Cardiff match report - 12/09/06

Argyle 3 Cardiff 3

McNaughton og. 68. Thompson 7
Hayles 73. Chopra 28
Purse 87 og. Chopra 48

Attn: 11,655

McCormick 6, Barness 4( Buzsaky 8 ) , Doumbe 6, Aljofree 5, Hodges 5, Norris 7, Wotton 6 ( Nalis 7), Summerfield 6, Capaldi 6, Hayles 6, SEB 6(Chadwick).

Subs not used: Seip, Reid.


3 nil and you f***ed it up!

From 68 minutes onwards.... what a game! Argyle came back from 3 nil down and looking a total shambles to suddenly look a decent team and score 3 goals to grab an unexpected point. Buzsaky and Nalis were surprisingly dropped after the QPR game ( what did they do wrong? ) but with the team 3 nil down against Cardiff Holloway seemed to admit his mistake by bringing both players on. They were the catylist for the team to surge forward and score the 3 goals.

But let's be honest here, Argyle were a complete shambles for 68 minutes.

Holloway dropped Nalis and Buzsaky and brought in Summerfield and Capaldi, with Connolly missing through injury Barness got a rare start.

It was Capaldi who had the first chance when he cut in from the left after being set up by SEB, but his shot went wide. And then Hodges was easily beaten for pace by the Cardiff winger Parry who crossed to Thompson who side footed home. 1 nil and Cardiff's first attack. A real soft goal.

Parry was now tormenting Hodges for fun and had a shot go wide. Wotton seemed to be in midfield on his own with hardly any support from Summerfield, this meant that Cardiff dominated that area.

And then disaster. Barness stretched to send a back pass to McCormick, except that he didn't get enough on it and there was Chopra to round McCormick and evade a tackle from Aljofree, he steadied himself on the 6 yard line ( like he was taking the piss) and then put us out of our misery by finally scoring. 2 nil. A real soft goal.

Norris had a shout for a penalty after being physically assaulted in the area but the ref waved play on. It was one of those days.

Surely there would be changes for the second half? No, it was as you were.

With Argyle looking to build up a head of steam and at least salvage some pride during the second half, disaster struck again! Aljofree mis-controlled the ball (school boy error), Cardiff raced away and scored, easy as you like. 3 nil, a real soft goal. 3 goals all from rank bad defending.

Oh well time to go home, this was a complete shambles. No idea's, no tactics and no chance.

SEB did offer some token resistance with a shot that was saved. And then finally some substitutions from Holloway. Barness was finally put out of his misery and Wotton was also taken off, which was a big surprise because I thought he was playing a lot better than the anonymous Summerfield. On came Nalis and Buzsaky. Capaldi went to left back and Hodges went to right back. Hold on.... Hodges went to right back? Yep, weird eh? (Hodges has now played for Argyle at right back, left back, left midfield, centre midfield, striker and sub goalie).

Immediately the team were lifted by Nalis and Buzsaky, so why the hell were they dropped Mr Holloway? Buzsaky put a clever cross in and McNaughton put the ball into his own net. 3-1. A real soft goal. Oh well Argyle grabbed a consolation goal. It would be impossible to score another 2, wouldn't it? But there is plenty of time left.

Now it was all Argyle, the crowd really got behind them and maybe, just maybe there could be a tiny chance of another goal.

And there it was.

Capaldi crossed the ball in, there was an almighty scamble and the ball eventually crossed the line, or did it? It was kicked out and then kicked back in again. And yes! The ref awarded the goal. Pure drama. I reckon Hayles got it but Fitz on the PA bellowed out the name of SEB. A real soft goal.

Game on!

Attack was the order of the day as the crowd urged the players on, that now included Chadwick who replaced the injured SEB. A long ball from defence bounced in the Cardiff area and there was Chadwick who jumped with Purse who headed it over the keeper and in! Own goal again. Yes!!

Chaos, total chaos. 3-3. Argyle came back from 3 nil down to draw level!

Now let's win the darn thing. Argyle were not content with a draw, they went for it but despite a few corners and free kicks it just wouldn't happen.

It finished 3-3. Phew!

Argyle were totally clueless for much of this game. The defence, apart from Doumbe, all made mistakes which cost goals. Hodges lack of pace is a real worry, he will be targetted by pacy wingers, as he was in this match. Barness wasn't up to Championship football after being out for so long. Summerfield in the midfield was totally anonymous but raised his game when Wotton went off. Hayles and SEB really struggled with the steady stream of long high balls played to them. The big Cardiff centre backs gobbled them up all day.

The turning point was when Nalis and Buzsaky came on. I still can't believe they were dropped. If Buzsaky is not up to 2 games in 4 days following his injury, then play your best team first and then if Buzsaky tires, then take him off.

Argyle really do need a big centre back, it's becoming more obvious with each game. Holloway also needs help with his decisions and in training. Where are Breacker and Penrice? While Argyle, QPR and the two coaches try to sort out the mess, (is it financial reasons?), Argyle are losing valuable points at home. Holloway really needs help.

What other Championship club operates with just a manager and one coach?

The plus points tonight is that the team never gave up. Once that first goal went in they had a belief thay they could pull it around.

Welcome to the Kevin Keegan style of football and management.

MOM: Norris