Match report Preston v Cardiff 25 Apr 2011
Tue Apr 26, 2011 7:07 pm
This turned out to be the most emotional game we have had this season and that includes the debut of Bellamy against Doncaster at home. I cannot remember when I felt such tension amongst fellow Cardiff fans as we went into the last 15 minutes of a game. I gave up counting how many times I heard someone say “I can’t take this anymore” as we approached full time. The rollercoaster ride that comes with following Cardiff City was evident for all to feel just before and after the referee blew for full time.
It was great to meet up with the forum bus before the game again. An hour late according to the local police but at least it got there unlike the 14 coaches they were expecting. The local police were great to us there and Premier One soon tried to take advantage of this. I expected the policewoman to be on the bus going back to Wales where she would use the excuse she was visiting her relatives in Merthyr. However she was not on the bus for the return but I did think the Millwall bus driver had returned. We got back safely by the way.
Over 2,200 Cardiff made the trip to Preston and all left drained emotionally. What was in store well no one expected it. No game is easy in this league but if ever there was one this was it for Cardiff. They were playing a team destined for relegation who only 2 days ago suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat away at Millwall. With the return of Heaton in goal Cardiff fielded a stronger team that was unlucky to draw against the top club in the division. The fear of losing 0-6 or 0-3 was not there; today we were going to put these guys down no problem. So we thought.
The familiar defence line of McNaughton, Keinan, Quinn and Samuels joined up with Heaton. Cardiff also kept their midfield combination of Burke, Mcphail, Oli and Whittingham with Bothroyd and Bellamy up front. A side quite capable of coming away with a comfortable win against a team were on their last legs.
Within six minutes Cardiff had got their early goal to doubt any fears about losing this game. Whittingham picked up a ball just inside the Preston half and slid a perfect pass to Bellamy in space. As Bellamy moved into the home area Whittingham had got behind his marker. As the Preston goalkeeper decided to meet Bellamy the Cardiff captain passed the ball across the area to a waiting Whittingham with an open goal. Whitts hammered the ball into the roof of the net as three home defender s plunged themselves at him to prevent the goal.
As Preston tried to recover from this early set back they were soon caught on the counter. Once again Bellamy was free down the right but this time he went for goal himself but his shot was deflected for a corner. From the resulting corner taken by Burke, Keinan met the ball with his head from 18 yards but sent it over the bar.
Preston tried to get back in the game but their efforts were a few crosses that were easily handled by Heaton. Each Preston attack left them open for counter attacking with most of this action coming from the long balls of Whittingham who a couple of times found Bellamy. One such counter left Bellamy one on one with the keeper but the bounce was unkind to him and his marker managed to get back and recover the situation.
Cardiff attacked the end opposite to the away fans. Each attack did look promising from a distance yet all home attacks in front of the away support looked harmless. It was only a question of time before a two goal cushion was gained by the Cardiff. So we thought.
Bothroyd was having an excellent half where he won most of his aerial challenges and his close foot work was very productive. One such move he managed to beat a couple of defenders as he made his way into the home area. The Preston keeper came out to meet him but Jay manoeuvred the ball around him only to be brought down. The referee waved play on as the ball over the by line for a goal kick.
Cardiff continued to pressure and from a Burke corner Oli saw his volley form 18 yards tipped over.
For the last 10 minutes of the half Preston managed to get back into the game. They started to create some chances, one such chance went wide of the right post while another from a corner Heaton was forced to tip over. Then from the resulting corner they had their best chance. Heaton came out to retrieve the cross but was hailed down. The referee gave nothing as the ball bounced around the six yard area. A Preston foot made contact with the ball and sent it against the left post. The rebound found another Preston foot that hammered it goal bound only for it to hit a home player and rebound away from the goal. Cardiff players complained to the referee which resulted in Heaton getting a booking. Some in the crowd started to question this referee.
The half ended with Cardiff holding onto their lead.
During half time news came in the Norwich had taken a lead. So for most of the half Cardiff had regained an auto spot but now they were back down to 3rd. This had little effect on the away support as most expected this but in the second half that all changed.
As the second half got under way Cardiff where made to make an early substitution with Hudson coming on for McNaughton who was suffering from cramp. This turned out to be a good replacement in the end.
Soon after this substitution Preston nearly got back on equal terms. Quinn was caught out as a pass left him standing. This pass left Heaton one on one with a Preston player who tried to slide the ball pass the Cardiff keeper. Heaton spread his body low and managed to reflect the ball away from goal with his legs.
Cardiff went straight on the attack from this early scare and dominated the game again with their attacking quality. Burke was making a nuisance of himself down the right while Bellamy was doing the same down the left. Bothroyd was working hard down the centre and one such move he found Burke in space. Burke then sent a tempting cross into the area where Oli headed over the bar.
Next it was the turn of Bellamy who picked a ball up down the left and worked his way into the goal area where he had his shot palmed away by the keeper.
As Preston tried to get the ball into the Cardiff half Bellamy chased down a clearance that saw him in the clear. He was brought down by the Preston defender who had just had his clearance blocked. To the surprise of the away crowd the referee only showed a yellow card.
Moments later Preston got the ball in the Cardiff half. From the left their winger moved into the area and went pass Quinn. Instead of chasing the ball this winger did a theatrical dive. The home crowd shouted for a penalty, the away support thought the referee was about to give one but he waved away all appeals.
Cardiff then took the initiative and started to keep the game in the Preston half. They moved the ball nicely around and just outside the Preston area. One move from a Samuels cross saw Oli glance a header just wide.
As Cardiff pressed to but the game to bed news came in that Derby had scored. The away crowd reacted and this must have reached the players as the team made more effort to get that second goal. One such effort saw Burke from the half way line beat three defenders. As he approached the area he played a one two with Oli. Burke found himself with only the keeper to beat but with the ball on his wrong foot he failed to lift it over the approaching keeper who got a leg to it.
Then news came in the Norwich had taken the lead. This conjured with Preston then going for it as they started to have more of the game. They reverted to high balls in the area but were unproductive with this as Hudson made his claim. Again and again Preston bombarded the Cardiff area but either Heaton coolly collected or Hudson’s head cleared the danger.
Then the news came in that Derby had equalised. Once again the away crowd got excited. This was met with more Preston bombardment and some strange refereeing decisions. As Cardiff tried to clear their lines the referee seemed to give a free kick to the home side if a Preston player went down on a challenge. However when a Cardiff player went down for what looked like a worse challenge the referee gave nothing. So confident where the Preston players that the referee was now on their side even their goalkeeper joined in the attacks.
Cardiff held on comfortable in the end despite the numerous free kicks they had to face just outside their area. Heaton did not have to make one difficult save during this period and actually watch some free kicks go over his bar as if he was at a rugby match. However each free kick did not help those of us who were watching as we had to suffer five extra minutes of injury time. I gave up counting how many of us just could not watch. “I can’t stand any more of this” was what I heard many times. Then after five minutes of injury time the referee finally blew his whistle and we were still in 2nd spot with our three points.
However the final whistle of relief and cheers were soon replaced with “I don’t believe it”. It came through that Norwich had got a 6th minute injury time winner to regain 2nd spot. The rollercoaster ride that we all know following Cardiff City was in top gear.
Summing up. How can ever such a great performance feel like a loss? All we can do is keep this up. It has been a frustrating season and could still end that way. However something just tells me something is going to happen for the good. What that is well I suppose I will just have to wait.
It was great to meet up with the forum bus before the game again. An hour late according to the local police but at least it got there unlike the 14 coaches they were expecting. The local police were great to us there and Premier One soon tried to take advantage of this. I expected the policewoman to be on the bus going back to Wales where she would use the excuse she was visiting her relatives in Merthyr. However she was not on the bus for the return but I did think the Millwall bus driver had returned. We got back safely by the way.
Over 2,200 Cardiff made the trip to Preston and all left drained emotionally. What was in store well no one expected it. No game is easy in this league but if ever there was one this was it for Cardiff. They were playing a team destined for relegation who only 2 days ago suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat away at Millwall. With the return of Heaton in goal Cardiff fielded a stronger team that was unlucky to draw against the top club in the division. The fear of losing 0-6 or 0-3 was not there; today we were going to put these guys down no problem. So we thought.
The familiar defence line of McNaughton, Keinan, Quinn and Samuels joined up with Heaton. Cardiff also kept their midfield combination of Burke, Mcphail, Oli and Whittingham with Bothroyd and Bellamy up front. A side quite capable of coming away with a comfortable win against a team were on their last legs.
Within six minutes Cardiff had got their early goal to doubt any fears about losing this game. Whittingham picked up a ball just inside the Preston half and slid a perfect pass to Bellamy in space. As Bellamy moved into the home area Whittingham had got behind his marker. As the Preston goalkeeper decided to meet Bellamy the Cardiff captain passed the ball across the area to a waiting Whittingham with an open goal. Whitts hammered the ball into the roof of the net as three home defender s plunged themselves at him to prevent the goal.
As Preston tried to recover from this early set back they were soon caught on the counter. Once again Bellamy was free down the right but this time he went for goal himself but his shot was deflected for a corner. From the resulting corner taken by Burke, Keinan met the ball with his head from 18 yards but sent it over the bar.
Preston tried to get back in the game but their efforts were a few crosses that were easily handled by Heaton. Each Preston attack left them open for counter attacking with most of this action coming from the long balls of Whittingham who a couple of times found Bellamy. One such counter left Bellamy one on one with the keeper but the bounce was unkind to him and his marker managed to get back and recover the situation.
Cardiff attacked the end opposite to the away fans. Each attack did look promising from a distance yet all home attacks in front of the away support looked harmless. It was only a question of time before a two goal cushion was gained by the Cardiff. So we thought.
Bothroyd was having an excellent half where he won most of his aerial challenges and his close foot work was very productive. One such move he managed to beat a couple of defenders as he made his way into the home area. The Preston keeper came out to meet him but Jay manoeuvred the ball around him only to be brought down. The referee waved play on as the ball over the by line for a goal kick.
Cardiff continued to pressure and from a Burke corner Oli saw his volley form 18 yards tipped over.
For the last 10 minutes of the half Preston managed to get back into the game. They started to create some chances, one such chance went wide of the right post while another from a corner Heaton was forced to tip over. Then from the resulting corner they had their best chance. Heaton came out to retrieve the cross but was hailed down. The referee gave nothing as the ball bounced around the six yard area. A Preston foot made contact with the ball and sent it against the left post. The rebound found another Preston foot that hammered it goal bound only for it to hit a home player and rebound away from the goal. Cardiff players complained to the referee which resulted in Heaton getting a booking. Some in the crowd started to question this referee.
The half ended with Cardiff holding onto their lead.
During half time news came in the Norwich had taken a lead. So for most of the half Cardiff had regained an auto spot but now they were back down to 3rd. This had little effect on the away support as most expected this but in the second half that all changed.
As the second half got under way Cardiff where made to make an early substitution with Hudson coming on for McNaughton who was suffering from cramp. This turned out to be a good replacement in the end.
Soon after this substitution Preston nearly got back on equal terms. Quinn was caught out as a pass left him standing. This pass left Heaton one on one with a Preston player who tried to slide the ball pass the Cardiff keeper. Heaton spread his body low and managed to reflect the ball away from goal with his legs.
Cardiff went straight on the attack from this early scare and dominated the game again with their attacking quality. Burke was making a nuisance of himself down the right while Bellamy was doing the same down the left. Bothroyd was working hard down the centre and one such move he found Burke in space. Burke then sent a tempting cross into the area where Oli headed over the bar.
Next it was the turn of Bellamy who picked a ball up down the left and worked his way into the goal area where he had his shot palmed away by the keeper.
As Preston tried to get the ball into the Cardiff half Bellamy chased down a clearance that saw him in the clear. He was brought down by the Preston defender who had just had his clearance blocked. To the surprise of the away crowd the referee only showed a yellow card.
Moments later Preston got the ball in the Cardiff half. From the left their winger moved into the area and went pass Quinn. Instead of chasing the ball this winger did a theatrical dive. The home crowd shouted for a penalty, the away support thought the referee was about to give one but he waved away all appeals.
Cardiff then took the initiative and started to keep the game in the Preston half. They moved the ball nicely around and just outside the Preston area. One move from a Samuels cross saw Oli glance a header just wide.
As Cardiff pressed to but the game to bed news came in that Derby had scored. The away crowd reacted and this must have reached the players as the team made more effort to get that second goal. One such effort saw Burke from the half way line beat three defenders. As he approached the area he played a one two with Oli. Burke found himself with only the keeper to beat but with the ball on his wrong foot he failed to lift it over the approaching keeper who got a leg to it.
Then news came in the Norwich had taken the lead. This conjured with Preston then going for it as they started to have more of the game. They reverted to high balls in the area but were unproductive with this as Hudson made his claim. Again and again Preston bombarded the Cardiff area but either Heaton coolly collected or Hudson’s head cleared the danger.
Then the news came in that Derby had equalised. Once again the away crowd got excited. This was met with more Preston bombardment and some strange refereeing decisions. As Cardiff tried to clear their lines the referee seemed to give a free kick to the home side if a Preston player went down on a challenge. However when a Cardiff player went down for what looked like a worse challenge the referee gave nothing. So confident where the Preston players that the referee was now on their side even their goalkeeper joined in the attacks.
Cardiff held on comfortable in the end despite the numerous free kicks they had to face just outside their area. Heaton did not have to make one difficult save during this period and actually watch some free kicks go over his bar as if he was at a rugby match. However each free kick did not help those of us who were watching as we had to suffer five extra minutes of injury time. I gave up counting how many of us just could not watch. “I can’t stand any more of this” was what I heard many times. Then after five minutes of injury time the referee finally blew his whistle and we were still in 2nd spot with our three points.
However the final whistle of relief and cheers were soon replaced with “I don’t believe it”. It came through that Norwich had got a 6th minute injury time winner to regain 2nd spot. The rollercoaster ride that we all know following Cardiff City was in top gear.
Summing up. How can ever such a great performance feel like a loss? All we can do is keep this up. It has been a frustrating season and could still end that way. However something just tells me something is going to happen for the good. What that is well I suppose I will just have to wait.
Re: Match report Preston v Cardiff 25 Apr 2011
Wed Apr 27, 2011 8:40 am
Cheers again Ian, but we were 10 mins late not an hour 
Re: Match report Preston v Cardiff 25 Apr 2011
Wed Apr 27, 2011 11:21 am
nice one ian, sum's up the tension just right.
i missed my chance there, should have gave her my card
The local police were great to us there and Premier One soon tried to take advantage of this. I expected the policewoman to be on the bus going back to Wales where she would use the excuse she was visiting her relatives in Merthyr.
i missed my chance there, should have gave her my card
Re: Match report Preston v Cardiff 25 Apr 2011
Wed Apr 27, 2011 12:00 pm
carlccfc wrote:Cheers again Ian, but we were 10 mins late not an hour
Correct Carl
By the way what happened to the other 12 coaches 
Re: Match report Preston v Cardiff 25 Apr 2011
Wed Apr 27, 2011 12:02 pm
The Premier 1 wrote:nice one ian, sum's up the tension just right.The local police were great to us there and Premier One soon tried to take advantage of this. I expected the policewoman to be on the bus going back to Wales where she would use the excuse she was visiting her relatives in Merthyr.
i missed my chance there, should have gave her my card
You did ,i was standing next to you when you give it to her(The Card i mean)
Re: Match report Preston v Cardiff 25 Apr 2011
Wed Apr 27, 2011 12:40 pm
which one nile ? sarah at the premier inn or the wpc in the ground
Re: Match report Preston v Cardiff 25 Apr 2011
Wed Apr 27, 2011 12:47 pm
The Premier 1 wrote:which one nile ? sarah at the premier inn or the wpc in the ground
Sarah at the premier inn
Re: Match report Preston v Cardiff 25 Apr 2011
Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:24 pm
blue nile wrote:The Premier 1 wrote:which one nile ? sarah at the premier inn or the wpc in the ground
Sarah at the premier inn
Re: Match report Preston v Cardiff 25 Apr 2011
Wed Apr 27, 2011 4:35 pm
Cracking report Ian enjoyed reading that
Re: Match report Preston v Cardiff 25 Apr 2011
Thu Apr 28, 2011 2:10 pm
excellent report,although you went easy on the officials they were absolutely appaling
Re: Match report Preston v Cardiff 25 Apr 2011
Thu Apr 28, 2011 10:18 pm
Good report. The last ten minutes seemed to last forever and the refs performance was shocking. I stayed the night in Preston and most of the Preston fans were decent enough.
Re: Match report Preston v Cardiff 25 Apr 2011
Fri Apr 29, 2011 3:25 pm
Cheers Ian, Once again for a good report
Re: Match report Preston v Cardiff 25 Apr 2011
Sat Apr 30, 2011 1:48 pm
Cheers Ian,look forward to Mondays Report