Yeovil Town 3-3 Cardiff City - Match Report

Last gasp
By CCFCSleepingGiant.com
July 31 2004

City snatched a 3-3 draw at Yeovil last night thanks to a late goal from James Collins. City looked good going forward but weak in defence. Andy Campbell was our shining light, creating the first and scoring the second.

City's shaky pre-season form continued at Huish Park leaving Lennie Lawrence with plenty to ponder as the start of the season moves ever closer. There have been plenty of positives to take from our defeats at Chester and Hibernian followed by the more recent draw at Yeovil, but there is plenty of improvement needed by August 7.

Lennie Lawrence gave Andy Campbell a chance, leaving Robert Earnshaw as a substitute. John Robinson was still not ready to return after picking up an ankle injury at Chester, but fellow midfielder Paul Parry was amongst the starting XI.

City started well and took the lead after just six minutes through Richard Langley. Thorne slipped the ball through to striking partner Campbell, who gave Langley the chance to tap home from closerange and finish a well-worked move.

But City could hold onto their advantage for no longer than three minutes, Gavin Williams beating Martyn Margetson with a low effort from outside the area. Margetson knows that he must keep his errors to an absolute minimum with new signing Tony Warner watching patiently from the bench - he should have done better with this one.

City's defence were struggling when Yeovil built up an attack. The Somerset side took the lead in the 16th minute through Bartosz Tarachulski, the Polish midfielder smashing past Margetson.

The crowd of 2,438 were certainly getting their eight-pound's worth and on 22 minutes there was yet more excitement when Campbell etched his name on the scoreboard. Graham Kavanagh played the ball forward for the former Middlesbrough-man, who finished confidently. Campbell has often shown us glimpses of class but it remains to be seen whether or not he could ever do it consistently. He may well have been offside this time, but referee Steve Tomlin waved the Yeovil protesters away.

Town appeared destined to score with every attack, the City back four looking off the pace slightly. Williams left Vidmar standing only to be denied a clear goalscoring opportunity by a last gasp Robert Page tackle.

Andy Campbell then wasted a good chance when he blasted his effort over the bar after Parry had headed the ball into the danger area. He must do better if he hopes to oust Earnshaw out of the starting line-up.

City's defence continued to gift Yeovil chance after chance, this time James Collins of all people caught napping by Adrian Caceres. Caceres set up Tarachulski but the Pole's effort was off-target and didn't trouble Margs.

But it was only a matter of time before City leaked their seventh pre-season goal. On the stroke of half time Caceres reacted quickest after Tarachulski's shot was blocked to knock home past the City 'keeper.

3-2 at half time and the Yeovil fans must have been happy with their team's display. The second half was a quieter affair but still there were moments of excitement. Simon Weatherstone's spectacular 35-yard drive flying just inches over the City bar.

Margetson was again called into action when he reacted well to stop Yemi Odubade's attempt to sneak one in at the near post.

Peter Thorne shaved the crossbar after a Campbell cross. Campbell did okay, but Robert Earnshaw came on for the last 18 minutes and he came close with two minutes remaining, only the post from denying him a goal from the bench.

City had to wait until the last minute for the equaliser but it did finally come from James Collins, the defender sending a bullet header into the net from Gary Croft's freekick. Again the Yeovil defence had a case to complain - Michael Rose was fouled by the touchline but it went unseen by the man in charge and we scored from the resulting setpiece which could have easily been given the other way.

Next up is tomorrow's game at Cheltenham, followed shortly by the weekend games against Real Santander and Lazio. These defeats don't tell us much about the season to come, but we will definitely have to improve our defending before the opener against Crewe.

Speaking to the South Wales Echo after the match, Lennie Lawrence said: "We failed to deal with basic defensive situations."

"We have to get that right as quickly as possible.

"Our defending was poor - players were reacting instead of anticipating.

"They were individual errors rather than a system breakdown.

"We have proven, experienced players and it's up to each one of them to ensure their own game is spot on.

"We have been far too easy to score against in the matches against Chester City, Hibs and Yeovil.

"I'm not despondent because we scored three goals and there were excellent plusses from our attacking display, but there is plenty to sort out in defence.

"I want to see a big improvement at Cheltenham, when other players will be given their chance, and in our two home games, against Real Santander and Lazio."