When the fixtures were released, Cardiff were immediately paired with an old foe and scheduled for an opening day trip to Leeds. It’s been a relatively happy hunting ground in recent years, although the recent FA Cup defeat there was a bit of a slap in the face. You sense they must be sick of the sight of Cardiff and it was a baptism of fire for them. By the time they were hit by two sucker punches before half time, the away supporters were singing about them falling apart again.
By the end though, the home fans were sarcastically signing it back to the sold out away end, but a draw was a fair result and recent history aside, a win at a recently relegated Premier League side is always a good result. Especially if you play them before they’ve had chance to cash in on their best players and three of Leeds front four may well be gone later this month.
In terms of how Cardiff fared, well not quite as good as the opening day last year, when in beating Norwich, they played a brand of football unseen in these parts for many a year. There were lots of positives and lots to build upon though.
First and foremost, despite conceding a concerning 19 shots in their own box, the defence were still very good, and they had to be. Jak Alnwick was a more than able deputy for the stricken Ryan Allsop and made a couple of great saves. Dimitrios Goutas had a sterling debut and took no mess. His partnership with Mark McGuinness is rich in promise while Callum O’Dowda did as Callum O’Dowda does and was arguably the best player on the pitch.
Perry Ng and Joe Ralls are both figures of authority in this Cardiff side and it was a blow to see both hobble of, but Mahlon Romeo and especially Ebou Adams performed well in their absences. Aaron Ramsey showed moments of characteristic class, but probably gave the ball away more than you would expect. He will need to readjust to the unrelenting tempo of the Championship and surely will in time.
Josh Bowler doesn’t look like your stereotypical footballer, but don’t let looks deceive you. He may not be blessed with blistering pace or technical brilliance, but he has always been very effective and yesterday was no different. As O’Dowda highlighted when asked about him in Friday’s press conference; “You know what he’s doing, but you can’t stop it.” He looks an astute, productive addition.
It wasn’t Karlan Grant’s best game, but I have no doubt that he will also prove a shrewd addition. He has excelled in the past, cutting in from the left of a front three, but that is a very different task to playing on the left wing and no one wanted to see him tracking Luke Ayling deep into his own half. I still feel like O’Dowda ahead of Jamilu Collins will be the future of Cardiff’s left flank, with Grant reverting to a more central position.
Callum Robinson was only fit enough for the bench and probably only really there in case of dire emergency, but his absence is always keenly felt and Cardiff are significantly less creative without him. Ike Ugbo led the line very well though and has already opened his account for the season. With eight subs and ridiculous amounts of additional time now the norm, it’s a squad game more than ever before and Ugbo will likely play more than most expected. On first inspection, that might not be such a bad thing.
The game played out exactly like the FA Cup tie between the two sides earlier in the year, but as is always the case with Cardiff, an awful lot has happened since then. Now on their fourth different manager since the original cruel draw, Cardiff now look and feel very different. Enthusiasm has returned, followed by both excitement and expectation. After a few years of incremental decline, who knows what this season has in store. Maybe more of the same, but collective sights are set up rather than down this year and that, if nothing else, is a sign of progress.
A couple more players look set to arrive, which will aid their cause. If one of them proves to be Kieffer Moore (surely not?!), then all bets are off. What Cardiff are once again proving is that you can still be bold, despite the limitations of an embargo, and that’s all we’ve ever asked for. Without hope, goodwill will always be in short supply.
The Leeds result and performance were a step in the right direction and an intimidating fixture out of the way. With a wounded QPR and Ramsey’s homecoming up next, a first win is the expectation.