Town 0-0 Cardiff - Match Report Saturday, 31st Oct 2015 17:03 Town’s winless league run stretched to seven games as the Blues drew 0-0 at home to Cardiff City. Daryl Murphy went closest to breaking the deadlock in the first half when Bluebirds keeper David Marshall tipped his header from a Kevin Bru corner against the woodwork. Jonny Parr replaced the injured Jonas Knudsen at left-back in an otherwise unchanged Town side, the Norwegian having taken over from the Dane early on at Nottingham Forest last week after he suffered a hamstring problem. Knudsen is expected to be fit for Tuesday’s home game against Bolton. Manager Mick McCarthy lined his team up in a 4-3-3 formation with Murphy, Freddie Sears and David McGoldrick all up front as they were at Forest. The Bluebirds made two changes from the team which drew 0-0 at home to Bristol City on Monday with Joe Ralls and Sammy Ameobi replacing the injured Kagisho Dikgacoi and Craig Noone, who dropped to the bench. Suffolk-born former Blues academy schoolboy Stuart O'Keefe was also amongst the Cardiff subs. The visitors had most of the ball in the early stages but without threatening Dean Gerken’s goal. On nine Town claimed a perhaps ambitious penalty when Kevin Bru’s strike was blocked by Fabio after a well-worked move down the left involving the Mauritius international and Murphy amongst others. Two minutes later, Ameobi was booked for a foul on Parr. As the game hit the 15-minute mark Murphy came within a whisker of opening his goals account for the season. Kevin Bru sent over a corner from the right and the Irishman flicked a near-post header which Marshall tipped on to the upright. The loose ball fell to Sears at a tight angle but the ex-Colchester man blazed over. A minute later Icelandic international midfielder Aron Gunnarsson, who had a trial with the Town academy as a schoolboy, struck a powerful effort from the edge of the box but Gerken did well to get down to his left to push it behind. Cardiff continued to take the game to the Blues and on 22 Christophe Berra cut out Ralls’s low cross from the left. Town began to take charge and in the 27th minute, shortly after Ainsley Maitland-Niles had seen a strike blocked on the edge of the box, Luke Chambers fed Sears to his right and the striker’s low cross was diverted towards his own goal by Sean Morrison, keeper Marshall doing very well to keep it out. Fabio suffered an injury as Cardiff had sought to defend the cross and the Brazilian was replaced by Scott Malone in the 31st minute. Three minutes later Parr’s mis-hit clearance led to Sears breaking away into the Cardiff half before he was halted by Matthew Connolly’s foul, which saw the defender join team-mate Ameobi in referee David Coote’s book. Cole Skuse laid the freekick off to McGoldrick but his shot curled wide. McGoldrick seized on a loose Cardiff pass on 39 and sent Murphy away towards goal but last season’s 27-goal Championship top scorer took an extra touch and Morrison got across to block his shot. Maitland-Niles was first to the loose ball and sent it back over from the right and Sears eventually hit a 25-yard shot which was straight at Marshall. Two minutes before the break Ralls had his name added to referee Coote’s book for a foul on Bru the, as the game moved into injury time, Tommy Smith joined him somewhat harshly for following in Murphy’s hooked attempt at goal as keeper Marshall claimed following the second of two Town corner. The scoreline remained level at the break with the Blues having got on top after making a slow start. Town had had the half’s two best chances with Murphy unfortunate not to have broken his duck for the season with his header and Morrison lucky his keeper prevented him from scoring an own goal. Neither side made a change of personnel at the break, although with the Blues now at 4-4-2 with Maitland-Niles on the left and Sears on the right. Chances were rare at either end in the opening minutes with both defences remaining solid. For Town, keeper Gerken claimed a couple of crosses safely, while Berra made important interceptions or blocks as Bluebirds strike pair Joe Mason and Alex Revell looked for goal. In the 61st minute Gerken reacted superbly to save from Ameobi, getting down to his right after the on-loan Newcastle man turned Malone’s cross goalwards from six yards. A minute later, Murphy headed on to the roof of the Cardiff net from Chambers’s right-sided cross. Maitland-Niles turned a Murphy cross from the left over in the 72nd minute after McGoldrick had won the ball midway inside the Cardiff half. The Blues were on top but unable to create too many clear-cut chances, while the visitors were a danger on the break. A minute later, after one of those counter-attacks had led to a corner, Gunnarsson shot well wide at the far post. Murphy was sent away on the right of the area on 76 but a defender got across to block. Chambers subsequently sent over a cross but again it was cleared. The Cardiff backline dealt with another cross from the right, this time from Sears, before Bluebirds sub Craig Noone stooped to head wide beyond the far post from a cross from the left. On 79 Bru was booked after referee Coote adjudged that he had dived when he went to ground as he skipped past Morrison in the area, much to the anger of the Sir Bobby Robson Stand. Two minutes later Murphy and Maitland-Niles were replaced by Brett Pitman and Tommy Oar. Soon after, Revell was booked for a wild lunge on Smith which hurt the Cardiff man more than the Blues defender. With just over five minutes of scheduled time remaining, Peter Whittingham was booked for a cynical foul on Pitman as the Blues sub broke away from him. Bru’s freekick was headed clear and as Cardiff went on the counter-attack Skuse was cautioned for a foul. In the 88th minute Noone volleyed well over when unmarked from Whittingham’s freekick on the left, something of a let-off for the Blues. In injury time Revell’s looping header was no problem for Gerken and neither side went closer than that to breaking the stalemate, Town’s second 0-0 at home in succession, something they last managed in December 2009. Having come close twice in the first half, albeit once via Cardiff defender Morrison, the Blues never seriously tested Bluebirds keeper Marshall in the second half, while Gerken - Town’s man of the match - made a number of important saves, the best the stop from Ameobi, who really should have taken the opportunity. The Blues have now won just one of their last 10 in the league and have drawn their last four matches at Portman Road, where they haven't won in five. They have also scored one goal in five matches. Cardiff have kept four clean sheets in four successive games and have lost just four of their last 24 league matches. Town, who are now down to 14th following today’s results, have another chance to get back to winning ways when second-bottom Bolton visit Portman Road on Tuesday. Town: Gerken, Chambers (c), Parr, Berra, Smith, Skuse, Bru, Maitland-Niles (Oar 81), Sears, McGoldrick, Murphy (Pitman 81). Unused: Bialkowski, Malarczyk, Emmanuel, Douglas, Coke. Cardiff: Marshall (c), Peltier, Morrison, Connolly, Fabio (Malone 31), Ralls, Gunnarsson, Whittingham (Pilkington 88), Ameobi (Noone 75), Revell, Mason. Unused: Moore, Tamas, O’Keefe, Kennedy. Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire). Att: 17,169 (Cardiff: 222).
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