CCFC 2 v 1 PALACE

CCFC v PALACE

‘Woa-ohh we’re halfway there, Woa-ohh living on a prayer...’ - Bon Jovi

As the English cricket team was closing in on an historic series win against India recently, the Barmy Army’s trumpeter went through his entire repertoire, some obvious (Jerusalem, The Great Escape, The Italian Job) some less so. Mr Bongoivi and his band of luxuriantly coiffured pompous rockers are an unlikely source of inspiration but it seemed to do the trick. In fact, statistically, when applied to our current position the tiresome troubadours’ top tune is reassuringly prescient.

After 23 games, exactly ‘halfway there’, we have amassed 47 points. This compares favourably with an average return of 38.25 points at this stage over the last four anti- climactic seasons.

We are currently averaging 2.04 points per game. In the last four seasons the team finishing second in the table has averaged 1.87 points, so at our current rate of return we will comfortably secure an automatic promotion spot. If we can match our current points total in the second half of the season we will have a 75% chance of going up as champions, as only Newcastle with 102 points have scored more than our current projected rate. If you take the average points total for the champions of 92.25 points our chances increase to 100%. Q.E.D.

‘If you need statistics to prove it, it isn't true’.  

Best to keep your prayer mats handy just in case.

A big welcome today to the heir to the Thomas throne of perpetual sporting regret on his return from the Middle Kingdom, with a temporary pass to the Land of his Fathers, replete with his little red book and a golden ticket to the Field of Dreams. It was an inauspicious return as, clad in his Roger Gibbins era 1980’s retro-shirt, he wandered up the wrong side of Sloper Road, rapped on the door of number 28 Scoular’s Reach and demanded to take his seat in row L, Block B.

Securing a row of three consecutive seats at the CCS for the sell-out fixture meant that we’d had to scratch around to find a less popular part of the Ninian Stand, but the compensation for giving up my normal seat was that we were surely guaranteed protection from the less than festive weather. Weren’t we?

Prior to the development of the Cardiff City Stadium, the initials ‘CCS’ meant an obscure early 70’s band led by the ‘Godfather of British Blues’ Alexis Korner whose biggest hit was ‘Tap Turns On the Water’. Clearly somebody had left the great celestial tap on full above the CCS as the swirling winds drove the Boxing Day deluge right up to Row Z and beyond. Our ‘Cardiff City Ponchos’ hastily acquired for £1.50 (bargain!) helped but it was with dampened spirits that we eased ourselves into our soggy seats for the most important fixture of the season to date.

A new record crowd of over 26,000, narrowly beating the record set at the last home fixture, welcomed the teams who have occupied top spot between them for most of the season. Palace, this year’s surprise package, began the game in 3^rd place but having drawn their last three games, and given away the lead in each of them. They were first out of the blocks and immediately settled into the game, driven on by a five man midfield that included Premier League – bound wunderkind Wilfred Zaha.

In his last post-match interview a rueful Palace manager Ian Holloway had complained that they had given away a goal that was ‘as soft as a marshmallow being toasted on an open fire at Christmas’. Within 3 minutes we had gifted Palace a goal of equivalent ineptitude as a corner was pulled back to a completely unmarked Jedinak who side-footed the ball past a too easily duped defence.

For the next twenty minutes Palace attacked relentlessly and but for a bit of good fortune (the post proving an effective last line of defence) lack of composure (20 goal striker Murray losing control of the ball with only Marshall to beat) and some excellent work from our ever-reliable keeper, we might have struggled to get back into the game. Slowly however, we emerged from our torpor with Bellamy in particular looking sharp, though lacking the killer instinct in front of goal. Just as the fourth official was preparing his board for those all important Pro Supplements-sponsored extra minutes, Bellamy cut back a short Conway free kick into the path of the rampaging Noone who fairly thrashed the ball into the top of the net for the vital equaliser. 1-1 at half time and relief all round after a difficult first forty five.

Malky replaced the ineffective Mutch with Gunarsson at half time and the midfield was transformed. Mutch and Whittingham in midfield just doesn’t work for me - the game was calling out for a serious beef-up, and the no-nonsense Icelandic warrior was just the man the occasion required. His fellow countryman Helguson was not faring so well up front and was replaced on the hour by Gestede who was to prove more effective against a well organised Palace defence which included former Ninian Park favourite Gabbidon, making his full debut.

Bellamy was now excelling as an old-fashioned inside forward, feeding off flick-ons, playing off the shoulder of the final defender and timing his breaks to perfection, running free on a couple of occasions but let down by some questionable calls from the linesman below us and frustrated by the excellent Speroni in the Palace goal.

After a period of sustained pressure, on 75 minutes a perfect, pacy, Bellamy corner was met by Gunarsson who headed into the roof of the net to give the Bluebirds a well deserved lead. Soon afterwards, a trademark Whittingham free kick from 25 yards out was palmed onto the bar by the flying Argentine keeper, a superb save completely missed by ref who awarded a goal kick! This was but the most glaring example of incompetence by our Man in Black, the man-in-the-middle of a total nightmare who was at least consistent in that he got all the contentious decisions wrong and shared his cack-handedness generously between the teams.

Despite a generous 4 minutes of Pro Supplements supplemented time, we saw out the dying moments with some ease to earn a well-merited and potentially significant victory against a serious contender.

Although there was some debate as we headed for the exit as to whether this was ‘literally’ a 6-pointer (the family pedants won the day by pointing out that although we had gained 3 points, the opposition had not actually been deducted 3 for losing) the City fans were literally smiling from ear to ear, as they literally walked on air back down Ninian Way, secure in the knowledge that we are quite literally ‘halfway there’ (albeit still perhaps living on a prayer...)