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“ SEVEN GAMES WITHOUT A WIN FOR CARDIFF “


Cardiff City began 2023 in miserable fashion as a 1-0 defeat by Blackburn Rovers extended their winless run to seven matches.



By Glen Williams



The Bluebirds had not won on New Year's Day for 10 years and that statistic is going to stretch on until at least 2024 thanks to Bradley Dack's deflected second-half strike, which was enough to earn the hosts all three points.

It was a game which was affected severely by the horrific playing surface at Ewood Park, but even so, Cardiff showed no sign of troubling the Blackburn net, meaning they have now gone more than 260 minutes without scoring a goal.

Worrying times for Mark Hudson as the pressure mounts on his shoulders with the club sinking deeper into an extremely tricky situation.

The first game of the year almost started in truly horrendous fashion for Cedric Kipre, who completely miscued a backpass to allow Sam Gallagher through on goal. The big striker hit his shot first time, with Ryan Allsop back peddling towards his own goal, but the City stopper stuck out a leg to save Kipre's blushes.

There was no doubt that the hosts were the team who started the better of the two sides, with Jack Simpson forced into a couple of early defensive interventions, while Ben Brereton Diaz put the ball in the back of the net before being flagged for offside.

But conditions underfoot were horrendous after the sheer volume of rain which had fallen on Ewood Park in the days leading up to the game.

Cardiff did have their fair share of chances in the first half, though. The pick of them saw Mark Harris intercept an errant Rovers pass before sliding the ball into Gavin Whyte's path. The Northern Irishman took a touch and looked to pull the trigger, however Jake Garrett's magnificent sliding tackle quelled the opportunity.

The other big chance of the half for the grey-shirted visitors came after the half-hour mark when Joe Ralls slid a neat pass into Callum Robinson, who lashed a low, left-footed shot towards goal which was saved. If he had squared it to Mark Harris, it would likely have been an easy tap-in.

It was just after the restart when City slipped, though. Another long ball forward, something which had been a key feature for the hosts in the first half, found Brereton Diaz and he laid it into Dack's path. The Rovers man hit it sweetly from 20 yards and it bounced off Simpson's arm before trickling into the bottom corner, with Allsop having been wrong-footed.

It prompted wholesale changes for Cardiff, who threw on Rubin Colwill, Sheyi Ojo and Andy Rinomhota in one go before the hour mark in a desperate attempt to spark their attack into life. Isaak Davies was introduced shortly after, too, replacing Callum Robinson, who vented his fury by questioning the decision and walking straight down the tunnel.

Despite the changes in personnel, not much changed on the pitch. If anything, Cardiff looked less threatening as Rovers threw bodies behind the ball and the substitutions failed to make any sort of meaningful impact.

Where do City go from here? And how much patience will Vincent Tan have? All questions which are very much coming to a head at the minute.

Blackburn Rovers XI: Kaminski; Rankin-Costello (S. Wharton 54), Hyam, Ayala, Pickering (Edun 78); Morton (A. Wharton 88), Garrett (Travis 78); Hedges, Dack, Brereton-Diaz; Gallagher.

Subs: Pears, Markanday, Vale.

Cardiff City XI: Allsop; Sang, Ng, Kipre, Simpson (Rinomhota 58), O'Dowda; Winte, Ralls (Colwill 58); Whyte (Ojo 58), Robinson (Davies 67), Harris (Philogene 78).

Subs: Luthra, Nelson.

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Blackburn Rovers earned just a second win from six games to revive their promotion hopes as Bradley Dack's deflected goal saw off Cardiff City.

A sticky Ewood Park pitch made for tough viewing in a goalless first half.


BBC



Three minutes after the break, Dack's shot diverted off Jack Simpson to wrong-foot Cardiff keeper Ryan Allsop.

The visitors had chances of their own but the Championship's lowest scorers were ultimately blunt in attack once again and remain 20th in the table.

The Bluebirds have now gone seven games without a win and could see their three-point lead over the bottom three reduced or cut completely when the teams below them play later on Sunday.

As for Blackburn, victory closes the gap between them and the two automatic promotion spots above them to eight points, though second-placed Sheffield United could restore their advantage when they visit Queens Park Rangers on Monday night.

This was a welcome result for Jon Dahl Tomasson's men, who had held on to third spot despite losing four of their previous five matches in the Championship.

As if embodying the innate volatility of this league, Rovers are still the only team in England's top five divisions not to have drawn this season.



While their 14 wins are bettered only by leaders Burnley and Sheffield United, only Huddersfield and Wigan in the bottom three have lost more games than Blackburn's 12.

That could hardly have been in starker contrast to Cardiff, who had drawn four matches in succession as part of a winless run stretching back to 5 November.

A lack of goals has been their most glaring weakness, with a meagre total of 20 from 26 games making them the Championship's lowest scorers.

Cardiff looked like a team short on attacking quality and confidence here, frequently failing to turn promising positions into genuine scoring opportunities.

After inviting passes from Ryan Wintle and Callum O'Dowda went unrewarded, a swift counter-attack which ought to have led to a goal ultimately came to nothing as Gavin Whyte was thwarted by an excellent covering tackle from Blackburn's Jake Garrett.

Whyte was not helped by the run of the ball on a troublesome pitch at Ewood Park; muddy, cutting up in places and a hindrance to both sides' attempts to play with any sort of fluency.

Blackburn could only muster a handful of long-range efforts in a first half of few openings, with the best of a limited bunch falling to Cardiff's Callum Robinson, whose low shot was saved by Thomas Kaminski.

Rovers' first shot on target inside the Cardiff penalty area came three minutes into the second half and, with a considerable dose of fortune, it yielded the game's only goal.

Dack struck powerfully from Ben Brereton Diaz's pass and the ball hit Simpson before dribbling into the net. It was a messy goal befitting a disjointed encounter.

Buoyed by taking the lead, the home side had a couple of other sights on goal as Brereton Diaz drew saves from Allsop twice in quick succession.

But with Cardiff offering so little in attack, Blackburn did not need to overexert themselves in the closing stages as they held on for a valuable three points.

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