Cardiff's flowing football troubled City throughout but more clinical finishing saw the Tigers carry a 2-1 lead deep into injury time before the Welshmen scrambled a late equaliser.

Report by Mike Scott.

As tired tackles were evaded, desperate passes threaded together and a hopeful swing of the centre back’s left boot was enacted, it could be seen as harsh on the Tigers that the away side claimed a fourth minute of injury time equaliser as Roger Johnson swept his shot over the exposed Myhill and found the millimetres of space between the keeper’s reach and the underside of the crossbar to score. But in truth this was an equaliser that could have come at any time in this match, for when the Tigers returned to their half-time oranges with a two-one lead and a missed penalty to their credit, it must have been a source of as much secret amazement to the players and staff as it was open amazement to the City supporters. Cardiff came to the KC a bottom six side but played like anything but and their attacking threat was as potent as anything witnessed at the KC this season. As crushingly disappointing as a last second equaliser was, this was a decent point for the Tigers against a side that looked in an entirely false league position.

With Bryan Hughes unable to play due to a combination of injury and ineffectuality, Richard Garcia returned to the fray and Stephen McPhee switched to the left as the only change for the Tigers who lined up:

Myhill
Ricketts Turner Brown Delaney
Garcia Ashbee Marney McPhee
Windass Campbell

A third game in 8 days for Dean Windass, who had looked a little weary on Tuesday night. After a lively opening he looked completely knackered today. Caleb time on Tuesday at Deepdale, I suspect.

Cardiff started brightly and within a minute or two had set the pattern for the first half as spritely midfielders McPhail and Rae dominated the rather limited efforts of Ashbee and Marney, with our captain spending 45 minutes doing his headless chicken routine with the usual ineffectual consequences – that is, allowing the opposition to dictate play. Why does Ash always serve up these horror shows when I am match reporting? A coincidence I’m sure.

It was therefore with a sense of surprise that the first time City crossed the half way line, McPhee swept home a low Garcia cross after Campbell had nutmegged a Welshie in a central position to make space. 1-0 already, surely that’d knock Cardiff’s swagger and return them to the form that has seen them languish in the bottom 6? Nope. A misdirected Brown header was flashed narrowly over the bar by the villainous diving ex-Scunt MacLean, then a Parry surge down the right after Marney was dispossessed with ease in midfield resulted in a shot being blocked by Turner hurling himself in its path. Off it went for a corner that was cleared to the Cardiff right, where Rae waltzed past two tackles as if they weren’t there (principally because they actually weren’t there) before rolling the ball to the unmarked striker Thompson 18 yards out. Thompson might have thought his reputation as a Scotch internationalist and a former Rangers front man might have merited a challenge from a City defender, but to his credit he didn’t sulk at the obvious snub as he was left unattended and he instead curled a simple shot past Myhill’s left hand to equalise. 1-1 after 6 minutes and Cardiff may have already been out of sight with more fortune.

Cardiff had the bulk of possession, City had chances on the break – this was the pattern for a while. On 10 Turner stepped out of the backline to clear the ball to the right from where Garcia won a corner that was struck to the back post for Delaney to head back across the six yard box. The young Dane Schmeichel in goal rapidly snaffled this cross as Garcia readied himself to head goalwards. On 13 Parry again found the going easy on the right – Delaney had clearly been picked out as the weak link to exploit and it worked a treat – and he fed Thompson whose low shot was pushed away by Myhill. City failed to clear the ball as it bobbled around the danger area before Ledley rolled a low shot that struck the post and bounced away. Ledley had another chance on 24 when he fed Parry on the right then headed the return cross into Myhill’s grateful arms. City had a couple of brief snatches of forward play – a Campbell header at Schmeichel from a Delaney cross, and a McPhee header over the bar after tidy work by Windass – but in general it would unfair to say that Cardiff were entirely dominant. It simply wasn’t that even.

How strange it was then when City were awarded a penalty. Delaney was fed in an advanced position on the left and his high cross found Garcia’s head beyond the far post. The Aussie steered the ball towards the predatory Campbell whose nifty turn 15 yards out enticed serial thug Darren Purse to lunge in and amid a tangle of legs and ankles Campbell hit the deck, Purse motioned his hands in a circular fashion to denote a fair tackle and Premiership ref Mike Dean pointed promptly at the penalty spot. A precious penalty chance for the Tigers, which Windass duly thumped powerfully but too straight and Schmeichel effected a routine save for a keeper of his pedigree. Dammit, a lifeline refused.

When Myhill failed to come for a cross that was no more than 3 yards from his goalline City were fortunate to only concede a corner. The flagkick was only half cleared by Brown and Rae’s low shot from 20 yards was pawed onto the post by a fine Myhill save. Then on 43 Marney burst through three tackles and found himself in an advanced inside left position from where he fed Delaney. Young Damien skipped past his full back and whipped a low cross into the dangerous area about 6 yards from goal, encouraging Schmeichel off his line to punch not powerfully half way up the field, but lamely to Garcia stood six yards away who leapt into the air and volleyed a clever aerial shot past the prone defender on the goalline. This restored City’s rather remarkable lead. And so it was City (Hull) that entered the half time break in the lead.

Cardiff re-entered the fray subdued, as though the shock of losing a game they were so clearly dominating had suddenly struck them as they chatted over a halftime isotonic beverage. They continued to drive forward down Delaney’s wing but McPhee was offering more help than previously down there and few alarming moments were experienced for a good 15 minutes. Only another free header by Ledley straight at Myhill appeared to trouble the Tigers’ goal while good work by Ricketts and Garcia on City’s right was cleared to Marney who toddy-ended a shot over the bar. Shortly after Marney again had a long shot after a decent burst into space, but again the effort was high, wide and far from handsome.

On the hour McPhail found Ledley on the left and Ricketts lunged in ugly fashion and caught no ball but plenty of shin. A deserved yellow, indeed in a more hostile atmosphere the referee may have selected his red card for an outing. As it was the resultant free kick found Thompson again in space deep inside City’s box and his looping shot was saved by Myhill adeptly under his crossbar. This appeared to restore Cardiff’s faith in their attacking abilities and they proceeded to carve out a series of chances. Myhill made a tremendous save from a Thompson header after which a reasonable goalmouth stramash ensued before City hacked it clear. Delaney ceded a free kick 25 yards out when he misjudged a deep clearance and handled, earning a yellow card, from which Whittingham’s powerful cross was scrambled wide for a corner.

On 71 Purse was booked for another lunge at Campbell, of which young Fraizer made a sumptuous three course meal as he leapt skywards, and Windass’s free kick was saved low to Schmeichel’s right hand. But immediately afterwards McPhee was withdrawn and Livermore introduced, and City reorganised into a none-shall-pass formation with the improved Ashbee at the heart of the defensive effort. Windass gave way to Folan, who barged around quite pleasingly without finding sufficient space to make best use of his pace and skill. Ashbee had a shot blocked after a Ricketts corner, Folan hit a shot weakly at Schmeichel after a Garcia cross and Folan was denied a headed chance by a last-gasp clearance after Marney dribbled half the field into space on the left. Cardiff’s plucky efforts appeared to be on the wane and the three points beckoned Tiger-wards.

Into the last five minutes and Folan was yellow carded for a poor tackle after he was himself dispossessed by Johnson. Ex-DirtyLeeds Dutchman Hasselbaink waddled onto the field to lend his considerable gravitational force to the fulcrum of a last-ditch 4-3-3 and Dawson immediately came on to shore up the left side as Campbell was withdrawn. City were content to defend deep and hit on the break and it seemed to be working a treat when Folan nodded a clearance down to Livermore who passed to Marney and young Dean lifted a well judged pass behind the Cardiff defence and into the path of the advancing Folan who reached the ball an instant before Schmeichel but rolled his shot agonisingly wide of the exposed goal. A minute into injury time a cross was parried by Myhill into the path of a Cardiff chap and his shot was well blocked as Boaz made amends. That might have been enough to secure victory. It wasn’t, as it turned out, as Johnson equalised so late in the game that City only had time to roll the restart back to Marney before referee Dean pheeped proceedings to and end.

Listen, City are a good side. There’s little out there to really scare us and there are plenty of sides out there a lot worse than Phil Brown’s expensively assembled squad. We may see one of them on Tuesday. But the Tigers won’t win every week and this was a decent point against a decent side – the kind of game we would most certainly have lost in feeble fashion last season. We are still a contender in this League, we are unbeaten in 5 and we could easily string another three wins together any time soon. These are the good times – don’t miss out and make out you’re disappointed, eh?

HULL CITY (4-4-2): Myhill; Ricketts, Turner, Brown, Delaney; Garcia, Ashbee, Marney, McPhee; Windass, Campbell.  Subs: Livermore (for McPhee, 73), Folan (for Windass, 77), Dawson (for Campbell, 89), Okocha, Duke.

Goals: McPhee 3; Garcia 43

Booked: Delaney, Folan, Ricketts

Sent Off: None

CARDIFF CITY: Schmeichel, Capaldi, Johnson, Purse, Gunter, Ledley, McPhail, Rae, Parry, Thompson, MacLean.  Subs: Whittingham (for Capaldi, 61), Hasselbaink (for Rae, 88), Oakes, McNaughton, Ramsey.

Goals: Thompson 6; Johnson 90

Booked: Purse

Sent Off: None

REFEREE:  M Dean

ATTENDANCE: 16,269