FT: CARDIFF CITY 0 - 3 PORTSMOUTH. Match thread

[Des Parrot]

Fair enough. I don’t care about this Cup. Far more bothered about winning on Saturday than tonight.

I’m sure we’d all give the same answer, it’s just that it’s a carbon copy virtually every year and it’s fffing frustrating that the club & players pass over these opportunities for game time & potential income.

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

I’m sure we’d all give the same answer, it’s just that it’s a carbon copy virtually every year and it’s fffing frustrating that the club & players pass over these opportunities for game time & potential income.

It's extremely frustrating to bow out of the cup so early . 😒

[Pearcey3]

I’m sure we’d all give the same answer, it’s just that it’s a carbon copy virtually every year and it’s fffing frustrating that the club & players pass over these opportunities for game time & potential income.

Same with Reading too but both our sides played much changed sides tonight. Probably happen again next season.

[jon1959]

Cardiff manager Steve Morison: "I'm at a loss at the minute. Such poor goals, just clear the ball, just defend properly.

"You've been given an opportunity to try and get yourself selected for Saturday [against Birmingham in the Championship] and no-one chose to do it.

"It's tough to take a positive out of tonight."


https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62387893

(The match stats are missing most of the first half action)

[Cardiff Ultra]

Just got back, some observations

We played well in the first half, put together some good passes, had a goal disallowed for offside. Philogene was excellent, Whyte not too bad either. Tanner hardly got the ball which was a bit disappointing.

Second half was garbage, let in a really soft goal, then Nelson gave away a penalty although in fairness it looked very soft from where we were. Thought Denham and Nelson were both poor, Campbell was OK but got sent off for a shocking tackle at the end. Alnwick did well in goal in fairness. Colwill looked really bright when we came on and Harris was a million times better down the left in the second than up front in the first.

In general there was a lot of passing around on the edge of the box and smashing shots into Pompey defenders. For all out good approach play we really struggled to get decent chances.

[RichardM]

I was listening to the club commentary - which is fairly critical and seems to be much less one-eyed and rose-tinted than many - and following a few match blogs.

If the club commentary was a fair reflection of the match we dominated the first half without being too threatening (lots of shots but few big chances) with Philogene and Campbell the main positives. The second half only had one positive - Rubin Colwill back in action. No way to dress that up as anything but poor and embarrassing - even if Portsmouth were very good defensively and took all the gifts on offer at the other end.

We need to be patient and accept there will be some bad days, but the pressure is really on Morison and his coaching team now to turn this brand new squad (15 signings likely to become at least 17) into a winning Championship team. Toothless up front, leaky at the back, prone to bad yellow/red card errors and with loads of potential that hasn't been realised so far.

Championship carnage tonight!

I was there, that's a fair summary

[The Lone Gunman]

Just got back, some observations. We played well in the first half, put together some good passes, had a goal disallowed for offside. Philogene was excellent, Whyte not too bad either. Tanner hardly got the ball which was a bit disappointing.

I've also just got back. Some observations:

Philogene produced a few moments of quality and he's clearly a talented lad, but people are definitely going to find him frustrating if he carries on playing like he did tonight. He wants to do six step-overs and beat his man three times before getting a cross or a shot away. Morison will need to a grip of him, and quickly.

Whyte played pretty well. I thought he was City's best player before he was hooked on 52 minutes. He's clearly not going to get a break here, so he needs to move on a bit sharpish.

I'm afraid to say Tanner didn't look very good.

Ralls was very wasteful in possession this evening. He gave the ball away cheaply by playing passes to the opposition without looking at what was ahead of him on several occasions. He didn't have a good game.

Based on this evening's evidence, Bagan has gone backwards, which is disappointing.

Although City had the lion's share of possession during the first half, scoring opportunities were at a premium. Whenever the team did get into a promising position, hesitancy in and around the penalty area gave Pompey's defenders time to block shots and crosses.

Some of the defending during the second half was awful. Three goals could easily have been four or five. It might have been some sort of optical illusion, but to me Alnwick looked the smallest keeper City have had in some time. He did OK, but the defence in front of him was wretched at times.

I don't think there was any kind of positive that the manager could take from the game this evening. It was grim.

[Bluebirdman Of Alcathays]

It was trundling along in a mediocre fashion before the first goal and even that one was scuffed in. Nelson seems to be the scapegoat but our passing throughout the team was often loose, even in the first half. Tanner looks diffident, Philogene tricky and it wasn't too much of a surprise Vontae was sent off because despite a couple of nice runs he was prone to mishaps.

An inexperienced team which didn't seem to be too sure what to do at times and needed leadership and guile. Hopefully a good learning experience.

[Don Corleone]

Same with Reading too but both our sides played much changed sides tonight. Probably happen again next season.

I believe Portsmouth also made 6 changes tonight, which doesn’t help when considering the result

[Don Corleone]

Portsmouth manager Danny Crowley “ tonight was a step in the right direction and we understand we're a work in progress."

I’m sure Steve Morison keeps saying we’re a work in progress too, isn’t every team in the league a work in progress?

[Bluebirdman Of Alcathays]

One other thing: Pompey fans sang from first to last and made a lot of noise but all possibly to drown out that bleedin' bell.

[Citizen's Nephew]

I've also just got back. Some observations:

Philogene produced a few moments of quality and he's clearly a talented lad, but people are definitely going to find him frustrating if he carries on playing like he did tonight. He wants to do six step-overs and beat his man three times before getting a cross or a shot away. Morison will need to a grip of him, and quickly.

Whyte played pretty well. I thought he was City's best player before he was hooked on 52 minutes. He's clearly not going to get a break here, so he needs to move on a bit sharpish.

I'm afraid to say Tanner didn't look very good.

Ralls was very wasteful in possession this evening. He gave the ball away cheaply by playing passes to the opposition without looking at what was ahead of him on several occasions. He didn't have a good game.

Based on this evening's evidence, Bagan has gone backwards, which is disappointing.

Although City had the lion's share of possession during the first half, scoring opportunities were at a premium. Whenever the team did get into a promising position, hesitancy in and around the penalty area gave Pompey's defenders time to block shots and crosses.

Some of the defending during the second half was awful. Three goals could easily have been four or five. It might have been some sort of optical illusion, but to me Alnwick looked the smallest keeper City have had in some time. He did OK, but the defence in front of him was wretched at times.

I don't think there was any kind of positive that the manager could take from the game this evening. It was grim.

It was. Tanner was bad. Denham was bad (not sure how anyone could say Nelson was worse) Began was bad (yes he looks a shadow of the player who finished last season). Ralls was bad.

We had two players out there tonight who are hoping to be selected for the World Cup. I hope Page wasn't watching.

....and that f*cking bell. I can still hear it.

[Canton Kev]

One other thing: Pompey fans sang from first to last and made a lot of noise but all possibly to drown out that bleedin' bell.

It annoyed me from 100m away. Imagine being stood next to the bell (end)

[Carl Dale's Mole]

Thanks for the recaps in this thread! Much appreciated.

I was listening to it in bed and the club commentators were as disappointed as I was but a lot of the time they weren't even saying who's on the ball, going off on tangents way too often. God knows how people listen to a football game.

I do wonder what the full backs are told by Morison before these games. Collins was running the entire line against Norwich. Stayed back for most of Reading.

Bagan is quality going forward. Sounds like he didn't do much of that in this game.

Is this by design? Is it Morison and he's overthinking things? Am I overthinking things?

And that ****ing bell.

[The Lone Gunman]

Bagan is quality going forward. Sounds like he didn't do much of that in this game.

He got forward a fair bit, but he looked hesitant when he did. He didn't look as confident as he did during the second half of last season.

[splott parker]

Tanner was a huge disappointment, you could see why he hasn’t been involved in the league. His one contribution was a hit and hope hack which turned into a decent ball to Philogene, not the type of play we’ve been led to believe he’s capable of. The whole shebang could be criticised left, right & centre, don’t think anyone else needs singling out.

[John Buchanan]

Thanks for the recaps in this thread! Much appreciated.

I was listening to it in bed and the club commentators were as disappointed as I was but a lot of the time they weren't even saying who's on the ball, going off on tangents way too often. God knows how people listen to a football game.

I do wonder what the full backs are told by Morison before these games. Collins was running the entire line against Norwich. Stayed back for most of Reading.

Bagan is quality going forward. Sounds like he didn't do much of that in this game.

Is this by design? Is it Morison and he's overthinking things? Am I overthinking things?

And that ****ing bell.

A much welcomed opportunity to digress away from the dire performance: football commentators, whatever happened to them? Back in the day, there was a famous Welsh commentator who covered all the big games on the radio, his name eludes me. You could close your eyes while listening and it was as if you were there; every kick, every pass, every name, every small-on-the-pitch thing, nothing was missed. Now you haven't got a clue what is going on.

[olderblue]

Tanner, Campbell and King, could do with being loaned out, so they get use to playing on a regular basis and improve.
Bagan and Ralls were way off the pace
Harris is an impact player at best
Whyte will probably be off to Oxford
Nelson to Cardiff Blues, he really is that bad
I wish the club had just said, look it's free entry and bring your boots because we really can't be arsed.

[John Buchanan]

A much welcomed opportunity to digress away from the dire performance: football commentators, whatever happened to them? Back in the day, there was a famous Welsh commentator who covered all the big games on the radio, his name eludes me. You could close your eyes while listening and it was as if you were there; every kick, every pass, every name, every small-on-the-pitch thing, nothing was missed. Now you haven't got a clue what is going on.

Coffee has kicked in. Peter Jones.

[Citizen's Nephew]

Coffee has kicked in. Peter Jones.

🤙 There’s a lovely description of him on Wikipedia. Very sad about the impact Hillsborough had on him. I liked the description of him painting word pictures.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete..._(broadcaster)

[John Buchanan]

🤙 There’s a lovely description of him on Wikipedia. Very sad about the impact Hillsborough had on him. I liked the description of him painting word pictures.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete..._(broadcaster)

Thank you Citizen, indeed a lovely description and tribute. There should be a "Peter Jones School of Commentary" that all aspiring to this job should attend. It might make them think twice before rambling on about what their Auntie Gwen had for breakfast that day.

[Maurice Swan]

Nothing I can add to the comments......nice to see Zimba and James Waite scoring for County last night.......

[Canton Kev]

Anyone know the attendance? Wasn’t announced over the tannoy.

[goats]

We never do well in this do we? Looks the same for most championship clubs now as many lost with 2nd teams last night. Even the years we went up we still lost in r1 or 2 I believe. I always remember us taking the pi$$ out of the jacks years ago losing to league 2 Shrewsbury, they went on to get promoted to the PL that season and stayed there for a few seasons…..win Saturday and no one will even remember it.

[Maurice Swan]

Found brief "highlights" here: https://www.flashscore.com/match/b7h...#/video/578419