A FINE START!
When I wrote my pre-season blog entry, I was worried that when we reached the international break after 3 games we might not have any points in the league. But, we have 4 points from 1 win, 1 loss and 1 draw. 10% of the points needed for Premier League survival! If we carry on at this rate, then we won’t have any problems at all. Malky now has 2 weeks to re-group (and hope our multi-national players don’t get injured whilst on international duty) and plan for the next stage of the season. For a while, at least, there is not too much pressure on Malky or the team.
In addition to the fine start, we have also made a couple more new signings. I am starting to write this piece just over 24 hours before the transfer window closes, so there may yet be more news. We seem to be specialising in players with long names! First to sign was Maximiliano Amondarain, a Uruguayan under 20 international who plays centre half.He has signed a 4 year contract, and at this point looks like a player for the development squad, at least initially.
Maxi in action for Uruguay under 20s.
Then, last evening, just after the conclusion of the Everton game, the signing of Rennes fullback Kevin Theophile-Catherine was announced. You can see by his picture below that he doesn’t expect the full hyphenated surname to go on the back of his shirt.
Kevin Theophile-Catherine pictured with Malky.
Theophile is a French international who plays at right back or centre half. With the signing of Brayford as well as Amandorain, it will be interesting to see what happens to some of our other defenders and whether they will move on on loan somewhere.
The general feeling amongst fans is that we need a fast wide attacking player, and today rumours abound that we may be signing Peter Odemwinge from West Bromwich Albion. But who knows really the workings of Malky’s recruitment team?
THE PREMIER LEAGUE START.
West Ham 2 Cardiff 0
Cardiff 3 Manchester City 2
Cardiff 0 Everton 0.
WEST HAM 2 CARDIFF 0.
Our first game at the top level for 51 years was a bit of a damp squib. West Ham went ahead after 15 minutes from a classy Joe Cole goal, and reports suggest that we were never really in the game after that. The star of the team was new signing Gary Medel (“Pitbull”), who despite only having one training session for the team looked a good player. Despite having more possession, we didn’t really perform or threaten to score on the day.
“Pitbull” v Joe Cole at West Ham.
CARDIFF 3 MANCHESTER CITY 2
If the first game was a damp squib, this was a fine fireworks display with November 5th, July 4th and New Years Eve all combined!
The atmosphere was fantastic from the time I got into the ground an hour before kick-off. A packed house of over 27,000 seemed to be looking forward to the occasion, no matter what the result.
After about 20 minutes, the team ethic and hard work shown by the team made us realise that we do have a good team that can compete at Premier League level. The defensive work was fantastic, and the 0-0 score at half time gave us hope that we might hold on for a draw. When Edin Dzecko scored for Man City early in the second half we were still thinking about a creditable defeat against a top class side. Then, the miracle started to happen.
A mazy run by Kim Byo-kyung down the right resulted in a cross to Frazier Campbell whose shot was blocked by keeper Joe Hart, but Aron Gunnarsson was first to the rebound and blasted the ball into the net.
Gunnarsson nets the equaliser!
I have never heard so much noise at the Cardiff City Stadium! It was absolutely fantastic! But more was to come. Man City still had most of the possession and territory without really threatening, but after Cardiff won a corner on a breakaway upfield, lax defending and dodgy goalkeeping left Frazier Campbell to bundle the ball in off his shoulder. 2-1 with 12 minutes left! And then, unbelievably, it was 3-1 with 2 minutes left. We were pinching ourselves to see if it was true.
Frazier Campbell - the crowd goes wild!
The fourth official managed to find 6 added minutes, and when Negredo scored his first goal 2 minutes into that time, there was some nervousness, but ultimately Cardiff held on for a fantastic win. In recent years, we have had some great moments with this club. Even if the rest of this season turns into a disaster, every fan will remember this momentous day!
CARDIFF 0 EVERTON 0
There was always a danger that this match would be a bit of an anti-climax after the Man City game. However, once again the hard work and determination of the Bluebirds team showed itself, and we came away with a creditable draw against the team who finished 6th in the Premier League last year. We aren’t going to win them all, but as I said in my last post, points against the top 7 clubs are a bonus, and we now have one more point than I hoped we might have after the first three games, and all 4 points have come from top 7 teams. Even the luck went our way, as Everton seemed to be denied a cast iron penalty in the first half when Gary Medel mistimed a tackle on Leighton Baines in the penalty area. I couldn’t get to the game this week for family reasons, but I am told that we well deserved our point.
Kim Byo-Kyung fights for the ball against Everton.
2 WEEKS PAUSE
Just as we were getting into the swing of this Premier League, they take it off us because of international matches! Roll on 2 weeks time and our next game at Hull. I’m still quietly confident we can stay up in the league this year - roll on 2 weeks time.
1st September 2013
