the game plan was restored.
The high press which yielded such positive results a few months ago was back in full flight, with the Kieffer Moore, Wilson and Rubin Colwill triumvirate causing the Blues all sorts of trouble.
Birmingham didn’t help themselves, mind you, and were far too accommodating as hosts, but the Bluebirds made them pay.
Wilson got in on the act with just nine minutes gone, with a clearance only getting as far as the Welsh ace who smacked it with the outside of his boot from 25 yards and into the
top corner.
It was Ciaron Brown’s tremendous diagonal ball over the top which led to Wilson’s next big chance. The Liverpool forward chested it brilliantly into his own path before drilling a volley at Zach Jeacock, who could only get enough on it to see it continue spinning towards his line.
A sprawling Birmingham defender managed to get back in before a Cardiff foot could poke it over the line.
But Wilson would not be tamed for much longer.
He won a free-kick in the middle of goal, 25 yards out. He did not strike it as he would have liked, but the wall was poor and the ball squeezed through it before trickling into the bottom corner.
By the time the half-time whistle blew, Wilson could have had four, with the last chance of the half seeing him drag a golden chance wide.
Harris replaced Moore at half-time and he had a golden chance to stretch the lead just after the restart, but Jeacock managed to deny his shot from point-blank range.
But it was all Cardiff and it was a matter of time before a third went in. And when it did, it was a cracker.
Cardiff caught the hosts cold on the breakaway when Harris cushioned a header into Josh Murphy’s path on the left. Murphy did well to get the ball under control before curling a delicious pass into Harris’ path.
The striker still had it all to do, but made light work of it when he smacked home on the half-volley from 20 yards out.
It was all over bar the shouting when Wilson stepped up to put the cherry on the cake.
If some had been left disappointed by his lack of free-kick goals this season, he ensured that argument was put to bed when he sent a trademark set-piece soaring into the far corner to net the fourth.