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City Pummel Port Vale 3-0, Advance to Third Round of FA Cup
Saturday, December 8, 2001
Entry 137
Cardiff City capped a great eight-day home stand today with a superb 3-0 FA Cup second round win over Port Vale today before 9,650 at Ninian Park. The win extends City's unbeaten run in first and second round FA Cup matches to 13. The Bluebirds are the only club in the land to advance from the first to the third round in each of the last five seasons. City have not lost prior to the third round since falling 2-0 to Gillingham in a second round match back in the 1996-97 season. Let's hope that the footballing gods finally relent and send City a plum tie as their just reward for such superb first and second round play. No non-league outfit or Crewe Alexandra this time either thank you very much.
City put in a good performance against Oldham last Saturday, looked better yet on Tuesday versus Brentford, and by a good many accounts better still in putting Vale out of the cup. The new 4-2-2-2 formation worked well, with City bossing midfield and giving a solid 90-minute effort. The Bluebirds opened the scoring in the 26th minute off an Andy Legg throw in headed by Scott Young to Robert Earnshaw, who powered a deftly struck header of his own beyond keeper Goodlad. A goalkeeping error early on in the second half gave City the chance to go up 2-0. Goodlad mishandled a high, poorly hit Legg cross, with the ball spilled into the path of Gavin Gordon, who had no trouble poking a three-yard shot into the net. The Bluebirds' third goal arrived at about the 75-minute mark as Leo Fortune-West scored from close range following a failed clearance. Fortune-West had just entered the match a few minutes earlier on.
Neil David's match report noted that "Scott Young got the sponsors MOTM, but to be honest it could have been anyone from half a dozen Boland, Bonner, Prior, Kav, Bowen were all in with a shout." Boland and Bonner got a mention, too, in the ICWales report, which noted that "a big part of City's new-found form is the unsung and unstinting donkey-work being done by Willie Boland and Mark Bonner in midfield." BBC Sport's City report observed that Port Vale "had little to offer as an attacking force."
In other second round matches, the ranks of non-league clubs were thinned out still further following Altrincham's loss to Darlington, Hinckley's losing to Cheltenham, and Hereford's falling at Swindon. All of this means that only two non-league sides will go into the draw for the third round tomorrow. Dagenham have lived to play another day (at home) via a scoreless draw at Exeter. Canvey Island take on Northampton tomorrow. Among top Division Two sides, Brighton got past Rushden & Diamonds and Stoke drew at Halifax, but Brentford lost at Scunthorpe and Reading crashed out at York.
The Romance of the Cup, Part 2
Friday, December 7, 2001
Entry 136
Back on November 18, a day after City topped Tiverton Town to advance to the second round of the FA Cup, I did an entry entitled "The Romance of the Cup." My idea at the time was to serve up links to first round match reports and to stories on the glory, the lore, the romance of the world's oldest knockout competition. Finding the links to the match reports was no problem but my brain cramped up on me and I had a tough time finding more than a couple of the many stories I'd seen on the romance of the cup.
Since then, though, I've found some of the links I'd first spotted back in November. So, on the eve of City's second round tilt with Port Vale at Ninian Park, here's
"The Romance of the Cup, Part II," i.e. a bunch of links to stories on the glory, the lore, the romance of the FA Cup.
Let's start with some items from BBC Sport. First up there's "Lineker's FA Cup Memories." In this piece, Gary Lineker "looks ahead to this season's FA Cup - and shares his own memories of the competition." In "FA Cup Still Shines", Mark Lawrenson recalls his participation in the 1986 final for Liverpool against Everton. Alan Hansen's "The King of Cups" contends that "the beauty of the FA Cup is that anyone can beat anyone on their day," then recalls Liverpool's barely surviving a scary third round tie with York City.
Over at Football Unlimited, a links page entitled "2001-02 FA Cup - Second Round" offers up a catalogue of stories on this year's first and second round matches, last year's final, and reports on earlier rounds from last year, as well as archived reports on five classic finals (1953, 1971, 1981, 1987, and 1994). You can also get a list of Post-war FA Cup Winners
in this package.
If you're still resisting all of this talk of lore and romance, hop in your time machine and try The 1970's FA Cup Final Site. Another site that might be worth checking out is Footballculture.net's page on The FA Cup Final. Elsewhere, a page entitled "The History of the FA Cup" offers a complete list of winners going back to 1872. Here's one more good one: Truls Mansson's Unofficial Wolverhampton Wanderers Site includes a page devoted to Wolves' 1960 FA Cup Win.
An entry loaded with links to tales of FA Cup lore and romance wouldn't be complete without the odd anti-romantic view of today's cup competition. For a critical view, check "The Eclipse of the FA Cup", which argues that "growing inequality of income between divisions" is turning fans off to the cup. Stats here show a "startling decline" in attendance at FA Cup matches in recent years, so much so that "the real victim of the growth of inequality in English football has been the FA Cup." Nothing like ending on a real down note, eh?!
Thorne Out Again (And This Time It's For Three Months)
Thursday, December 6, 2001
Entry 135
Cardiff City's euphoria over Tuesday's huge 3-1 win over Brentford at Ninian Park was dampened a good bit with the news that striker Peter Thorne will be out again for another long spell. After having to sit out eight games with a bad hamstring, Thorne returned to action in last Saturday's 3-1 win over Oldham. Then he really got things rolling with a 15th-minute goal against Brentford on Tuesday. By the half-hour mark, however, Thorne was out again, this time thanks to ankle ligament damage. According to a report on Mike Morris's site, Thorne is now in plaster and may well be out for up to three months. It's hard to believe that his (and City's) luck could be this bad.
An ICWales story, "Thorne Out for Three Months", reports that the talented striker was
optimistic after the match against Brentford that he would miss only one match, this weekend's FA Cup clash with Port Vale, but yesterday's scan revealed the extent of the damage.
"I am devastated by the bad luck I'm getting," said Thorne. "When I signed for Cardiff City it was the 13th. Maybe I should rip the contract up and sign a new one with a different date."
Gavin Gordon is now fit and will step in for Thorne as Robert Earnshaw's partner up front. Leo Fortune-West will be available too, but with Kevin Nugent likely to make a move to Colchester United within the week, City are looking a bit thin at the striker position.
City's Record in the Second Round of the FA Cup
Wednesday, December 5, 2001
Entry 134
Cardiff City have managed to get from the first to the second round of the FA Cup 23 times. If City can get past Port Vale on Saturday, it'll mark the 20th time they've advanced again to the third round. That'd be a second round success rate of 87%!
While one might argue that this 87% figure is fattened up by too many wins against small fry like Enfield, Hednesford, Hendon and the like, City have had success too against more formidable opponents. Back in
1993-94, for instance, City went to Griffin Park and defeated Division-Two Brentford 3-1. In 1986-87, Division-Four City beat Division-Three Brentford 2-0 at Ninian Park. Two years ago, City held Division-Two Bury to a 0-0 draw at Gigg Lane before beating the Shakers 1-0 in a Ninian Park extra-time replay won on a 120th-minute Mike Ford header. A win against Port Vale Saturday would add to
City's second round successes against third-tier league opposition.
Here are some additional facts and figures on City's impressive second round FA Cup history:
* A win against Port Vale on Saturday would give City second round triumphs in five straight seasons. That hasn't happened since the 1920s.
* City's all-time mark in second round action stands at an estimable 19 wins, 5 draws, and 3 losses. The record since World War II shows 9 wins, 2 draws, and 3 losses.
* City's all-time record in the first two rounds of the FA Cup now stands at 41 wins, 15 draws, and 14 losses.
* Postwar, City's record in the first two rounds shows 20 wins, 6 draws, and 9 losses.
Second Round Best and Worst, Goals For and Against:
* City's biggest second round win came in the 1931-32 competition, when the club blasted Leyton Orient 4-0.
* City's worst second round losses came in back-to-back seasons, a 2-0 loss at Swindon in 1995-96 and a 2-0 loss at home vs. Gillingham in 1996-97. City haven't lost a second round match since, zipping past Hendon 3-1 at Ninian Park in 1997-98, Hednesford 3-1 at home in 1998-99, Bury 1-0 at home (in a replay following a 0-0 draw at Gigg
Lane) in 1999-2000, and Cheltenham 3-1 at Ninian Park in 2000-01.
* City have scored 44 goals in their 27 second round matches. City opponents have netted but 18. Only one club has scored as many as three goals against City in a second round match. That club? Weymouth!
Ancient History "Believe It or Not" Department:
* Would you believe that City didn't drop its first second round match until the 1982-83 season? It's true. That year, City lost 3-2 at home to Weymouth, a non-league side. The loss snapped a long unbeaten run in second round matches that began with a 1919-20 2-1 win over Wolverhampton and covered 14 matches (11 wins, 3 draws). (This already impressive run got stretched out over an even longer interval thanks to City's not having to enter until the third round between the 1938-39 and 1975-76 seasons.)
* Incredibly, a 1914 first-round loss to Bristol City was City's last setback in the first or second round until Bristol Rovers beat the Bluebirds in a 1932-33 second round replay. This nearly 20-year-long run covered 22 matches (14 wins, 8 draws). City won the first two of these 22 matches as a non-league side during the 1919-20 competition, then proceeded to go unbeaten in its first 20 as a league side! City was a top-division club during much of this period, of course, but then so were many of their first and second round opponents. Byes to the third round for top division clubs did not kick in until the 1925-26 competition.
City Batter Brentford, Soar to 5th
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
Entry 133
It's taken almost half the season, but Cardiff City have finally begun to live up to expectations. Tonight the Bluebirds whipped Brentford 3-1 before just over 10,000 at Ninian Park in what much of the post-match commentary described as their best effort of the campaign. The two-goal win lifts City above four clubs and into fifth place. Not bad for one night's work.
The goals were great. Peter Thorne scored first, at the 15-minute mark. Here is Nigel Harris's description, taken from his match report:
After piecing together 7 or 8 passes, Jason Bowen's cross was cut out and the ball was worked back to Scott Young on halfway. Most players were still on the right side from the initial move but Young looked up,
picked out Peter Thorne who made space on the left and switched play to find him with a spectacular 40 yard floated pass into the penalty area. Thorne had plenty of work to do but made it look so simple as he chested down and
stabbed the ball past Gottskalksson in his opposite corner. A truly superb move.
City made it 2-0 about 20 minutes later. Here's Nigel's account:
City doubled their lead with a truly outstanding goal that sent the whole crowd (except for the 122 Brentford fans) mental. Brilliant work firstly by Dean
Gordon who won the ball on halfway but that was bettered by Graham Kavanagh who had no right to win the ball on the touchline, spin and come away with it yet he did.
He then threaded a ball ahead to Earnie who turned, darted into the right side of the area, cut back to beat a player and unleashed the sort of shot you usually see on Virtual Striker or other football computer games which seem to rise and accelerate as it blazed across the area, you could almost see the flaming hot jet stream behind it, it gave Gottskalksson no chance as he dived in vain and smashed into the roof of the net on the far side of goal. Ninian went ballistic, Earnie's somersault in front of the Bob Bank and then using a large tv microphone for a pose made it even better. What a goal!
Brentford managed to cut the lead to 2-1 on a Paul Evans goal in the 68th minute, but the two-goal margin needed to boost City to fifth place was restored seven minutes later when Gabbidon's header made it 3-1.
A great win. It was so great that City could afford the luxury of a missed penalty shot (by Earnshaw) in the closing minutes. Other reports on this big step forward include writeups by Football Unlimited's Michael Gouge, ICWales's Ian Hunt, and Brentford's Official Site.
Fowler Departs, Others to Follow?
Monday, December 3, 2001
Entry 132
It's looking as though a number of Bluebirds may be departing Ninian Park in the near future. That's because City supremo Sam Hammam has let it be known recently that before he commits to a new spending spree, the club will have to sell off some players who have become surplus to requirements. A while back, Mike Morris cited
newspaper reports this weekend are suggesting a £3m transfer kitty is not allowed to be touched until we get rid of up to 5 players from the current sqaud. The money put in place by Sam Hammam to buy new full backs and a winger will only be released when some of the "dead wood" is cut away from Ninian Park.
Actually, the sale has already begun with Jason Fowler's leaving for Torquay (finally) on a free this past Friday, in time to play on Saturday for the Gulls. Mr. Morris reports that Scott McCulloch might be headed to a Scottish club and that Matt Brazier and Kevin Nugent could go to Colchester United. Other players listed on Sam's "gotta go" list include Kevin Evans, Andy Jordan, Kurt Nogan and Andy Thompson.
The Brazier-and-Nugent-to-Colchester transaction has been in the works for a while, with the two clubs having worked out a deal with only personal terms to be finalised. At least that's the word from Mike Morris's site.
At the moment City have a squad of 34 and there's really no space for new acquisitions until room is made for them. Sam knows that the squad is too big, that too many players are seeing too little action for what the club's paying them, and that City still have some holes to fill if they want to contend for another promotion. With all of this to deal with it's a wonder that so many players have hung around this long. Look for more players to follow Jason Fowler to the exit, though, especially as Alan Cork has begun turning up the heat on those turning down opportunities to move on.
Mixed Up About the World Cup
Sunday, December 2, 2001
Entry 131
I haven't decided yet whether I'm really up for World Cup 2002. I'm liking it that Senegal's made it to the big show as my good friend Babacar Camara is over the moon about his country's making it to the tournament. I'm O.K., too, with Costa Rica and Ecuador, but bummed out that the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, and of course Wales have missed out, etc. I'm even a bit sad about the Reggae Boyz missing out. I can't get too excited either about matches starting in the wee hours of the morning over here in the U.S.A. So, I've got some mixed feelings to go with the decidedly mixed reviews coming in about yesterday's draw for the World Cup 2002. Mixing my feelings with these reviews amounts to a big yawner for me. You might be a bit more excited, though.
If you're interested in the draw and the reaction to it, about the best place to go is to the coverage provided by Football Unlimited. Start with the draw itself, which leads off the site's special report section. Here you'll find plenty of links to a number of additional stories, many of them about England's "group of death" draw that puts them in with Argentina, Nigeria, and Sweden. If England survives that they'll have fearsome opposition in the knockout phase as well. Much of the English press is predictably aghast at so horrid a draw, but the more sober analyses suggest that the group might be good for England as expectations will be lowered and they'll be better able to concentrate on playing football. Or something like that.
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