Charlie Adam's equaliser completes a troublesome week for Cardiff City - 7M sport

Charlie Adam's equaliser completes a troublesome week for Cardiff City



Posted Sunday, January 10, 2010 by theguardian.com

Charlie Adam's equaliser completes a troublesome week for Cardiff City
Blackpool's Charlie Adam and Cardiff's Chris Burke compete at the Cardiff City Stadium. Photograph: Action Images

It took mountains of salt and shedloads of shovels to get this game on. Cardiff may wish they had not bothered. Charlie Adam's second-half equaliser gave Blackpool a deserved point, consigned the Bluebirds to a third game without a win and provided a disappointing end to a troublesome week in south Wales.

This result was no fillip for Dave Jones, who used his programme notes to hit back at those "holding a microphone or a pen" who criticised him and his side after the second-half capitulation against Peterborough in their last outing. Indeed, it has not been an easy couple of weeks for Jones or the club. While praise is due for the Bluebirds' sterling efforts in ensuring this fixture went ahead, Cardiff have still managed to make news for the wrong reasons. City were the subject of a winding-up order on Friday, their second of the season, though the chairman, Peter Ridsdale, is confident that the debt to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs will be paid by the end of the month and that three of the four players Jones has earmarked to bolster his threadbare squad will be brought in before the transfer window closes.

"As far as I know I cannot bring in any new players until the financial situation has been settled," Jones said. "We are in the top six, which is where we want to be, yet no one ever writes anything good about the club despite everyone here pulling their weight.

"When the finances are sorted I will bring new faces into the club."

Reinforcements are certainly necessary – inconsistency has blighted the Bluebirds' season. Superb wins at Middlesbrough and West Brom have been followed by a hapless Boxing Day defeat at home to Plymouth and that surrendering of their four-goal half-time advantage at London Road.

Again here, they let initial control slip through their fingers. Jones's side took the lead from the first meaningful attack of the game. Peter Whittingham curled in a bury-me cross from the right, Blackpool's goalkeeper Paul Rachubka flapped unimpressively, leaving Mark Hudson with the simple job of heading home at the far post.

That lead could have been trebled before half-time. Josh Magennis, who would be carried off before the break and taken to hospital with a suspected broken leg on his first start, headed against the underside of the bar, the same player's flick-on was lobbed tantalisingly on to the roof of the net by Ross McCormack, and the substitute Warren Feeney twisted to head over from Paul Quinn's cross.

The visitors, though, ended the half on the front foot, and it took a superb point-blank block from David Marshall to deny Ben Burgess an equaliser.started the second half as they finished the first, and Cardiff's keeper, David Marshall, The goalkeeper could do little about Adam's effort within a minute of the restart, however, the midfielder exchanging passes with Burgess on the edge of the area before emphatically thumping home.

With the hosts struggling to rediscover their collective mojo, the home fans grew restless. Spirits were raised briefly midway through the half, with the substitute, and possible transfer window departee, Adam Matthews pinging a shot off the post and Feeney having a close-range effort ruled out for a foul on Rachubka. But the replacement of McCormack with Michael Chopra – a striker for striker switch with 17 minutes to go – brought a few chants of "You don't know what you're doing". Clearly, little of the fire of old lady Ninian has been lost in the move to more salubrious surroundings.

While Jones felt the fans' ire, Holloway's status with those in tangerine could hardly be higher. The Blackpool manager was not too impressed that his side had to "risk their lives" to travel to the game. He cut a happier figure at the final whistle, however, and his side might have pinched three points at the death, with Marshall clawing away Burgess's spectacular volley.

"I am pleased Cardiff did so well to get the game on but it didn't look as though we had turned up in the first half," admitted Holloway. "I had a go at my players during half-time, and the second half was totally different as we forced their keeper to make a number of saves. The longer it went on the more we looked like going on to win.

"I cannot understand the crowd jeering Cardiff off the field when they are fourth in the league. They should have a reality check."

The Managers' verdict

Dave Jones "We have no right to beat the likes of Blackpool and sometimes in the second half we had to hang on but it was a hard-earned draw considering the fitness of some of our players. When the finances are sorted I will bring new faces into the club." Ian Holloway "I had a go at my players during half-time and the second half was totally different as we forced their keeper to make a number of saves. The longer it went on the more we looked like going on to win. I cannot understand the crowd jeering Cardiff off."


The Fan's Verdict

Was it a good match? If I was a Blackpool fan travelling back home I would be disappointed not to have won. Neither team had that killer touch to go on and win the game and we looked a bit disjointed in the second half. The crowd affected the game as the fans were quick to have a moan and the players who couldn't string two passes together. It looked a very uncomfortable performance. Who played well/who had a nightmare? Kevin McNaughton was busy and wasn't afraid to keep running. Josh Magennis picked up what looked like a nasty injury.

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