Poacher Armstrong leaves Mick sick
MICK McCarthy admits his Cardiff side need ‘a strange set of circumstances’ to work in their favour if they are to reach the play-offs after their draw with Blackburn.
It looked as if the Bluebirds were going to remain seven points behind the top six after Joe Ralls struck to make it 2-1 in the 70th minute.
Will Vaulks had given Cardiff a first-half lead before Adam Armstrong capitalised on a goalkeeping error to score his first of the afternoon.
Ralls found the net to keep the play-off dream alive, but Armstrong completed his brace in the 91st minute to steal a share of the points.
And McCarthy believes his men will need a stroke of fortune if they are to get back to within reach of the play-offs.
“I’ve not mentioned the play-offs on purpose since I’ve been here,” he said.
“We’re nine points adrift, with five games to go, so it would require an unlikely set of events.
“I know we had a great start when I came in. Everything was going well, but I was never fooled to think we were one of the best teams in the league.
“The players were very disappointed at the lateness of both goals, but certainly the equaliser in the second half. We should be able to hang on to that. Everyone is feeling the same way, they’re all sick about it.
“Whether we win all our games or not, the other teams are capable of winning theirs. All we can do is look after our games and performances and results.”
Cardiff took the lead in the 27th minute after Moore was brought down on the edge of the box. Harry Wilson looked as if he was going to strike the resulting free-kick, but he back-heeled the ball for Will Vaulks to shoot low into the bottom corner of the net.
Blackburn levelled in the 43rd minute after a Smithies mistake. Armstrong raced in behind Ciaron Brown and shot low straight at the Cardiff goalkeeper, but Smithies failed to gather and watched the ball hit the back of the net.
Blackburn struck the woodwork three times early in the second half, but Cardiff regained the lead.
Substitute Ralls got a toe to the ball to divert Thomas Kaminski’s clearance into the path of Wilson, who played the ball back to Ralls, who calmly side-footed home. But Armstrong cut inside Aden Flint and stabbed the ball past Smithies in injury time to steal a share of the points and dash Cardiff’s Premier League hopes.
The draw was Blackburn’s seventh game without a win, but manager Tony Mowbray was pleased to see Armstrong rediscover his scoring touch.
“Adam Armstong is a goalscorer and that’s the bottom line. You give him an inch, he’ll score a goal,” he said.
“He should have scored in the first minute, but he’s a bit rusty, it’s not like you can push a button to get him back to where he was.
“Overall, we’re disappointed, as a team we know we have to win these games.”