CARLING CUP Cardiff City 2 Blackburn Rovers 0:THE FIRST match played in the Welsh capital since the tragic death of Gary Speed was always going to be an emotional occasion, and the Cardiff players dedicated last night's victory to the manager who had put the pride back into his nation's football.
Speed, lamented long, loud and with heartfelt feeling would have loved this, the team from the principality deservedly beating English Premier League opposition to claim their place in the semi-finals of the League Cup.
Kenny Miller’s sixth goal of the season and a second from Anthony Gerrard added to the mounting misery of Blackburn’s season, and well before the end their supporters were again calling for the dismissal of the embattled manager, Steve Kean.
Given that only three places separate them in the league pyramid, and the fact that Cardiff were at home, it was hardly a surprise that the bookmakers made the Championship team favourites. Form was definitely on their side, with six wins and two draws in their last eight games.
Blackburn, in contrast, have won only once in 13 attempts in the Premier League. They won this cup in Cardiff in 2002, beating Spurs in a final played at the Millennium Stadium, but this is a very different Rovers, odds-on for relegation under Kean’s increasingly unpopular direction.
To the profound dismay and astonishment of the fans, Kean was “rewarded” with a pay rise last week, for presiding over five wins in his last 30 games.
The defensive errors that have undermined Rovers all season betrayed them again after 19 minutes, when a poor touch by Morten Gamst Pedersen allowed Aron Gunnarsson to seize possession and bisect the central defenders with a perfectly weighted through pass. Such situations are meat and drink to Miller, whose pace enabled him to get away and round the goalkeeper before slotting the ball into the untenanted net.
Pressing for the second goal that could settle the issue, Cardiff got it five minutes into the second half, when Peter Whittingham’s inswinging corner from the right was headed down at the far post by Gerrard and helped over the line by Kiss. The crowd celebrated by chanting Speed’s name, coupled with “Wales, Wales”.
Guardian Service
CARDIFF CITY:Heaton, McNaughton,Taylor, Gerrard, Turner, Kiss (McPhail 78), Whittingham, Cowie, Conway (Ralls 83), Gunnarsson,Miller. Subs not used: Marshall, Earnshaw, Quinn, Mason, Blake. Booked: Gerrard, McNaughton.
BLACKBURN: Bunn, Hanley, Givet,Dann, Lowe, Petrovic (Rochina 70), Dunn, Formica, Pedersen,Blackman (Roberts 80), Goodwillie (Yakubu 80). Subs not used: Robinson, Vukcevic, Anderson,Henley. Booked: Lowe.
Referee: M Atkinson(W Yorkshire).
