Bluebirds Outclassed in Lancashire

It was clear from the offset that Lennie Lawrence had come for a point, with City playing with a defensive minded approach. The City backline of Gary Croft, James Collins, Daniel Gabbidon and Tony Vidmar sat so far back that it welcomed Wigan attacks, and despite the visitors needed three points to keep play-off hopes realistically alive, Cardiff seemed to have made the trip to Lancashire looking for a goalless stalemate, which was the result in the reverse fixture at Ninian Park earlier in the season. In Ellington and Roberts Wigan have two quality strikers and it was always the case that the Bluebirds would need to score to bring any points back home to South Wales. However, City's tactics meant attacks were at a premium and the midfield quartet rarely looked like creating anything for Alan Lee and Robert Earnshaw.

Wigan started the stronger side but had to wait until the 36th minute to break the deadlock with Jason Roberts opening the scorer for the Latics. Former Bluebird Alan Mahon whipped in a cross to Nathan Ellington, who charged passed the Cardiff defence into the box and squared to Roberts who finished well from only yards out. The striker had already put the ball past Martyn Margetson nine minutes earlier, but that had been ruled out for offside.

With City's attack looking nothing short of punchless, Lennie Lawrence introduced Andy Campbell for the ineffective Paul Parry at the break as the Bluebirds switched to a 4-3-3 system. Parry had a very quiet half, and his form has seen an inevitable dip recently after the lightning start he made to life at Ninian Park following his £75,000 move from non-league Hereford United in January. The introduction of play-off hero Campbell made no difference though, with the mean Wigan Athletic defence letting nothing through and Cardiff drawing a third consecutive blank always looked likely.

The lead was doubled ten minutes into the second-half courtesy of Nathan Ellington. "The Duke" is clearly a quality player and looks to have what it takes to play in the Premiership, and Wigan now have a good chance of gaining promotion via the play-offs if they continue their form from Tuesday night. The former Bristol Rovers striker, who already played a big part in the opening goal, tapped the ball home from close-range after Martyn Margetson had done well to palm Jimmy Bullard's shot away from goal. The goal was nothing more than Ellington deserved, with the striker a constant threat to the baffled Cardiff defence.

Ellington's was once again involved as Wigan sealed an emphatic win four minutes later. He flicked on a high through ball to Jason Roberts, who made a mockery of the Cardiff defence to slot home his second and Wigan's third. The defending was awful from Cardiff, with Welsh international Daniel Gabbidon to blame for Roberts' strike, as he backed off and backed off until it was simply too late. It was nothing more than the Lancashire outfit deserved, with Wigan's physical, powerful and pacey attributes on show all evening as they cruised to a victory that showed up some of our over-rated players.

City have enjoyed a pleasing return to the First Division, and we'd have most certainly have taken mid-table safety during pre-season, but last night was further evidence that the hype from the local media and our own new-breed of supporter is unjustified. The result sees the Bluebirds remain in 11th, 7 points off the play-offs with 4 games in hand meaning a place in the top six is now almost certainly impossible. A number of players are out of contract at the end of the season, and I personally think it would be fair to give these names a full game or more to prove themselves to Lawrence. With the clubs mammoth debt, an exodus of players at the end of the season is on the cards, but it is fair to give players a chance to show what they are worth.

The result means things hot up further in the First Division play-off hope, although Cardiff's hopes of a place in the end of season lottery are now over. Wigan are 4th on 68 points, but only 5 points separate the Lancashire side with 10th placed Reading. It promises to be a fantastic end of season, and although we'll be watching on from mid-table, it will still be enjoyable! Good luck to Wigan, who played some excellent football. As for ourselves, improvements and possibly changes need to be made for the visit of struggling Burnley to South Wales on Saturday.

Full Time - Wigan Athletic 3-0 Cardiff City
Attendance - 8,052

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