Match report Cardiff City v Norwich City 30/10/10
Sat Oct 30, 2010 10:30 pm
1927 is a well known year for any Cardiff fan. It was the year we won the FA cup and up to today is the only time the trophy has left England. Our captain on the day was a Fred Keenor, a true professional footballer who fought in the great war. A gentleman that deserves to have his statue standing outside our new stadium. Today members of this forum took a step forward to making sure that statue will be erected.
This step started its day of in a funny way. As members met in the Ninian pub suddenly an individual with a replica FA cup appeared sprinting from underneath the rail bridge outside the pub. That individual was Jonathan Owen from the Stand and you would have thought he was being chased by the keystone cops as he darted from the bridge and into the Ninian pub. That sprint got the day of to a good start.
Later on we were privilaged to have a speech from Fred Keener nephew before we all had our pictures taken posing with the cup. Also amongst us was the bass guitarist from the Welsh band Catatonia Owen Powell and together we all enjoyed a few hours in the Ninian before marching of to Asda to but our "I'll be there" DVDS. The superstore must have wondered what had hit them with such celebraties as Owen, Jonathan and Mr Keenor plus the forum members. Once we all brought our DVDs we got them signed by Jonathan and gang then made our way to the ground. We then witnessed jonathan, Owen and Mr Keenor parading the replica inside the ground. This was a great effort by this forum to ensure the overdue statue of Fred Keenor is erected outside our new home. Take a bow this forum.
So it was down to the other business of securing three points from todays game. A difficult task seemed ahead for the team as we welcomed Norwich to the capital. Norwich, although just promoted, are riding high in the league and came to the CCS after winning their last three away games. They were one place behind us and it was felt this would be our most difficult game this season. Well they certainly proved to be the best team we have played against and what a game we were treated too.
Cardiff kept the same side that demolished Leeds at Elland Road Monday night. A sell out home support were there to see Craig Bellamy make his second appearance at the CCS since his loan move to us. Norwich had brought a support of 1,200 fans which they must be given credit for. Even more credit must be given to the home support because for the first time in a few games they were NOT outsung by the visiting support. This was a refreshing change and I think this was really down to the game itself.
It was Norwich who had the first chance from a corner which showed that they were strong in the air. A floating cross resulted in a free header for a Norwich forward that harmlessly went high. However Cardiff responded with their first attack also from a corner as they attacked the Grangend end of the pitch. A Whitts corner was met by Hudson at the far post who headed it back towards the near post by a waiting Jay. Unfortunately Jay was positioned wrongly and had to lean back to connect with the ball. He did well to head the ball goal bound but his effort went high and wide.
Norwich produced an attack after Jays effort but before we knew it Cardiff had another corner at the same place. A scenario repeated itself with a few differences. Whitts took the corner again and floated the ball to the same place, the far post, but this time it was met by Gabor who managed to do the same as Hudson and head the ball back to the near post to a waiting Jay again. This time the diffence made the difference as Jay was well positioned to head the ball into the net. Nine minutes gone and the Bluebirds found themselves in the lead, a bit of a difference from the previous home game.
In fact it was not long before the previous game had a parallel to this game but with a difference. Both games were to see two early goals but this time the difference was this game brought an early smile to the home fans faces. From a goal kick by Heaton directed to the middle of the visitors half that was headed on by Jay the ball fell nicely to Chopra who coolly took his chance and slipped the ball over a spreading Norwich goalkeeper and into the net. Two up to the Cardiff and everyone expected an avalanche of home goals for the first half.
That second goal happened on the 12th minute but for the next 20 minutes instead of seeing goals galore by the rampant Cardiff it was total pressure from the Norwich. For this period we the home fans had to suffer football being played in the Cardiff half. Every clearance made by our defence the ball just seemed to end up at the feet of a yellow shirt. However Heaton only had to make one save in this period and that was from a breakaway. The only time the ball left the Cardiff half was when Bellamy finally received a pass. The Cardiff players relieved to finally see play in the Norwich end made their way up field. Unfortunately they lost possession as quickly as they advanced and soon found themselves peddling back as the Norwich strike force worked its way towards Heatons goal. An opening was made and Heaton was forced to make a save from a shot just outside the area.
Actually before that save the ball had been in the Cardiff net but fortunately the ref disallowed the goal for a foul. I thought it was disallowed for offside as I saw the lineman raise his flag but was informed that it was not given because it was a foul. However I decided to check my watch to see if it was half time.
This 20 minute period came to an end with a goal for the visitors and it must be said it was well deserved. A whipped in low cross was met by a brave head that saw the ball into the net giving Heaton no chance. As the away fans rejoiced you could feel the tension rise in the home support. Norwich had worked hard and got themselves back into the game. They were doninating the midfield and now looked like they could equalise and perhaps go on to win the game. How wrong we were,
Within minutes Cardiff had restored their two goal lead. From the kick off Jay found himself by the corner flag and sent what looked like a harmless cross into the Norwich area. The ball was headed away but hit a Norwich arm right in front of the referee who immediately pointed to the spot. In all fairness the Norwich player who handled the ball knew very little about it as the ball hit him before he could move. A bit unfortunate you might agree but those are the rules and Whitts made sure of the penalty.
So half time came and Cardiff had regained its two goal lead. However the way the half had gone it was felt we were lucky to have the two goal lead. Although we had got off to a cracking start Norwich had the better of the play and were considered unlucky to not be on level terms at least. However if they carried on playing like that then they could get something from this game. Fortunately they did not play like that in the second half.
The second half kicked off and although Norwich made the first attack, resulting in a fake penalty dive, that basically was their last chance. It was Cardiff who ended up playing the Norwich way and creating quite a few chances. Now in the first half Cardiff played with only two in central midfield while Norwich packed that part of the pitch. This was the reason they won alot of possession and had that dominating period. However in the second half it was Cardiff who took the midfield and took the game back. Some tactical decision was made at half time and I'm not too sure what it was but it worked so I'm happy to accept it happened.
For most of the half Bellamy ran the left wing while Burke did the right. The midfield passed the ball around for fun and with the help fo the wingers created chances for Chopra and Jay. Chopra forced a cracking save from the Norwich keeper while Jay rattled the crossbar. Burke forced another save from the guy between the Norwich sticks and from a Koumas cross (Koumas replaced Bellamy earier on) the ball was either deflected by a Norwich defender or a Bothroyd foot onto the crossbar again. Somewhere amongst the firepower reigning down on the visitors goal Jay forced a finger tip save by the hammered Norwich keeper that saw the ball tipped around the post. Strange game is football, one half with little possession sees three goal scored and the other half with total domination sees no goals scored. The ref brought the game to an end with the result Cardiff City 3 Norwich City 1.
Unfortunately a great result was marred by Jay receiving a booking which means he misses the Jacks game next week. It must be said it was a silly foul he committed and lets just pray it does not have a negative effect on the derby.
Summing up: A great result for us today and richly deserved against a difficult side. Man of match and I think everyone will agree was Kevin MacNaughton. Although he got no mention in the above report his defending was superb and his attacking was pretty good as well. In fact I felt all the players did well today even though some might say our defence struggled during that 20 minute domination by the visitors in the first half. Well they only let one goal and Heaton was only forced to make one save. I am beginning to think some of us need to give our defenders some slack. I personally would ask what happened in the dressing room at half time because what we feared would happen in the secodn half never did, in fact the opposite happened. Are we seeing signed of a plan B. I'll leave everyone with their thoughts of that.
This step started its day of in a funny way. As members met in the Ninian pub suddenly an individual with a replica FA cup appeared sprinting from underneath the rail bridge outside the pub. That individual was Jonathan Owen from the Stand and you would have thought he was being chased by the keystone cops as he darted from the bridge and into the Ninian pub. That sprint got the day of to a good start.
Later on we were privilaged to have a speech from Fred Keener nephew before we all had our pictures taken posing with the cup. Also amongst us was the bass guitarist from the Welsh band Catatonia Owen Powell and together we all enjoyed a few hours in the Ninian before marching of to Asda to but our "I'll be there" DVDS. The superstore must have wondered what had hit them with such celebraties as Owen, Jonathan and Mr Keenor plus the forum members. Once we all brought our DVDs we got them signed by Jonathan and gang then made our way to the ground. We then witnessed jonathan, Owen and Mr Keenor parading the replica inside the ground. This was a great effort by this forum to ensure the overdue statue of Fred Keenor is erected outside our new home. Take a bow this forum.
So it was down to the other business of securing three points from todays game. A difficult task seemed ahead for the team as we welcomed Norwich to the capital. Norwich, although just promoted, are riding high in the league and came to the CCS after winning their last three away games. They were one place behind us and it was felt this would be our most difficult game this season. Well they certainly proved to be the best team we have played against and what a game we were treated too.
Cardiff kept the same side that demolished Leeds at Elland Road Monday night. A sell out home support were there to see Craig Bellamy make his second appearance at the CCS since his loan move to us. Norwich had brought a support of 1,200 fans which they must be given credit for. Even more credit must be given to the home support because for the first time in a few games they were NOT outsung by the visiting support. This was a refreshing change and I think this was really down to the game itself.
It was Norwich who had the first chance from a corner which showed that they were strong in the air. A floating cross resulted in a free header for a Norwich forward that harmlessly went high. However Cardiff responded with their first attack also from a corner as they attacked the Grangend end of the pitch. A Whitts corner was met by Hudson at the far post who headed it back towards the near post by a waiting Jay. Unfortunately Jay was positioned wrongly and had to lean back to connect with the ball. He did well to head the ball goal bound but his effort went high and wide.
Norwich produced an attack after Jays effort but before we knew it Cardiff had another corner at the same place. A scenario repeated itself with a few differences. Whitts took the corner again and floated the ball to the same place, the far post, but this time it was met by Gabor who managed to do the same as Hudson and head the ball back to the near post to a waiting Jay again. This time the diffence made the difference as Jay was well positioned to head the ball into the net. Nine minutes gone and the Bluebirds found themselves in the lead, a bit of a difference from the previous home game.
In fact it was not long before the previous game had a parallel to this game but with a difference. Both games were to see two early goals but this time the difference was this game brought an early smile to the home fans faces. From a goal kick by Heaton directed to the middle of the visitors half that was headed on by Jay the ball fell nicely to Chopra who coolly took his chance and slipped the ball over a spreading Norwich goalkeeper and into the net. Two up to the Cardiff and everyone expected an avalanche of home goals for the first half.
That second goal happened on the 12th minute but for the next 20 minutes instead of seeing goals galore by the rampant Cardiff it was total pressure from the Norwich. For this period we the home fans had to suffer football being played in the Cardiff half. Every clearance made by our defence the ball just seemed to end up at the feet of a yellow shirt. However Heaton only had to make one save in this period and that was from a breakaway. The only time the ball left the Cardiff half was when Bellamy finally received a pass. The Cardiff players relieved to finally see play in the Norwich end made their way up field. Unfortunately they lost possession as quickly as they advanced and soon found themselves peddling back as the Norwich strike force worked its way towards Heatons goal. An opening was made and Heaton was forced to make a save from a shot just outside the area.
Actually before that save the ball had been in the Cardiff net but fortunately the ref disallowed the goal for a foul. I thought it was disallowed for offside as I saw the lineman raise his flag but was informed that it was not given because it was a foul. However I decided to check my watch to see if it was half time.
This 20 minute period came to an end with a goal for the visitors and it must be said it was well deserved. A whipped in low cross was met by a brave head that saw the ball into the net giving Heaton no chance. As the away fans rejoiced you could feel the tension rise in the home support. Norwich had worked hard and got themselves back into the game. They were doninating the midfield and now looked like they could equalise and perhaps go on to win the game. How wrong we were,
Within minutes Cardiff had restored their two goal lead. From the kick off Jay found himself by the corner flag and sent what looked like a harmless cross into the Norwich area. The ball was headed away but hit a Norwich arm right in front of the referee who immediately pointed to the spot. In all fairness the Norwich player who handled the ball knew very little about it as the ball hit him before he could move. A bit unfortunate you might agree but those are the rules and Whitts made sure of the penalty.
So half time came and Cardiff had regained its two goal lead. However the way the half had gone it was felt we were lucky to have the two goal lead. Although we had got off to a cracking start Norwich had the better of the play and were considered unlucky to not be on level terms at least. However if they carried on playing like that then they could get something from this game. Fortunately they did not play like that in the second half.
The second half kicked off and although Norwich made the first attack, resulting in a fake penalty dive, that basically was their last chance. It was Cardiff who ended up playing the Norwich way and creating quite a few chances. Now in the first half Cardiff played with only two in central midfield while Norwich packed that part of the pitch. This was the reason they won alot of possession and had that dominating period. However in the second half it was Cardiff who took the midfield and took the game back. Some tactical decision was made at half time and I'm not too sure what it was but it worked so I'm happy to accept it happened.
For most of the half Bellamy ran the left wing while Burke did the right. The midfield passed the ball around for fun and with the help fo the wingers created chances for Chopra and Jay. Chopra forced a cracking save from the Norwich keeper while Jay rattled the crossbar. Burke forced another save from the guy between the Norwich sticks and from a Koumas cross (Koumas replaced Bellamy earier on) the ball was either deflected by a Norwich defender or a Bothroyd foot onto the crossbar again. Somewhere amongst the firepower reigning down on the visitors goal Jay forced a finger tip save by the hammered Norwich keeper that saw the ball tipped around the post. Strange game is football, one half with little possession sees three goal scored and the other half with total domination sees no goals scored. The ref brought the game to an end with the result Cardiff City 3 Norwich City 1.
Unfortunately a great result was marred by Jay receiving a booking which means he misses the Jacks game next week. It must be said it was a silly foul he committed and lets just pray it does not have a negative effect on the derby.
Summing up: A great result for us today and richly deserved against a difficult side. Man of match and I think everyone will agree was Kevin MacNaughton. Although he got no mention in the above report his defending was superb and his attacking was pretty good as well. In fact I felt all the players did well today even though some might say our defence struggled during that 20 minute domination by the visitors in the first half. Well they only let one goal and Heaton was only forced to make one save. I am beginning to think some of us need to give our defenders some slack. I personally would ask what happened in the dressing room at half time because what we feared would happen in the secodn half never did, in fact the opposite happened. Are we seeing signed of a plan B. I'll leave everyone with their thoughts of that.
Re: Sticky:Match report Cardiff City v Norwich City 30/10/10
Sat Oct 30, 2010 10:39 pm
Cheers Ian, As Usual A TOP Report of not only the Match, But the Day as well 
Re: Sticky:Match report Cardiff City v Norwich City 30/10/10
Sun Oct 31, 2010 12:28 pm
A very accrurate report in my eyes!
Re: Sticky:Match report Cardiff City v Norwich City 30/10/10
Sun Oct 31, 2010 12:55 pm
thnx another excellent report again
Re: Sticky:Match report Cardiff City v Norwich City 30/10/10
Sun Oct 31, 2010 4:36 pm
Another great report Ian. Heres Jonny with the cup.
Re: Sticky:Match report Cardiff City v Norwich City 30/10/10
Sun Oct 31, 2010 4:47 pm
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Re: Sticky:Match report Cardiff City v Norwich City 30/10/10
Sun Oct 31, 2010 7:44 pm
nantgarwblue wrote:
Is Someone trying to steal it
Re: Sticky:Match report Cardiff City v Norwich City 30/10/10
Mon Nov 01, 2010 8:13 am
great report
Re: Sticky:Match report Cardiff City v Norwich City 30/10/10
Fri Nov 05, 2010 10:08 pm
Thanks Ian, Looking forward to the Jack Game Match Report