CCFC 1 v 0 SHEFF WED

CCFC v SHEFF WED

Today sees a welcome return to the CCS for a genuine Bluebirds legend, a man who has been lauded for giving the club his best years, who has both shared the highs and suffered his fair share of the slings and arrows of outrageous footie fortune but who can reclaim his seat with head held high, secure in the knowledge that his return will be met with almost universal acclaim. Oh, and Dave Jones is also back in town.

In my absence nothing much has changed – every hard-earned morale-boosting home victory still seems likely to be undermined by an away day implosion (the news of the 4-5 Charlton reversal as we were travelling the road to Shangri-la was particularly incongruent).

As we seek to extend our unblemished, all-conquering ‘red in tooth and claw’ home form it’s worth reflecting that in the Far East the colour red is imbued with auspicious nuance; its fiery hue signifying nothing 

 less than the pulse of the Chinese warrior nation, infused with the power to slay the enemy.

This romantic, whimsical notion is in fact borne out by the facts:

Researchers in Durham, who analysed a cross-section of Olympic contact sports from boxing to Greco-Roman wrestling deduced that almost 55 per cent of bouts were won by the person in red. The boffins found that the colour red is ‘capable of provoking deep-rooted aggression and dominance in the competitive arena’. By the same token, players facing opponents resplendent in red tend to exhibit more defensive reactions. Even more persuasive evidence comes from The Journal of Sports Science which has disclosed from a study of every English league result since the Second World War that teams with predominantly red strips win more often, average more points per game and finish higher in the table than those playing in any other colour.

As our team of untouchables approach another milestone - a record-breaking tenth consecutive home victory - our opponents arrive on the back of a miserable run of 5 straight defeats in November. That this should happen after a promising start to the campaign by a team managed by Dave Jones will have the Ninian Park sages nodding knowingly...

Despite the genuine highs of six roller-coaster years under DJ, they concluded with derailed dreams that floundered at the buffers of unfulfilled promise. His win percentage of 41.9% compares favourably with the best – Jimmy Scoular managed only 33.49% - and prior to Malky’s arrival he was second only to Alan Cork who (hard to believe) secured a 42.5% return in his 7 month stint. But Malky currently has the edge at 46.75%.

Significantly however Jones did not have the benefit of red-crested 100% infallibility. In fact Malky’s record as a blueshirt is an underwhelming 37.31% although this is statistically questionable as it assumes a nil home return had we not sold out to the red dominion. Which is unlikely. But anyway, you see where I’m coming from – Malky’s the better manager. Just. Let’s see where we are five year’s time.

Disappointingly the return of DJ went unheralded as he assumed his usual posture leaning distractedly against the dugout not fully engaged with proceedings. In contrast Malky continued to rage in semaphoric incredulity for 90 minutes.

Conway for the suspended Noone was the only team change, with Kim playing right side linking up with a roving Bellamy in front of the opposition back four / eight. A scrappy first ten minutes set the scene for the afternoon as Wednesday sat back intent on soaking up the pressure and frustrating any creativity from the home side. This they managed to do with relative ease as City’s total domination amounted to little more than peppering the Owls’ goal with speculative shots from an advanced midfield.

I counted seven corners in the first 30 minutes but the trademark swinging Whittingham crosses to the far post lacked potency as a physical Wednesday defence crowded out the advancing Hudson and Connolly and Helguson fed on scraps. Anxiety was setting in as half-time approached and as the one minute of Pro Supplements sponsored injury time was announced the exasperation was palpable.

The half time consensus was that Wednesday would inevitably tire but Malky would have to change things to unsettle them. We continued to be indecisive going forward with no sense of a cohesive strategic assault. Whittingham was struggling to exert any real influence, Bellamy was huffing and puffing and Kim was involved but never looked like inspiring a breakthrough (early days perhaps, but I’m not sure what the South Korean brings to the party – he has no pace, rarely gets past a defender and is goal-shy. He looks accomplished on the ball but rarely threatens.)

On the hour Malky rang the changes. Mason came on for Kim and soon after Gestede replaced Helguson. Almost immediately Rudy met a Conway cross and the crowd rose with him to herald the breakthrough, only to see his powerful header scream just inches wide of the post. Another Conway – Gestede exchange narrowly failed to deliver prior to the game’s decisive moment.

As the desperate City assault continued, on 80 minutes the ball was swung in to Mason just outside the box. His cushioned header fell into the path of Man of The Match Conway who swept a left-footed daisy-cutter past the diving Kirkland. 1-0 and relief all round.

Despite a spirited much-belated Wednesday response our record-breaking victory was not to be denied as we returned to the top of the league, a statement of fact proclaimed by all (repeat to fade...) swiftly followed by a fickle Canton End cruelly taunting their defeated former favourite with a rousing ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’. It was enough to leave even mild-mannered diffident Dave seeing Red.