After their first ever match match against Burton Albion in the Rumbelows Cup first round on Wednesday night, it was back to normality today as the Bluebirds travelled to Derby County for their first away game of the season.
If Burton Albion were encountering unchartered territory midweek it was the complete opposite today, with Cardiff being anything but strangers to Pride Park. We were last there as recent as May, when the Rams defeated a much weakened Cardiff side 2-0 on the final day of the 2010/11 season. With 4th place virtually guaranteed Cardiff had rested the majority of the first team squad for the impending play offs and were easily defeated, the match though will probably be remembered most as the game that Josh Magennis got confused (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0GGnd1ufss). Bless him.
If Burton Albion were encountering unchartered territory midweek it was the complete opposite today, with Cardiff being anything but strangers to Pride Park. We were last there as recent as May, when the Rams defeated a much weakened Cardiff side 2-0 on the final day of the 2010/11 season. With 4th place virtually guaranteed Cardiff had rested the majority of the first team squad for the impending play offs and were easily defeated, the match though will probably be remembered most as the game that Josh Magennis got confused (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0GGnd1ufss). Bless him.
This was, however, the first time I had visited Derby. It's always nice to go to a ground you haven't been to before, different surroundings and atmosphere, and of course there are no bad memories to recall. The journey itself took just over two and a half hours and apart from a slight traffic jam, was smooth enough. Albums from Elbow and Ash - chosen by Jon, driving this week - helped eased boredom, along with naming people in work I would gun down given the opportunity (all purely hypothetical). The 3rd bluebird in the car today, Rob, sat in the back with a bag of salmon sandwiches, a far cry from the bottle of Jack Daniels he took to the trip to Leicester in the play offs last season.
The stadium itself is very impressive from both the outside and inside, with a capacity of over 33,500 and although it wasn't anywhere near full today it is an arena for the city to be proud of. The pitch looked immaculate, as you would expect this time of the year.
Before the game a minutes silence was observed by all inside the ground in memory of ex Exeter striker Adam Stansfield, who tragically passed away last week, a much used cliché I know, but the death of such a young man really does put things into perspective. Last week was a sad one for football as it also saw the passing away of Cardiff legend Brian Clark and Southampton chairman Markus Liebherr.
The game started slowly with neither side getting a stranglehold on the game, City's latest loan signing Seyi Olofinjana showed some neat touches and Chopra looked lively up front, meanwhile, Derby captain and ex Welsh international Robbie Savage was predictably being booed with every touch by the City fans. Savage seems to be hated everywhere he goes these days, but to be fair, he does bring it on himself. The pony tailed one was soon in the thick of the action, exchanging slide tackles with Chopra, which gave the game a bit if bit and got the crowd involved.
The deadlock was broken after 15 minutes when the excellent Burke made a surging run into the opposition half, before passing the ball to Chopra, who took the ball past two Derby defenders and slotted home neatly with his right shot from 10 yards for his 2nd goal of the season.
For the second time of the week Cardiff were unable to keep hold of a lead and although holding it for longer than Wednesday night, slack defending allowed Cywka to equalise on the 25th minute. Both Blake and Hudson blamed each other, but the truth is the defence just aren't working as a unit at the moment, there is a worrying lack of communication with needs to be sorted out as soon as possible.
After 38 minutes, having suffered a clash of heads a few minutes earlier, Kevin McNaughton was again involved in a collision, although this time it looked a lot more serious. It's never a good sign to see players hurrying on the physio and although not as serious as it first looked (Kev was able to travel home with the team laster that evening) after 10 minutes he was stretchered off to a good round of applause by both set of fans.
The second half saw Cardiff dominate and they looked the more likely side to score again. Drinkwater and Seyi shone and controlled the game, it's a long time since Cardiff have been able to say that about a central midfield partnership, but these two were a delight to watch and seemed to click straight away. They were cheered on well by the travelling support, down on recent opening away fixtures, but vocal nonetheless. '(Oo ah) barmy army' seldom seemed to ease, with the 'oo ah' bit aimed directly into my left ear, which started ringing on the hour mark, thanks for that.
Cardiff took a well deserved lead in the 75th minute A low left footed drive by Whittingham resulted in a mix up between ex Bluebird reserve goalkeeper Bywater and ex Welsh International Gareth Roberts, the ball somehow fell to Burke who tapped in from 6 yards
The Rams pressed for an equaliser but Cardiff held firm, something they weren't always able to do last season. Marshall saved and Drinkwater blocked and the final whistle was finally blown. Cardiff had won their first league game of the season and do you know what, we looked good.
After 38 minutes, having suffered a clash of heads a few minutes earlier, Kevin McNaughton was again involved in a collision, although this time it looked a lot more serious. It's never a good sign to see players hurrying on the physio and although not as serious as it first looked (Kev was able to travel home with the team laster that evening) after 10 minutes he was stretchered off to a good round of applause by both set of fans.
The second half saw Cardiff dominate and they looked the more likely side to score again. Drinkwater and Seyi shone and controlled the game, it's a long time since Cardiff have been able to say that about a central midfield partnership, but these two were a delight to watch and seemed to click straight away. They were cheered on well by the travelling support, down on recent opening away fixtures, but vocal nonetheless. '(Oo ah) barmy army' seldom seemed to ease, with the 'oo ah' bit aimed directly into my left ear, which started ringing on the hour mark, thanks for that.
Cardiff took a well deserved lead in the 75th minute A low left footed drive by Whittingham resulted in a mix up between ex Bluebird reserve goalkeeper Bywater and ex Welsh International Gareth Roberts, the ball somehow fell to Burke who tapped in from 6 yards
The Rams pressed for an equaliser but Cardiff held firm, something they weren't always able to do last season. Marshall saved and Drinkwater blocked and the final whistle was finally blown. Cardiff had won their first league game of the season and do you know what, we looked good.
Result - Derby County 1 Cardiff City 2
Scorers - City: Chopra (15), Burke (78) Derby: Cywka (25)Attendance - 25,103
My man of the match - To be honest there were a number of city players who were in with a shout with todays MOTM. Burke was a constant threat, setting up one and scoring the winner, up until his injury Kev was having a stormer, Chopra worked tirelessly and Drinkwater had his best game in a City shirt. Like I say any number of player could have won the accolade but I'm going to give it to debutant Seyi, who had as good a Cardiff debut as I can remember and I know he is a keen reader of this blog. If he stays fit he is sure to be a key part to our promotion aspirations and will no doubt become a fan favourite.
Villain of the day - No-one is really deserving of this today for either team, it was a keenly fought contest and generally played in good spirit, but I'm going to give it to Robbie Savage, just because, well, it's Robbie Savage, fair enough isn't it?
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