FAW Cup Heartbreak as City Lose On Penalties

FAW Cup Loss
By Chris O'Brien
March 25 2004

It's more FAW Premier Cup heartbreak for City, as the Bluebirds crash out at the semi-final stage on penalties against a spirited Wrexham. Alan Lee and Andy Campbell were our scorers at the Racecourse, but a lack of commitment cost Cardiff dear, and Wrexham now await Swansea or Rhyl in the final.

Cardiff City have been dumped out of the FAW Premier Cup at the semi-final stage, following a penalty shoot-out defeat against North Walian rivals and current holders Wrexham.

The Bluebirds lacked that killer edge when opportunities to win the game were there, and despite leading twice we deserved to go out with a lot of players showing a distinct lack of commitment even though Lennie Lawrence fielded a near full-strength Cardiff side.

Neil Alexander was named between the sticks by the City manager, and the Scotsman knew this was his big chance to get back into the first-team, but on reflection he had a very poor game and may never pull the Bluebirds shirt on again. Gary Croft, Tony Vidmar, James Collins and Chris Barker made up the defence, with Welsh international Danny Gabbidon named among the substitutes. Gareth Whalley, Lee Bullock and Richard Langley made up the midfield, with Andrew Campbell, Gavin Gordon and Alan Lee forming a 3-pronged attack.

Wrexham started the brighter of the two sides, with Cardiff giving away a pair of needless corners but the visitors soon settled down and although the Robins always looked dangerous on the break, City seemed to have more going forward. Alan Lee went close before Lee Bullock missed a clear-cut opportunity with Wrexham 'keeper Michael Ingram doing well to block a one-on-one. Gavin Gordon also found himself in a great position in the penalty box, but his toe-poke effort was excellently pushed away by Dragons defender Dennis Lawrence.

The hosts' main threat was coming from their star players Carlos Edwards, who gave Chris Barker a tough time down the left flank. Edwards made a series of runs at the Cardiff defence throughout the match, and certainly looks a very good prospect. It is little wonder by both Wigan Athletic and Rotherham United have both expressed interest in the attacking-minded midfielder.

The quick pace of the start of the game soon slowed down, and chances dried up with a lot of the game being played in midfield. Entertainment for television viewers came when Gary Croft, who had a claim for a throw in rejected, swore at the linesman with every word clearly heard down the microphone! At least the England under-21 international showed a little passion, on a night that most City players lacked in it!

The deadlock was broken on 35 minutes courtesy of City striker Alan Lee, who was one of our best players on the night. Gareth Whalley played a neat through ball to the Irish international, who brought the ball down with his chest and beautifully flicked the ball past Ingram in the Wrexham goal after the first bounce to the delight of the small contingent of travelling Cardiff supporters. We had about 50 fans 'packed in' on the top tier of the nicely named Roberts Builders Stand, and although a lot of them would probably have been North Wales Bluebirds, you have to admire their loyalty and the game had a distinct feeling of the 'old days'!

Wrexham came close to getting back on level terms, with playmaker Carlos Edwards nearly restoring parity with the last chance of the half. The Trinidad and Tobago international launched an impressive striker towards goal from the edge of the penalty area which beat Alexander, but smacked against the crossbar and flew into the stand.

Lawrence made only one half-time change, bringing off the impressive Gareth Whalley to give Nicky Fish a rare first-team chance in midfield. Fish has looked promising in recent reserve matches, and the City boss may be looking to give the youngster a league outing in the not so distant future.

The opening stages of the second period provided little in the way of actions, and I'm sure many City fans tuning in had already switched over to the more attractive European Cup match between Chelsea and Arsenal! A defensive error from Gary Croft gifted Chris Llewellyn a chance to equalise, but the striker, amazed that the ball had not been cleared, failed to grasp the opportunity and the ball rolled out for a goal-kick. Steve Thomas then went close for Wrexham, but a relatively dependable Bluebirds defence seemed to be dealing comfortably with the quite tame attacks from Denis Smith's side.

However, just as the Cardiff fans at the Racecourse were thinking of a possible final with arch-rivals Swansea, disaster struck as Wrexham equalised. Neil Alexander made a real clanger in claiming what seemed to be a routine catch from a free-kick from the right flank, but he was slow to come up and Dennis Lawrence did well to win the ball, setting up Chris Llewellyn who nudged the ball home from yards out. The goal boosted the crowd, who had been relatively quiet for most of the game, and the old hostile atmospheres of the Welsh Cup days could be sensed, just a little bit!

Wrexham now looked the more likely side to win the game, pushing forward with confidence as the 1,600 home fans got behind their team. Dennis Lawrence's height was a huge problem for City from crosses, with the defender going close with a powerful header that was held by Alexander.

However, it was the Bluebirds who scored next with only 5 minutes to go courtesy of play-off hero Andy Campbell's strike. James Collins, who put in a pleasing display, launched a free-kick into the Wrexham penalty area, which was well flicked on by Gavin Gordon and the ball found it's way to Campbell who hit a fine drive into the bottom-left corner of Ingram's goal. It was another superb finish and looked to have sent City into their fourth Premier Cup final.

Encouraged by Denis Smith, clearly a big fan of the competition, Wrexham's heads didn't drop and they fought back well. Another howler from Scottish 'keeper Neil Alexander led to the equaliser from the experienced Chris Armstrong, and extra-time loomed, with the draw probably the fair result over the 90 minutes. Substitute Lee Jones broke on the left for the Robins and chipping a cross into the penalty which should have been a simple catch for Alexander, but he was guilty of a lack of bravery and commitment in failing to come for the ball, allowing Armstrong to simply prod the ball home with his head.

Wrexham were the better side for the majority of extra-time, and City created only half chances. The Bluebirds should really have gone for it as Wrexham were reduced to 10-men for the majority of the additional 30 minutes with Llewellyn going off injured. Denis Smith had made all of his substitutions, which meant his team had to continue a man down, but it was hard to tell who had 10-men as Wrexham showed a battling spirit and confidence coming forward. Carlos Edwards went close on two occasions, skimming a shot inches wide and seeing a chip at goal blocked by Tony Vidmar, but he couldn't find the winner for the home team.

Stuart Fleetwood, scorer of the winning goal in the quarter-final against Newport County, was brought on for the second-half of extra-time replacing Gavin Gordon who had shown some promise in the air but proved largely ineffective. Fleetwood's pace caused a couple of problems for Wrexham, but the midfield failed to provide much service to the three-man forward line, and with nothing on the flanks either, the creative spark simply wasn't there.

City's best move of extra-time saw Richard Langley, who recieved a booking for a needless tackle later in the game, link-up well with Fleetwood who found Alan Lee, but his shot flew well wide. Langley was again very poor throughout, and he only seemed to come into life as the game approached its climax. His commitment to the cause has to come into question. The boos he recieved from the home fans following his tackle seemed to liven him up a bit, but it was a lacklustre display from the former QPR man.

Extra-time provided no goals, and the penalty shoot-out lottery came into play. City had won a shoot-out at the Racrcourse in this competition two seasons ago, and with skipper Tony Vidmar winning a coin toss to have the spot-kicks taken infront of the Cardiff faithful rather than the empty Kop End, the Bluebirds had to be favourites despite Neil Alexander's woeful record at facing penalties.

Sudden death was needed after 10 penalties were all very well converted. Andy Campbell opened the scoring, Alan Lee, James Colins, Richard Langley and Stuart Fleetwood followed with scored spot-kicks from the regulation five. Chris Armstrong, Carlos Edwards, Lee Jones, Steve Thomas and Matty Crowell were on target for the hosts. Gary Croft netted in sudden death, but Dennis Lawrence matched it for Wrexham. Tony Vidmar then stepped up, but the experienced City skipper hit a poor, casual penalty which was well saved by Ingram. Man of the match Steven Roberts hit the winning spot-kick, and the North Walians booked themselves yet another FAW Premier Cup final place.

Overall, a bitterly disappointing night and you have to feel for our supporters who made the trip. This competition is not the clubs top priority, but personally I very much enjoy it although it isn't a patch on our days in the Welsh Cup! Still, defeat means the chance of the £100,000 prize cheque for the winners has gone, which would have come in handy for reducing our high debts slightly! Many players didn't perform to the best of their ability, and frankly City didn't deserve a final place. I'm gutted!

Good luck to Wrexham in the final in a game which will probably be against the Jacks, although current Welsh Premier leaders Rhyl will have something to say about that! They clearly take this competition very seriously and wanted it more on Wednesday night. Lessons can be learned from this Mr.Hammam, who seems desperate to see the end of this competition.

Full Time - Wrexham 2-2 Cardiff City (AET)
(Wrexham won 7-6 on penalties)
Attendance - 1,626

Wrexham AFC: Ingham, Roberts, Carey, Lawrence, Edwards, Armstrong, Ferguson, Llewellyn, Barrett, Edwards, Thomas.
Substitutes: Whitfield, Morgan, Holmes, Jones, Crowell.

Cardiff City: Alexander, Croft, Barker, Whalley, Vidmar, Collins, Langley, Bulloch, Campbell, Lee, Gordon.
Substitutes: Gabbidon, Lee-Barrett, Fleetwood, Fish, Huggins.