PLAYER WATCH v Cardiff City (A)

[tonyoz]

PLAYER WATCH v Cardiff City (A)

Each incident in the match was rated on the following scale: 

+5 GOAL 

+4 Excellent play 

+3 Very good play 

+2 Pleasing/good play 

+1 Decent play 

  0 Routine stuff 

 -1 Sloppy play 

 -2 Disappointing/poor play 

 -3 Very poor play 

 -4 Terrible play 

 -5 Own goal 

The ratings for each player were then combined to produce a measure of the players overall contribution to the match. 

 
Ratings       

Key incidents per player = coloured stars              Overall contribution = numbers

Kaminski                       ***  *     6                                

Nyambe (75)                 ************  ***   10     

Lenihan                         ********************************   *************     29

Wharton                       ***************  ********     11

van Hecke                     ****************  *****      18

Edun                              ***************  **********     10  

Travis (83)                     ********  ******     4     

Buckley                         *******  ****    1        

Rothwell                       ***********  *****     10     

Khadra (64)                  *** *****  -1

Diaz (77)                       *******  *******     0 

  

Gallagher (64)              ****** ****     3 

Ayala (77)                     ** *    1    

Johnson (83)            0

                                                                        

Highlights and Lowlights 

(A justification for the main ratings given above)

 

No crowd for today’s match and an early kick-off. Let’s hope it’s a better performance than last time out! 

05 Nothing much happening; we’ve had a decent share of the ball so far but we’ve given it away too often. Cardiff are a big side. Nyambe has just won a corner but Rothwell didn’t get it past the first man! Lenihan gives away a cheap foul.

07 I like it. Van Hecke shows how to track a winger and make sure he doesn’t get his cross in. Corner though. Oh! According to the commentators, Cardiff have scored 46% of their goals from set-pieces! Let’s see what happens.

Hmmmm Nelson heads over the bar. He beat Edun and Lenihan to the ball!

11 Edun miscontrols the ball from a throw-in and it’s danger. Harris goes past van Hecke, in the box, too easily and fires in a cross to the far post. The in-flying Collins misses it by a whisker! Lucky escape there!

13 A nice little lay-off by Khadra to Rothwell near the centre-circle and he’s on one of his runs, leaving 3 men in his wake. From 23 yards, just right of centre, he strokes a beautiful, curving ball just inside the right post. Great goal, not a lot of power but perfectly placed.

15 That’s a second nothing foul committed by Lenihan. It’s another dangerous high ball for the big Cardiff men to attack. Ralls beats all 3 of our centre-backs but it falls weakly to Kaminski who gathers easily.

16 The second failed attempt at a long crossfield pass by Diaz.

21 Some nice football from City ends up with Edun blocking the cross, conceding the corner. I think that’s the first set-piece we've won as van Hecke heads away. He’s doing well.

24 having applauded Lenihan for weeks I have to point out that he’s having a bad one so far; beaten in the air, giving away 2 sloppy fouls and now misjudging his header in a dangerous position! Ahh! He gets chance to make amends immediately as he challenges the winger and it’s another corner.

Kaminski comes for it but his punch only reaches Vaulks on the edge of the D. His powerful volley comes back, Kaminski is beaten but Travis, 2 yards from the line, manages to get his body behind the deflected shot. It was going in! We’re not dealing with these set-pieces at all! 

Oh! Dear, now it’s a long throw into the box! It’s 5 men head-tennis before Diaz attempts some kind of overhead kick and just about gets away with it! Finally Wharton gets it clear.

26 Now van Hecke gives away a foul 8 yards inside our half. Lenihan gets it away.

Another long throw comes in and Lenihan is there first again. That’s more like it…..but we still can’t get out of our box effectively!

31 Yet another dangerous cross comes into the box. Van Hecke gets a slight but important touch and Edun is able to clear.

34 Now it’s Khadra’s turn to be dispossessed. Khadra, Buckley and Diaz in particular are struggling to have any impact on the game against a physical Cardiff side. Travis is pretty much of a mixed bag too.

37 A nice move involving Harris and Collins sets Ng up for a shot from the edge of the box but it’s scuffed and is easily saved by Kaminski. We’re just not in it at the moment!

That’s another misdirected Diaz pass!

40 Khadra runs down yet another blind alley and loses the ball instead of laying it off. It’s poor play from Rovers since the goal.

41 Van Hecke is beaten by Harris and has to pull the City man back. Yellow card. More danger.

42 Now it’s Travis with the poor ball. Cardiff come again. Van Hecke gets his head in, then Rothwell gives it away close to our box. Wharton is beaten too easily, Travis can’t get his foot in and eventually another shot flies in from the edge of the box and Lenihan  blocks. City are still passing it around with growing confidence.

44 Khadra then Travis give the ball away again!

45 We make a rare foray forward and Edun drives ahead from the centre-circle. He lays it square to Buckley who, with no one in front of him, decides to try a first time shot from 27 yards. It’s scuffed and straight at the keeper. Another bad decision (it’s getting a bit of a habit for John around the box!) as he could have taken a touch and thought about his options. He would have had a better shooting opportunity or Diaz was waiting on the left.

46 Now Edun gives the ball away needlessly. Seconds later he fouls the City man and it’s another dangerous free-kick, on the wing and close to the box. It results in a bit of ping pong before the ref blows the whistle.

 

45 It’s back to where we were. Cardiff on the attack. Ralls goes past Lenihan too easily and his shot is deflected behind for a corner by van Hecke. The cross is missed by Wharton but it falls kindly and it’s cleared.

47 Within one minute Travis wins the ball well…..but then later gives it away ridiculously easily. Cardiff attack and Lenihan half clears. Nelson beats Nyambe to the byline and his floated cross finds Drameh beyond the far post. His looped header is gathered above the head of Harris by Kaminski. This is garbage so far this half! Lenihan is given a warning by the ref for holding up Ralls a little earlier.

49 Now Lenihan commits another needless foul, allowing City to launch the ball into our box again! Oh, it’s taken short but this time Travis fouls just outside our box. Again it’s short but the cross from their left comes in finally and I think Nyambe got a slight touch and Lenihan hoofs clear. We still can’t get out of our half though. And we can’t retain possession either as this time Rothwell puts in a poor pass.

There’s a temporary sense of relief as Cardiff run the ball out of play.

52 Harris skins Lenihan on the wing and he drives on to the box but van Hecke dispossesses him nicely. Nyambe is the next man to give the ball away cheaply.

55 Another poor Lenihan challenge earns him a yellow card. The free-kick is 30 yards out, on our right. It skims off a Rovers head and we win a throw.

58 Lenihan shields the ball over the byline as Ng clatters him from behind. Nasty stuff. Nyambe gets involved in some pushing and gets a soft yellow. Ng gets a much more deserved card too. It must have been close to red!

59 Buckley on the right wing crosses into the box. Diaz has 2 men near him but manages to get a weakish volley in from 14 yards. It’s deflected wide for a corner. Rothwell’s cross is too high for Lenihan.

62 Diaz carries the ball forward but he’s on his own with 3 defenders and tries an ambitious shot from wide and outside the box. It’s well off-target.

64 Khadra off, Gallagher on. Two Cardiff changes too.

67 A Cardiff long throw results in head tennis before it goes out for a corner. Oh wow! A storming Nelson outjumps Wharton and Gallagher comprehensively and his header is going in low inside the left post until a diving Kaminski reaches out a paw to push it clear. It’s even more impressive as Collins was attempting to follow it over the line! Brilliant from Kaminski.

69 A Lenihan interception reaches Gallagher. He turns into the box and there’s a collison and Gallagher is floored. No penalty…….looked like clear obstruction to me!

Another poor Rothwell pass kills our momentum

71 A nice run and pass to Nyambe by Gallagher. There’s no one to meet Nyambe’s cross though. Gallagher may not be the prettiest footballer but he’s made a difference since he replaced Khadra. We’ve spent more time in the Cardiff half. The real Lenihan has reappeared too!

72 Another horrible foul by a Cardiff man, this time on Wharton.

75 Silly jump-in type tackle by Nyambe earns him a second yellow, so he’s off! There’s a big challenge ahead!

77 Diaz off, Ayala on. Lenihan goes to right full-back. Diaz wipes his nose on the palm of his hand, then on his shirt, then he high fives Ayala, then high fives more Rovers’ folk on the pitchside. I mean, I’m just saying!

78 Kaminski comes out confidently to collect a high ball into the box.

82 Rothwell picks up just outside our box and finds a nice pass to Buckley on halfway, he slides it nicely inside to Gallagher and he’s on the charge. He returns the ball to Buckley in the D. He could have shot but he tried to return to Gallagher and it’s behind him and the good move collapses.

83 Johnson on, Travis off

84 Davies beats Edun all ends up and takes the ball to the byline. His cross comes back off the outside of the near post and Edun can hack away.

85 Davies gets past Edun again. Fortunately Lenihan is in the centre of the box to clean up as the cross comes in. Van Hecke loses the ball to Ralls near our right byline. The cross comes in and thankfully, Edun is there to challenge the City attacker brilliantly on the penalty spot. Lenihan hoofs away. Gallagher picks it up and drops his marker. Rothwell is trying to catch up. Sadly Gallagher’s attempted pass is intercepted.

88 Lenihan’s playing particularly well since he moved to right back. Gallagher gives away a daft foul midway in our half. Yellow card. Wharton clears but it’s another long throw! A nervy 4 minutes of extra time!

It’s more head tennis around the 6 yard box. It comes to Ralls 12 yards out he controls on his chest then volleys the ball towards goal but van Hecke blocks….with his head I think. Another one that was definitely going in! Finally Edun blocks a cross and concedes the corner. Edun is first to the cross and Buckley hooks it downfield. Back it comes but Lenihan is strong and City foul him.

92 Davies beats Edun to the line again and his accurate cross is met full-bloodedly by Ayala.

The final whistle goes and, somewhat unbelievably, it’s another clean sheet. It’s gonna be a big night up in Hull on Wednesday. Onwards and upwards.

[Dreams of 1995]

Goes to show how poor we were up top really.

That back 3 😍

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

That’s as bad to read as it was to watch. Good job Cardiff were toothless. The stats show were the problem was - only Rothwell out of the front five had a significant score. When all your attacking players have an off day at the same time you’re very lucky to come away with 3 points. Much better performance required against Hull.

Edited January 17, 2022 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[tonyoz]

The stats shown on the broadcast were: possession - Rovers 34%   Cardiff 66%

                                                                clearances  - Rovers 41   Cardiff 5!!!

[garnersfags]

Really useful, thanks, esp as I was one of many who couldn't get the stream to work. 

We can't continue to give the opposition 70% of possession in our half and get away with it. 

None of our team are comfortable stood still with the ball at their feet, and we are guilty of rushing short and long passes. 

Praying for a much needed 90 min performance at Hull. 

[tonyoz]

1 hour ago, garnersfags said:

Really useful, thanks, esp as I was one of many who couldn't get the stream to work. 

We can't continue to give the opposition 70% of possession in our half and get away with it. 

None of our team are comfortable stood still with the ball at their feet, and we are guilty of rushing short and long passes. 

Praying for a much needed 90 min performance at Hull. 

I couldn’t get the match on the big TV but it was fine on my PC. The frustrating thing for me was the inability to prevent Cardiff set-pieces….caused largely by our midfield and front players giving the ball away. Wave after wave of attacks came from this. It’s unrealistic to expect the defence to soak up all this pressure….good as they’ve been. When Buckley doesn’t tick our attacking options look very limited. Rothwell did some good stuff and scored a great goal but he too was guilty of sloppy passing when in promising positions. Khadra too had his worse match…..creating nothing. Diaz needs these players functioning to set him on fire. Travis has been off sorts for some time now - he’s not good enough at the moment. It was a depressing watch to be honest.

Edited January 18, 2022 by tonyoz

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

8 hours ago, tonyoz said:

I couldn’t get the match on the big TV but it was fine on my PC. The frustrating thing for me was the inability to prevent Cardiff set-pieces….caused largely by our midfield and front players giving the ball away. Wave after wave of attacks came from this. It’s unrealistic to expect the defence to soak up all this pressure….good as they’ve been. When Buckley doesn’t tick our attacking options look very limited. Rothwell did some good stuff and scored a great goal but he too was guilty of sloppy passing when in promising positions. Khadra too had his worse match…..creating nothing. Diaz needs these players functioning to set him on fire. Travis has been off sorts for some time now - he’s not good enough at the moment. It was a depressing watch to be honest.

Exactly my view Tony, a very frustrating performance to watch. Too many forward players were completely off their game. Some people say “ Quit moaning, we won didn’t we ? “  Well I say “ We’ve played better than that and lost this season “. Play like that at Hull on Wednesday and we won’t be so lucky. We‘re crying out for a midfield player that can give Buckley and Travis a break when they’ll not playing well.

[tonyoz]

17 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Exactly my view Tony, a very frustrating performance to watch. Too many forward players were completely off their game. Some people say “ Quit moaning, we won didn’t we ? “  Well I say “ We’ve played better than that and lost this season “. Play like that at Hull on Wednesday and we won’t be so lucky. We‘re crying out for a midfield player that can give Buckley and Travis a break when they’ll not playing well.

Yes, some worrying traits appearing. Midfield is a weakness and not being able to get out of our own half is so frustrating to watch. I’m setting the alarm in the hope of seeing a revival at Hull.

[J*B]

Regular Match Centre viewers will be aware our Match Centre now includes stats on each players performance for each match: https://brfcs.com/magazine/football/match/717109/cardiff-blackburn

You'll be happy to know we've avoided xG! 

[garnersfags]

On 18/01/2022 at 09:47, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Exactly my view Tony, a very frustrating performance to watch. Too many forward players were completely off their game. Some people say “ Quit moaning, we won didn’t we ? “  Well I say “ We’ve played better than that and lost this season “. Play like that at Hull on Wednesday and we won’t be so lucky. We‘re crying out for a midfield player that can give Buckley and Travis a break when they’ll not playing well.

Very prophetic! 

I think TM has sat Butterworth and Davenport on the bench long enough that he just had to trust one of them tonight in Trav's absence.