BLUEBIRDS MAULED BY TIGERS IN ANOTHER HOME LOSS
CARDIFF City slipped to a third defeat in four Championship outings after turning in another poor performance, this time at home to play-offchasing Hull City.
Fabio Carvalho got things up and running for the visitors with a lovely first-time finish from a corner just after half an hour, before slotting home a second just before the interval after a fine team move.
Karlan Grant’s near-post finish offered the hosts some hope early in the second half, but a smart finish from former Cardiff man Jaden Philogene wrapped up the win for the Tigers, who could have added a fourth had Abdulkadir Omur not been denied by the post.
Cardiff remain 11th in the table on the back of this latest loss, which will have done little to strengthen Erol Bulut’s case for a new deal in the capital.
Indeed, after the impressive win at Coventry City, this performance saw Cardiff once again display many of the same problems that had so deeply punctuated that defeat to
Sunderland on Good Friday.
The boos at full time said it all. Not just about the annoyance at this particular performance, but also the frustration at the inconsistency that has robbed this team of competing for something meaningful this campaign.
Those frustrations have been particularly pronounced at home. The Bluebirds have won just nine of their 21 league games in front of their own fans, just one more than the eight racked up on the road.
That stat alone will need to be improved if Cardiff are to have anything to play for this time next year, regardless of who the manager is.
Manolis Siopis admitted in the build-up to this game that there appears to be something about playing at Cardiff City Stadium that puts pressure on this team.
Rather tellingly, the Greek midfielder also suggested the uncertain future around Bulut has perhaps affected the players, and further weakened any remaining semblance of incentive.
If this team isn’t yet on the beach, then their towels are at least on the sun-loungers, and without knowing what the plan is for next season, it’s difficult to really convince anyone that these last few weeks hold any level of importance.
Bulut, perhaps unsurprisingly, chose to stick by the same XI that claimed that terrific win over the Sky Blues, presumably in a bid to try to pick up some of the momentum gained from what was an encouraging performance.
But anyone hoping for an emboldened Cardiff to come racing out the blocks would be left disappointed.
Indeed, former Cardiff goalkeeper Ryan Allsop frankly deserved credit for still being awake, never mind mustering the attention to palm away Jamilu Collins’ angled drive on 15 minutes, while Alfie Jones did well to hook the ball away from the feet of Grant, who would have surely otherwise tapped home Josh Bowler’s pull-back from the byline.
Collins then fired well over, before Ethan Horvath was given something to do at the other end by Omur, whose angled effort was smartly palmed away by the American.
But having dominated possession for most of the opening half an hour, the Tigers finally started to show a little bite up front, and took the lead with arguably the first real moment of quality of the game.
Horvath did really well to tip Omur’s low drive onto the post and behind, but was left helpless as Carvalho
hammered a first-time volley into the net from the resulting corner.
Jean Michael Seri might well have doubled the lead with another wellworked corner routine had his dragged low shot not been so laughably poor, while Joe Ralls was equally wayward with an effort at the other end just a few moments later.
Cardiff continued to struggle to find any sort of intensity as the first half wore on, and their task became even harder on the stroke of halftime as Ozan Tufan split the home defence wide open, allowing Carvalho to scamper through unabated to slot in his second.
The wind was clearly in Hull’s sails, but Cardiff were given a glimmer of hope just before the hour. Collins slipped in Grant down the left, and he cut inside before firing home his sixth goal of the season at Allsop’s near post.
The Tigers keeper probably should have done better, but it felt like the slice of luck Cardiff needed to get back into the game.
But any hopes of a comeback were brutally and ruthlessly snuffed out just a few moments later, as Philogene was handed the freedom of the city by the Cardiff defence, before duly racing away to apply a cool finish.
Omur then curled an effort onto the post as the Tigers sought to really put this one to bed, while Philogene should have grabbed a second in stoppage-time after once again getting the better of the Bluebirds backline.
But the two-goal cushion proved enough to condemn Bulut and his side to another difficult afternoon at the office.
Whether this showing changes anyone’s mind about the Turk’s future remains to be seen, but if the club decide to go in a different direction next season, days like this one will be a big reason why.