Sunday 18th August. Trelai Park. D-Day for the new season.
Match Report by Howl Williams.
The crowd were expecting a blockbuster. On paper, that’s what they got, as the game had just about everything - 6 goals, penalties, a sending off – but in reality, the game was very slow to get going.
The opening 10 minutes were a frenetic affair. The ball seemed to ping back and forth from box to box, neither team getting the ball down on the deck to string more than two passes together. County were quick to try and press the opposition in possession – as became their trademark towards the end of pre-season – but the pitch was sodden after a night of heavy rain, and on a few occasions, their enthusiasm to close down led to simple side steps from Villains players.
Frank Mortimer and Jonathan Counsell both looked very lively on the wings, the former powered by Irn Bru (you must suspect) and the latter by his desire to get one over on his old team. Unfortunately, the lack of fluidity to the game meant that County couldn't get the ball out to the flanks as much as they would have liked.
On the twenty-minute mark, the referee awarded a penalty to the Villains for a push in the back. It seemed quite soft from the sidelines, but to be fair to the man in black, he had an otherwise solid game, so you have to give him the benefit of the doubt. Their number 17 stepped up and sennt Mike George the wrong way. 1 – 0 Villains.
The remainder of the first half was largely the same: scrappy, not a lot of passing, and no team taking full control. Arguably, the Villains just about edged it, but were incredibly wasteful in the final third of the pitch, spurning a few decent chances. You felt that if County had been able to fashion the same opportunities, they would have capitalised.
Colin Mowat - who had refused to succumb to nasty knee clash in the opening five minutes – once again put his body on the line for the County cause, putting his head in the danger zone on a Villains cross and doing enough to put off the awaiting forward.
The half was a disappointment and finished 1 – 0. It could only get better.
Half-Time: Roman Villains 1 - 0 Cardiff County
And it did indeed, though not immediately. The crowd feared another poor 45 as the ten minutes after the restart were just as scrappy and disjointed.
Villains had a few corners early on, but again seemed reluctant to find the target. They soon paid the price. An exquisite Frank Mortimer free kick from the left wing landed plumb on the head of new boy Radoslav Krstic-Tomic Jr (playing out of position at CB for the day). Pressure from a Villains defender forced the ball upwards and it looked like an easy catch for the keeper. It appeared that he momentarily imagined himself in a volleyball game however as he expertly delivered a two handed spike and left the ball dangling invitingly for Chris “Pingu” Pengelly to smash home a headed equaliser. It is worth noting for sake of narrative that the free kick had been given against the Villains right-back for talking back to the referee. It wouldn't be the last time he would contribute to the result either.
It’s fair to say that the second half belonged to Frank Mortimer as he had a hand in almost everything noteworthy. On the 20 minute mark he pulled off a beautiful reverse pass into the feet of Tom Hulland who, with expertly taped hamstrings, pressed into the box only to be brought down. The County bench thought it may have been a harsh decision as the defender looked to have gotten a foot to the ball first. Regardless, Tim Jordan stepped up to the spot and powered the ball past the keeper despite his getting a hand to it.
2 – 1 and it looked like County could press on from there. A couple of other decent chances quickly followed for the Greens including two goal line clearances from Jonathan Counsell and Pingu shots, but then some loose passing in the middle of the park gave the Villains a chance that was too good for them to miss. A cheap equaliser with 20 minutes left.
Any aspirations the Villains had of winning the contest were short lived however. Frankie knocked the ball past the aforementioned loose cannon right-back, and fully aware he didn’t have the pace to stop the wee Scot’s advance legitimately, he scythed him down with what was an horrific foul. Straight red card. At that moment, the game was won for County.
The resulting free kick from the exact same position as the Green’s first goal gave Frankie another chance to put the ball into the danger zone. This time, captain fantastic James Hewett was waiting to glance home a header of the highest quality into the top corner. Quite a few of the crowd in attendance missed the event as they were distracted by the only sight rarer than a Jimi Hewett goal, when a beatboxing pterodactyl landed on the adjacent pitch and moon-walked while laying golden eggs. First game of the season, and the captain breaks his duck. Whoodathunkit, sports fans??
There was no going back from there. Villains heads dropped quicker than economic growth under a Tory government, and the death blow was delivered by a blunderbuss strike from Radoslav Krstic-Tomic Jr with 15 minutes to go. Good work down the right hand side led to a cross from Pingu. Despite being floored by a defender twice his size at the back stick, Frankie managed to jump back to his feet and keep the ball in play before teeing up Rad on the edge of the box who got his head over the ball and struck it as sweetly as you will see.
The last quarter of an hour was a formality. County pressured until the end, though with no real desire or need to punish the Villains further. 4 – 2 remained the score, and a good three points that were harder fought than many might have expected after the teams’ pre-season meeting last week. Not particularly glamorous and not enough football being played, but the work rate was unquestionably there, and if County can stay a little more composed and get the ball out to the wings more often, this could be quite a fruitful season.
Full-Time: Roman Villains 2 - 4 Cardiff County
Man-of-the-match: Frank Mortimer - Oh how we missed Frankie last season... his all round ability and desire to win the ball and create chances for his teammates are second to none. Frankie had a hand in all the goals, with direct assists for two goals and significant contributions to the other two. In addition he did not stop running and looking for the ball. Excellent all round performance from everyone's favourite Scottish baw bag!
