In what was an emotional game for all concerned, but Cardiff City claimed an impressive home win against Bournemouth in 2-0 victory at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Cardiff’s record signing Emiliano Sala’s aircraft disappeared over the Channel Islands about a fortnight ago, and there have been no traces of the player since. This was the first home game since the tragedy, and the atmosphere made it evident in Wales. The fans, players, and manager alike were emotional on the day but this only made them stronger on the pitch, as they defeated high-flying Bournemouth.
Bobby Red’ who turned 26 on the day, scored both the goals for Neil Warnock’s side. The first was an early penalty, which set the mood for the game. Reid doubled Cardiff’s advantage in the second half and the home side determinedly held on for the win. It was an emotional night for all associated with Cardiff City, and the three points gained gave the game a different and welcome dimension.
A host of tributes paid for Emiliano Sala
The terrible tragedy regarding Sala has shaken the club, and it is something which has brought the footballing world closer together. Before kick-off in Cardiff, advertising boards around the stadium had the words “For Emiliano” and “For David”. David Ibbotson was the pilot of Sala’s flight who also went missing.
A mosaic in the colours of Argentina, Sala’s home nation, was displayed by fans during the minute of silence observed before kickoff. The players and the manager were visibly emotional during said minute before the game. The official match programme carried Sala’s face on the cover, and it said, “Emiliano is not with us this afternoon but we are praying for him and David.”
The fans were no stranger to the tributes either. One banner in the stands read: “We never saw you play and never saw you score but Emiliano, our beautiful Bluebird, we will love you forever more.” Cardiff fans chanted “sing a song for Sala” in the closing stages of the match when victory seemed in their grasp
Reid steps up to the plate to give a vital win
Callum Paterson was deployed in a wide right position by Warnock, which meant that Bobby Reid and Oumar Niasse had to shoulder the major attacking responsibility. Birthday boy Reid starred, scoring both the goals to lead Cardiff to victory. The first one was a penalty which he dispatched coolly.
Bournemouth were hoping that the second half would start on a different note, but Reid struck again, this time even early. He alertly ran on to the loose ball, before rounding off Artur Boruc and slotting into an empty net. Reid was starved of the ball for most parts of the game, but he made those times count.
Niasse served as a great second fiddle to Reid, and the new recruit looked good on his home debut. Warnock will be tempted to keep this lineup for the coming games and give a chance to Reid and Niasse to deliver again.
Bournemouth dominate the play, but to no effect
Both sides were coming off contrasting games last week. Cardiff lost to Arsenal whereas, Bournemouth dished a 4-0 thrashing to Chelsea. The Cherries were brilliant in the game, and they destroyed Chelsea on the counter-attack. Ironically, Cardiff used the same gameplan against them and to great effect.
Eddie Howe’s side had the majority of the ball, recording 73% possession in the game. They completed around three times the passes Cardiff managed and had twice as many touches. Despite this, it was Cardiff who had more shots in the match. Cardiff took 12 shots to Bournemouth’s 9, and also had 5 shots on target to Bournemouth’s 2. Cardiff also created more chances than their opponents.
Howe’s side is still in the top half of the table, so there is no imminent danger to them. They sorely missed both David Brooks and Callum Wilson, both of whom are out injured. It’s been a weird week for Bournemouth. Defeat Chelsea 4-0, then lose to Cardiff a couple of days later. Another example of the unpredictable rigmarole that is the Premier League.
Cardiff’s strong home form continues
If you look at the Premier League table based on home form, Cardiff would be placed comfortably in 13th place, with 17 points. The Bluebirds have won five games in Wales, and have claimed three points on the road just once. Cardiff’s away point total is 5 points, which is one of the major reasons why they are in the relegation zone.
However, their strong home form is keeping them afloat, at least for the moment. They are 18th in the table, just 2 points below Burnley who are in 17th. Fulham are now 5 points behind them in 19th, so the danger of falling further back is considerably less.
Cardiff have a considerably easy set of fixtures coming their way, and Warnock will be hopeful of picking up more points there. The next six fixtures are against Southampton, Watford, Everton, Wolves, West Ham, and Brighton. If they stitch up a decent run in February, then their survival chances will be boosted greatly.
Win enables Cardiff City get some closure about the tragedy
The last fortnight has been a turbulent one for Cardiff City. After a sum of more than £324,000 was raised online, a private search for the Piper PA-46 plane will begin soon. As for the happenings on the pitch, the win seemed to stem from the special motivation which the club had for the game.
Bobby Reid held a t-shirt which showed Emiliano Sala’s face, along with his teammates as a sign of remembrance. Warnock was also emotional, something which is not evident from his personality.
“I was all right until the final whistle went and I went on the pitch,” Warnock said. “Emiliano would have been with us today and I said to the lads: ‘You have to perform.’ I thought today the whole club was amazing – I was the proudest man to be the manager of the whole club. The noise volume, I’ve never heard anything like it. Ever. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life. I felt immensely proud of everybody. It was almost like we couldn’t be beaten today – the crowd wouldn’t let us be beaten. I’m really proud and I’m sure he would have been.”
What a day for Cardiff City.
