Phil Sumbler
As derby clashes go this one was far from pulsating but when the dust settles on the first South Wales clash of the season it will be Luke Williams and his Swans who will reflect on an opportunity missed largely through a second half where they afforded their visitors too much respect.
On an afternoon when Liam Cullen scored the opening goal of the game in the first ten minutes it could have been so different from the Swans but a disjointed second half saw us on the back foot more often then we would have liked to be and ultimately we paid the price with just over ten minutes left when Callum Robinson got Cardiff an equaliser which, on the overall balance of play, they deserved.
The goal also sent their fans into wild celebrations that saw them injure one of their own and allowed them to take a point home from SA1 celebrating it like it was a Champions League trophy or the equivalent of. I guess that is what domination by the other side of this fixture in recent years does to you.
For the Swans there were too many players who had an off day – particularly at the back where we often looked set to cause our own problems and neither Ronald or Eom were effective on the wings, Ronald in particular guilty of one too many clever flicks and touches which never seems to find one of his own players.
Matt Grimes, Franco and Ollie Cooper in midfield often looked to drive the play forward as, in fairness, did Fulton and Joe Allen when they came on but for the latter it was all too often at a time when Cardiff had the upper hand and they kept pushing forward in search of a second goal even after the equaliser.
The Swans named a side that looked strong enough to win the fixture at the start and with this week’s transfer captures of Nelson Abbey and Florian Bianchini both on the bench there looked more options than maybe we have seen in recent times. With the Swans on the back of a 3-0 win last week and Cardiff on the end of a 5-0 reverse, optimism was high of a ninth derby win in twelve games.
With those derby games through nothing is ever guaranteed but normal service looked like resuming when the Swans found themselves a goal to the good inside ten minutes. Neat work on the left saw a cross mis kicked by Cullen but fell for Ronald who forced a save from Horvath but all he could do was palm it to Cullen who had the simple task to smash the ball into the empty net. Cue bedlam at the Swansea.com Stadium and the traditional silencing of the lambs in the visiting end.
For the remainder of the first half there really was only one team in it as the Swans were comfortable with their lead and it has to be noted that Cardiff offered nothing during that period. Even with the Swans looking intent of creating pressure on themselves at times there was nothing for Vigouroux to do in the first half. At the other end the Swans continually looked to threaten but Hovarth was having a relatively quiet time as we struggled to actually complete some promising attacks.
If the first half was comfortable, the second was anything but. We did break at times and maybe a better placed pass here and there could have seen us double an advantage which, undoubtedly, would have placed Cardiff out of the game but Cardiff were equal to the passes and they were keeping us out.
As the second half wore on we sat deeper and deeper with the substitutions certainly losing us some shape. Abdulai for Eom simply did not work and the introduction of Vipotnik and dropping Cullen back into midfield was the wrong call as it took some of the pattern out of the team. Contrast the introduction of Joe Allen which was needed to add some more steel into the midfield which we had lost without Franco and it could well be a reflection of Luke Williams that he made the wrong changes at the wrong time today.
Contrast that with the changes made by Erol Bulut that definitely made Cardiff more dangerous – Colwill, Tanner and Robinson – all having an impact in what was a much improved second half for them, Tanner was the provider for Robinson to sweep home for the Cardiff equaliser but as the excitement got too much for the Cardiff fans they managed to topple over an advertising hoarding onto Tanner’s leg. Treatment for the player didn’t see the game stop despite the protests of Aaron Ramsey who was largely anonymous for most of the encounter.
A game of no bookings toppled over into a bad tempered finish that saw Bulut dismissed largely for being a bit of an arse and clashing with Naughton whilst there were late bookings for Allen, Darling, Colwill and Ng after the Cardiff defender decided to try and get Darling sent off with a pathetic piece of play acting that is no more than blatant cheating. At least the referee was clued up enough to see through it.
The final whistle left the game balanced as a draw which on the total balance of play can be seen as a fair result but we can certainly point at a dip in performance as the game went on being the main reason for the fairness of the result. This will be seen as a missed opportunity for the Swans given our home advantage but a fourth point in a week is what we will have to settle for and of course, it is a result that means the only league doubles in this fixture still belong to the Swans.
Wycombe home league cup next – a great chance to see some of the new signings given a start.
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