Cardiff 2 Portsmouth 0: Neil Allen's verdict - Old wounds reopened as Blues return to awful habits

Agony for Callum Lang in Pompey's 2-0 defeat at Cardiff. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImagesAgony for Callum Lang in Pompey's 2-0 defeat at Cardiff. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages
Agony for Callum Lang in Pompey's 2-0 defeat at Cardiff. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages | Jason Brown/ProSportsImages
It took five minutes to bring the soaring Blues crashing back to earth following their precious QPR pick-me-up.

By the end of the first half, John Mousinho’s men were trailing by two goals, had suffered three players leaving the pitch through injury, and were an absolute shambles.

Having experienced both sides of the Championship coin within 72 hours, it was a blunt reminder of the levels expected from the Blues - and the brutal consequences of failing to reach them.

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From the moment Regan Poole lashed Perry Ng’s harmless cross past Nicolas Schmid in the fifth minute, grateful recipients Cardiff never looked like relinquishing their advantage.

Agony for Callum Lang in Pompey's 2-0 defeat at Cardiff. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImagesAgony for Callum Lang in Pompey's 2-0 defeat at Cardiff. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages
Agony for Callum Lang in Pompey's 2-0 defeat at Cardiff. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages | Jason Brown/ProSportsImages

By the 13th minute Callum Robinson made it 2-0 following poor defending from Alex Robertson’s corner and, not unreasonably, thoughts drifted back to Stoke.

At least the match never panned out that way, with a bit of fight shown on this occasion, not that the outcome of a Bluebirds win was ever in any doubt.

Granted, Pompey’s hopes of any fightback were dented by Paddy Lane, Schmid and Jordan Williams all collecting injuries during the first half, with the latter not reappearing after the interval.

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Yet in those opening 45 minutes, they were comprehensively taken apart, with only poor finishing from the hosts sparing a heavier half-time scoreline during wave upon wave of attacks.

Certainly reaching the interval 2-0 down was an accomplishment and, in the inevitable reshuffle, the injured Williams and absolutely anonymous Sorensen made way for Terry Devlin and Christian Saydee.

In truth, the Blues had better moments after the break, led by Kusini Yengi, whose first-half entrance in place of Lane immediately added a greater threat amid an encouraging individual display.

However, despite improvement, Mousinho’s men couldn’t initiate a highly unlikely comeback and they slipped to a chastening defeat which opens up old wounds briefly bandaged up at QPR.

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Ahead of the trip to Cardiff, Pompey’s head coach had mulled over rotating his squad in a gruelling week of fixtures and, although naming an unchanged 20-man squad, he dropped Mark O’Mahony and Christian Saydee.

With the duo dropping to the bench, Elias Sorensen and Paddy Lane were handed recalls to the starting XI, representing two changes to the team which won at Loftus Road.

Sammy Silvera was once again left out, while Zak Swanson and Will Norris are nursing minor injuries and remain on the sidelines at present.

When the match kicked off, Cardiff won an early free-kick down their left when Jordan Williams fouled Callum O’Dowda.

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Robertson stepped up to deliver it and was met with sustained boos from the travelling fans positioned close to him - followed by cheers when Callum Lang crashed the ball forward.

However, the Bluebirds broke the deadlock after five minutes in highly fortuitous circumstances.

When Perry Ng fired in a low cross from the right, there appeared little danger, particularly with no team-mate seemingly in range of connecting with it, yet, crucially, Poole went to clear.

Instead, he ended up crashing the ball left footed into his own goal to gift the Bluebirds an early lead, much to the disbelief of the visiting Pompey faithful.

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Matters worsened on 13 minutes when Robertson’s corner was headed towards goal by Dimitrios Goutas and there was Robinson to fire into the roof of the net from close range.

It was another poor goal conceded by the Blues and, already 2-0 down in the opening exchanges, it now looked a long night ahead.

Lane had already received treatment for an injury on the pitch, yet he came off moments later in favour of Kusini Yengi.

The Australian’s first involvement was picking up Marlon Pack’s pass and embarking on a powerful run down the middle which was ended when Callum Chambers pulled him back, rightly earning the defender a booking for his troubles.

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Pompey were struggling, however, and on 26 minutes Anwar El Ghazi pulled back a cross from the left which Ollie Tanner blasted first-time shot from eight yards over the bar, when he should have done far better.

A lengthy delay immediately followed, culminating in Schmid coming off with what appeared to be the result of taking a blow to the head during Robinson’s earlier goal.

Archer came off the bench to replace him and was swiftly into the action with a finger-tip save to push David Turnbull’s shot around the post with the faintest of touches.

It was 37 minutes before the Blues produced their first attempt, with Lang firing a right-footed shot from the edge of the box well wide.

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As a wretched half continued, Williams was caught by Turnbull on the right thigh as the pair challenged for the ball and he subsequently had to receive treatment on two occasions, yet played on.

For the second half, Pompey introduced Terry Devlin in place of the injured Williams and Saydee for the ineffective Sorensen.

Pompey started to enjoy a bit of possession at first, but on 50 minutes Archer was called upon to push out Turnbull’s shot for a corner.

At the other end, Yengi was put inside the box and his angled shot was partially blocked by Jak Alnwick, but, agonisingly, it didn’t fall to another Blues player.

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However, Archer was thankfully standing firm of the visitors, firstly saving a one-on-one with El Ghazi and then at the far post to deny Ng’s angled attempt.

Certainly it was a much-improved display after the break, with Yengi and Lang central, although Archer again saved in stoppage time, three times in actual fact, as Blues slipped to a 2-0 defeat.

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