Picture looking bleak for McCarthy after a seventh straight loss
CARDIFF City fell to a seventh successive defeat with a 2-0 loss against Fulham at Craven Cottage as the pressure continues to pile on top of manager Mick McCarthy.
Despite a spirited start, the Fulham juggernaut clicked into gear in the second half and Tom Cairney and Aleksandar Mitrovic struck within four minutes to heap the misery on McCarthy and the Bluebirds.
Fulham created more chances and put the ball in the back of the net when it counted. Cardiff, who created a few opportunities themselves, just cannot find a way to score. That’s just one goal in seven games now and alarm bells are ringing loudly. They just cannot stop the rot. Before the game, there was a collective eyebrow raise when the Bluebirds team was named an hour before kickoff. McCarthy, it seemed, had ripped up the playbook.
He reverted to a back four, despite being a fervent backer of the five-atthe-back system, and dropped captain Sean Morrison to the bench.
Perry Ng and Joel Bagan were brought back in from the cold to add width and some sort of attacking presence down the flanks, while Mark McGuinness was moved into a more central position to deal with the small matter of Aleksandar Mitrovic.
There was a return for Sam Bowen in midfield, too, while Rubin Colwill was finally given the nod again in a starting XI which looked to be the attacking blueprint for which all Cardiff fans had called for.
And, do you know what? They got what they asked for. The beginning of the game was electric, like nothing we had seen during this barren run in recent months.
Both sides were open and focussed on attacking the other and it made for quite the spectacle, with early chances flying in at both ends of the pitch during the early exchanges.
It was the hosts who enjoyed the better early chances. Bobby DeCordova-Reid glanced a header wide from Harry Wilson’s cross in the first minute before Harrison Reed cracked a halfvolley flying past Alex Smithies’ upright minutes later.
But Cardiff landed more than a few jabs of their own. Colwill lifted a lovely ball over the top of Fulham’s defence and Kieffer Moore speculatively hammered one at goal from a tight angle, only to see it thud into the post and veer wide. Cardiff wanted to show Fulham they were here to play.
Next it was the Cottagers’ chance to hit the upright, though. Wilson was sent through on goal before backheeling into Neeskens Kebano’s path on the edge of the box. Kebano sent a low shot at goal but it hit the post and was cleared. Straight up the other end of the pitch, as was becoming customary by this point, Marlon Pack connected sweetly with a volley, only to see it whistle over the bar. There was only quarter of an hour on the clock.
Cardiff fans were loving what they were seeing. Yes, their side were being carved open, but they were also seeing the Bluebirds land some lusty blows of their own.
Undoubtedly it was Colwill who looked the most threatening for Cardiff and he had the next big opportunity. Moore found him on the left and the forward cut inside before rifling the ball across goal – but it whistled past the post.
On the stroke of half time, Will Vaulks drilled a volley into the box and it was inviting for Cardiff’s giant centre backs. McGuinness leapt highest and sent a bullet header goalwards, but it just could not creep under the bar.
Referee Tim Robinson blew for half time and, deservedly so, the travelling fans cheerrfand chanted their side down the tunnel. “This was more like it,” they thought.
The Cottagers visibly ramped it up after the break, though, that was clear for all to see. DeCordova-Reid had two big chances early on, one of which was denied brilliantly by McGuinness and another, swerving effort, was parried away by Smithies.
But then came the goal. Wilson danced into the box and Bagan tackled the Welshman, only for the ball to bobble into the path of substitute Cairney, who hit a stunning volley into the roof of the net.
The second was a shocker to concede. Bagan misplaced a pass to Colwill and DeCordova-Reid stepped in to intercept before whipping the ball in to Mitrovic, who easily slotted past Smithies from close range.
Just like that, the wind was swiftly sucked out of Cardiff’s sails and the whole atmosphere changed.
McCarthy tried to change the tide by introducing the likes of James Collins, Mark Harris and Kieron Evans, but, in that four minutes, the whole tie had been snatched away from the visitors.
As the rain began to bucket down, the final whistle blew. It just about summed up the whole situation at the minute.
Fulham: Rodak; Odoi, Tosin, Ream, Robinson; Seri, Reed (Cairney 45), De Cordova-Reid; Wilson (Stansfield 90), Kebano, Mitrovic (Muniz 89). Subs not used: Gazzaniga; Tete, Mawson, Onomah.
Cardiff City: Smithies; Ng, McGuinness, Flint, Bagan; Pack, Vaulks, Bowen (Collins 66); Colwill (Harris 72), Moore, Giles (Evans 72). Subs not used: Phillips, Morrison, Patten, Brown.
Referee: Tim Robinson (West Sussex).
Attendance: 15,789