" Match Report Bristol City v Cardiff City 1/1/11 "

My day started leaving Derby at 7 in the morning for what must have been the quiet trip I have done all season. I arrive in Cardiff at 10 AM for a full English breakfast at Premier One café and very nice it was. So after breakfast it was down to the Nantgarw roundabout to await our luxury coach service to Bristol. That being Dibs tour and it is anything but luxury. On the coach I found a seat next to a big black plastic bin. Must be for the empty cans I thought but how wrong I was. The expression on the young lads face as I discovered the purpose of its use was one of surprise. Well excuse me young lad whoever you ever as I watched him use all four fingers but ended up pissing on three of them.

Like most bubble trips we got to the ground via the usual meeting point of the police. Over 1,600 fans had to make their way there via these means and the mood was optimistic amongst everyone considering that the last performance was still fresh in everyones minds. I mean it could not be worse as that could it?

The starting lineup saw a return of Heaton in goal. In defence Riggot made a return partnering Hudson with MacNaughton covering the right and surprisingly Naylor the left. In midfield Oli and McPhail made up the centre with Whittingham on the right and Bellamy on the left. Keogh and Chopra made up the attack force.

The game started with the Wurzels going straight on the attack. They attacked the end where the away fans were allocated and from a cross from the left wing, too easily allowed to be made, a Wurzel head made contact but was too weak to trouble Heaton who saved comfortable. No one saw this at first but the easy of the cross was a sign of how easy our defence was going to make it for the home side.

Before Cardiff could settle into the game they came under attack down the Naylor side. A sliced kick by Riggot caught Naylor out leaving the Wurzel striker John Stead plenty of room on the right wing to send in a low cross. The Cardiff defence stopped playing as they shouted for offside hence why Stead was left with plenty of time. Play to the whistle, schoolboy stuff. Anyway the cross evaded what Cardiff defence there was and sped its way across the area to be met by an advancing Wurzel who had the easiest of chances to score after only three minutes.

Soon after the restart Riggott picked up an injury and had to be substituted. He took of his shirt in frustration as he was replaced by Blake. It was not a good start to the game.

Cardiff struggled to get going after the early set backs. The defence struggled with the confident Bristol attach and relied on Heaton to make a double point blank save to stop going further behind. Another lapse of concentration on the Naylor wing caused the problem and only Heaton quick thinking kept the score down to 1-0.

Cardiff started to get back into the game after this near miss with the first real chance coming from Whittinghams who effort was thumbled by the Robins goalkeeper David James.

Cardiff then started to move the ball around the Bristol half in the hope of opening up the home side defence. From a Whittingham cross just outside the penalty area found Hudson all alone with the goal at his mercy. Unfortunately his half volley went over the bar when it looked easier to put it in the net.

Cardiff carried on pressing for the equalisier and came the closest with a Chopra effort that came back of the post. A slip on the half way line by a Wurzel defender was quickly taken advantage of by Whittingham who set Chopra free. Chopra powerful low shot had James beaten but to the frustration of the away fans came back of the post. There was hope that an equalisier was coming but that soon disappeared with the next attack.

As Bristol scrambled to clear their lines the ball was sent up the Naylor side who like the first goal was caught wanting. John Stead once again was left plenty of time to send another low cross across the Cardiff penalty area with the same result, evading the Cardiff defence for an easy tap in by a Bristol forward. This all happened in the 39th minutes and it basically finish Cardiff off.

The referee blew for half time with the score Bristol City 2 Cardiff City 0.

The second half belonged to the Wurzels. Simple as that. Within 10 minutes they had extended their lead. Basically they won everything in midfield and attacked the Cardiff defence down the middle. As Cardiff tried to create an attack from the midfield the Bristol defence broke it down and were left with plenty of space down the Cardiff middle to attack. One such attack resulting in the 3rd goal from an advancing Wurzel striker who coolly from outside the area curled a low shot pass the outstretched Heaton.

This became the norm for the rest of the half. As Cardiff tried to attack they were easily stopped and where left with a counter attack to deal with from the home side. One such attacked forced an excellent save from Heaton while another saw a powerful shot go over the Cardiff bar.

Cardiff brought on Burke to salvage something from the game but it all came to nothing. Burke did manage to get a couple of crosses in but they were easily cleared by the Bristol defence. Perhaps its worth describing one such attack where Bellamy found himself clear with only James to beat. Instead of placing his effort pass or shooting like he can such as the goal for Man City against Man Utd last season, he chose to pull the ball back. Needless to say the chance was wasted.

For the last 30 minutes of the second half the away fans were like dormice. Usually when our team is getting hammered we can still sing and keep on supporting the team. However today that was exhausted. This was a worse performance than the Watford game and it had its toll on the usual vocal away Cardiff support. The referee blew for full time to the relief of this support.

Summing up: All I am going to say is the patience of the supporters has snapped. So many who know that I do this report want me to say they want Jones out. I want to make this clear as most know my feeling about DJ but this is a request from a lot of fans that went today. All I can say is that something serious need to be done.

My day started leaving Derby at 7 in the morning for what must have been the quiet trip I have done all season. I arrive in Cardiff at 10 AM for a full English breakfast at Premier One café and very nice it was. So after breakfast it was down to the Nantgarw roundabout to await our luxury coach service to Bristol. That being Dibs tour and it is anything but luxury. On the coach I found a seat next to a big black plastic bin. Must be for the empty cans I thought but how wrong I was. The expression on the young lads face as I discovered the purpose of its use was one of surprise. Well excuse me young lad whoever you ever as I watched him use all four fingers but ended up pissing on three of them.

Like most bubble trips we got to the ground via the usual meeting point of the police. Over 1,600 fans had to make their way there via these means and the mood was optimistic amongst everyone considering that the last performance was still fresh in everyones minds. I mean it could not be worse as that could it?

The starting lineup saw a return of Heaton in goal. In defence Riggot made a return partnering Hudson with MacNaughton covering the right and surprisingly Naylor the left. In midfield Oli and McPhail made up the centre with Whittingham on the right and Bellamy on the left. Keogh and Chopra made up the attack force.

The game started with the Wurzels going straight on the attack. They attacked the end where the away fans were allocated and from a cross from the left wing, too easily allowed to be made, a Wurzel head made contact but was too weak to trouble Heaton who saved comfortable. No one saw this at first but the easy of the cross was a sign of how easy our defence was going to make it for the home side.

Before Cardiff could settle into the game they came under attack down the Naylor side. A sliced kick by Riggot caught Naylor out leaving the Wurzel striker John Stead plenty of room on the right wing to send in a low cross. The Cardiff defence stopped playing as they shouted for offside hence why Stead was left with plenty of time. Play to the whistle, schoolboy stuff. Anyway the cross evaded what Cardiff defence there was and sped its way across the area to be met by an advancing Wurzel who had the easiest of chances to score after only three minutes.

Soon after the restart Riggott picked up an injury and had to be substituted. He took of his shirt in frustration as he was replaced by Blake. It was not a good start to the game.

Cardiff struggled to get going after the early set backs. The defence struggled with the confident Bristol attach and relied on Heaton to make a double point blank save to stop going further behind. Another lapse of concentration on the Naylor wing caused the problem and only Heaton quick thinking kept the score down to 1-0.

Cardiff started to get back into the game after this near miss with the first real chance coming from Whittinghams who effort was thumbled by the Robins goalkeeper David James.

Cardiff then started to move the ball around the Bristol half in the hope of opening up the home side defence. From a Whittingham cross just outside the penalty area found Hudson all alone with the goal at his mercy. Unfortunately his half volley went over the bar when it looked easier to put it in the net.

Cardiff carried on pressing for the equalisier and came the closest with a Chopra effort that came back of the post. A slip on the half way line by a Wurzel defender was quickly taken advantage of by Whittingham who set Chopra free. Chopra powerful low shot had James beaten but to the frustration of the away fans came back of the post. There was hope that an equalisier was coming but that soon disappeared with the next attack.

As Bristol scrambled to clear their lines the ball was sent up the Naylor side who like the first goal was caught wanting. John Stead once again was left plenty of time to send another low cross across the Cardiff penalty area with the same result, evading the Cardiff defence for an easy tap in by a Bristol forward. This all happened in the 39th minutes and it basically finish Cardiff off.

The referee blew for half time with the score Bristol City 2 Cardiff City 0.

The second half belonged to the Wurzels. Simple as that. Within 10 minutes they had extended their lead. Basically they won everything in midfield and attacked the Cardiff defence down the middle. As Cardiff tried to create an attack from the midfield the Bristol defence broke it down and were left with plenty of space down the Cardiff middle to attack. One such attack resulting in the 3rd goal from an advancing Wurzel striker who coolly from outside the area curled a low shot pass the outstretched Heaton.

This became the norm for the rest of the half. As Cardiff tried to attack they were easily stopped and where left with a counter attack to deal with from the home side. One such attacked forced an excellent save from Heaton while another saw a powerful shot go over the Cardiff bar.

Cardiff brought on Burke to salvage something from the game but it all came to nothing. Burke did manage to get a couple of crosses in but they were easily cleared by the Bristol defence. Perhaps its worth describing one such attack where Bellamy found himself clear with only James to beat. Instead of placing his effort pass or shooting like he can such as the goal for Man City against Man Utd last season, he chose to pull the ball back. Needless to say the chance was wasted.

For the last 30 minutes of the second half the away fans were like dormice. Usually when our team is getting hammered we can still sing and keep on supporting the team. However today that was exhausted. This was a worse performance than the Watford game and it had its toll on the usual vocal away Cardiff support. The referee blew for full time to the relief of this support.

Summing up: All I am going to say is the patience of the supporters has snapped. So many who know that I do this report want me to say they want Jones out. I want to make this clear as most know my feeling about DJ but this is a request from a lot of fans that went today. All I can say is that something serious need to be done.

great report mate. correct something needs to be done badly

Cheers Ian, as Usual Great match Report , BUT DJ has to GO NOW.

thanx for that, not a good read though

great read thanks for that

Cheers Ian , Gutted though

Good read and pretty accurate assessment. and FYI I am the said mentioned young lad who pissed on his fingers. Haha Didn't realise you were the bloke who wrote these reports.

every time I see darcy blake in defence I feel nervous.

Thanks Ian

Great well written and objective report as usual. I wasn't at game but seems the drivel we saw at Watford has continued unabated. Shocking management IMHO. We need a change otherwise we are doomed to mid table obscurity at best

Happy New Year

once again an unbiased and accurate report ian

full English breakfast at Premier One café

your welcome mate, anytime

great read and depressing all in one

It was a truly horrible game. There was no passion on Saturday. I know a lot of people may have said this but Lee Naylor was just terrible.

We need to turn this around, fast.

Cheers Ian, Look forward to Tonights Leeds Utd Match Report