Cardiff City succumbed to their fourth defeat in five matches as a second-half header from Iliman Ndiaye was enough to earn Sheffield United a narrow 1-0 victory at Bramall Lane.
By Glen Willians
Saturday 23rd April 2022
There was precious little to separate the sides before the break, but one killer moment and a bullet header from the Blades frontman just seconds after the restart was enough to strengthen the hosts' push for a play-off spot.
Cardiff, meanwhile, find themselves in a bit of a rut. While next season is clearly at the forefront of their mind, the season is threatening to end in a whimper, rather than a bang.
There was a nervous atmosphere buzzing around Bramall Lane and it manifested in a frenetic start to the match. All things considered, it could have been two-all after 20 minutes and probably should have been, given quality of the chances which were spurned from both sides.
The first big opportunity was borne of a blistering Cardiff counter. Oliver Denham stepped confidently out of defence to intercept a pass before fizzing the ball into Jordan Hugill's feet on halfway. Hugill hit a crisp first-time pass to Max Watters, who then glided up the pitch with the ball at his feet, beating his man to get a clean shot at goal, but his finish was poor as he side-footed it straight at Wes Foderingham.
Minutes later, Watters was at the centre of another big, but ultimately failed, chance. Foderingham's awful pass went straight to City's striker and he, presumably shorn of confidence after that earlier miss, opted to square it to Cody Drameh on the edge of the box. The Cardiff man just couldn't get the ball under his spell to unleash a shot and another agonising chance went begging.
At the other end, well, Dillon Phillips was made to earn his keep, too. Ben Osborn's rasping drive on the half-volley appeared to be careering into the bottom corner before the goalkeeper sprung to his left to keep it at bay.
Morgan Gibbs-White shortly after lobbed a deft pass over the top for Sander Berge, who controlled it and poked it almost in one motion, but Phillips once again did well, rushing out to close down the angle and smother the shot. You could hardly take a breath.
The Blades then settled and looked more confident as the half wore on. Cardiff became hampered after Cody Drameh injured his ankle when he was challenged while attempting to drill in a low cross. The Leeds United loanee limped on until half-time but he, and Joe Ralls, had to be hauled off at the break.
To make matters worse, the Blades struck almost immediately after the restart. It was so clinical, too.
Morgan Gibbs-White found himself with some space down the right and he sent in a wicked cross, which was incredibly inviting for Ndiaye. The forward's bursting run was timed perfect and he sent an excellent header flying past the helpless Phillips to hand the hosts the lead.
The game then ebbed a little and neither team did themselves any favours. There was precious little spark to ignite the ending to the match and Cardiff, in truth, looked laboured in their attack.
They were limited to a Rubin Colwill effort from range which fizzed over the bar and that was pretty much it, which emboldened the hosts in the closing stages.
It's been a similar story over the last few weeks and while, in the grander scheme of things, it isn't the end of the world, there is pride at stake. With three games remaining, they will surely want to give the City fans at least something to cheer about before the season's end.
Sheffield United XI: Foderingham; Basham, Egan, Robinson; Osborn, Berge, Norwood, Fleck, Stevens; Gibbs-White, Ndiaye (Sharp 70).
Subs: A Davies, B Davies, Uremovic, Norrington-Davies, Hourihane, Osula.
Cardiff City XI: Phillips; Drameh (McGuinness 45), Ng, Nelson, Denham, Bagan; Wintle, Ralls (Vaulks 45), Doyle; Watters (Colwill 66), Hugill.
Subs: Luthra, Flint, Ikpeazu, Harris.
Attendance: 26,802
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