Barnsley 0 - 1 Cardiff City

Home » Match Reports » Barnsley / Cardiff City

| England News

Sunday Apr 06 2008 04:00

Joe Ledley's stunning ninth minute strike fired Cardiff City into the FA Cup Final after a 1-0 victory over Barnsley at Wembley.

The Bluebirds will take on Premier League opposition in the shape of Portsmouth after edging a tight encounter with their fellow Championship side courtesy of Cardiff-born Ledley's early effort.

The 21-year-old Wales international hooked a superb volley with his left foot over Luke Steele from 15 yards after Tony Capaldi's long throw was only partially cleared.

Barnsley bossed possession for long periods of the match but lacked the necessary quality in the final third to cause the Bluebirds too many problems on a comfortable afternoon for their solid-looking defence.

Tykes defender Steve Foster made a surprise recovery from a foot injury to start, so manager Simon Davey named the same starting eleven that defeated Chelsea at the quarter-final stage.

The South Yorkshire side had also beaten Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield in the fifth round during a dream FA Cup run.

However, they were immediately brought back down to earth in the ninth minute when Ledley dispatched his unstoppable volley.

Soon after, Steele knew little about a 22nd minute save when he blocked Trevor Sinclair's point-blank effort with his body after gifting the veteran midfielder the chance by spilling a weak shot from Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

At the other end, Istvan Ferenczi saw a low shot cleared off the goalline by Sinclair following a dangerous Brian Howard corner.Gavin Rae should have doubled the advantage at the beginning of the second half, but his bullet header from 12 yards after arriving late onto Ledley's cross was straight at the grateful Steele.

But the miss of the match came on 67 minutes when Tykes striker Kayode Odejayi was played through one-on-one with Peter Enckelman.

The powerful striker looked to pick his spot after latching onto a perfectly weighted through ball, but side-footed inches wide from ten yards before falling to his knees with his hands on his head.

That was to be as close as Barnsley would come to finding an equaliser and the Bluebirds played out the remaining time with little trouble.

In fact, Dave Jones' side should have killed off the tie as Peter Whittingham saw a 20-yard shot ruffle the roof of the net, before Steele charged down Rae's close-range effort.

However despite wasting those late chances, Cardiff ensured themselves of a first FA Cup Final appearance since 1927 as their defence held firm despite late Barnsley pressure.

Live Commentary

90
FULL-TIME: BARNSLEY 0-1 CARDIFF CITY

90
Cardiff are running down the clock by playing keep ball and they are now just seconds away from a return trip to Wembley - again more whistles ring around the stadium

90
Whistles ring around Wembley from the Welsh fans but there are still four minutes of stoppage time to survive

89
The Cardiff fans are roaring their side on towards an FA Cup final appearance as we enter the final minutes of regulation time

88
Dave Jones looks to sure up his side by sending on the experienced Riccardo Scimeca for a very tired Hasselbaink

87
It's all Barnsley in the closing minutes but Cardiff look a strong defensive unit and unlikely to concede

86
Jacob Butterfield comes on for the final few minutes with Kozluk making way - it's all or nothing for Barnsley now

85
Enckelman fists away a Campbell-Ryce cross from the right flank as Barnsley pile forward desperately seeking an equaliser

84
Rae lashes a 20-yard half-volley well over the bar after another Capaldi long throw is cleared to the edge of the penalty area

83
Campbell-Ryce has his name taken for showing dissent over a throw in

81
The South Yorkshire side are seeing plenty of the ball but they seem a little short of ideas in the attacking third

79
Time is running out on Barnsley's FA Cup final hopes as we move towards the final ten minutes

77
McPhail goes into the book for a late tackle - arguing the decision with the referee hardly helped his cause either

75
Johnson and Souza are involved in a minor spat in the Barnsley box which earns the pair a talking to from referee Alan Wiley

74
Steele keeps his side in the game as he scampers out to charge down Rae's close-range effort with some good goalkeeping

72
Whittingham earns a yard of space and sees his swerving 20-yard strike ruffle the roof of the net with the keeper beaten

70
Barnsley are pressing for an equaliser but they're unlikely to get a better chance than the Odejayi one

69
Martin Devaney goes off with Diego Leon entering the fray for the Tykes

67
Odejayi wastes Barnsley's best chance of the match as he beats the offside trap to latch onto a perfectly weighted through ball but side-foots inches wide when one-on-one with Enckelman - that was a sitter!

66
Ferenczi is replaced by Michael Coulson for Barnsley

65
Campbell-Ryce causes his defence problems as his poor pass gives away possession and Cardiff break to win an unexpected corner

63
Whittingham is booked for a cynical tap on the ankles of the advancing Howard

62
Cardiff send on Steven Thompson for a tired looking Sinclair

60
Enckelman claims a dangerous Howard corner at the second attempt as Barnsley begin to turn the screw

58
Foster and Ledley have a coming together in the Barnsley box but the Cardiff man went down a little too easily and the referee waves play on

56
Enckelman spills a low near post cross but the keeper recovers in time to secure the ball with the Barnsley strikers a little flat-footed

54
There's a lack of quality to the play at the beginning of the second period but plenty of passion on show - there could be a few bookings on the horizon!

52
Rae arrives late to meet a Ledley cross with a powerful 12-yard header but it's straight at Steele who holds - that was a glorious chance to kill off the game

50
The tackles are flying in at the start of the second half and the fans are responding to the passion with a wall of noise

48
Aaron Ramsey comes on for McNaughton who is hobbling with a groin or hamstring problem

47
Whittingham takes a ear full from a couple of team-mates after going for goal from 25 yards when he had colleagues better placed - that really was selfish play

46
Barnsley get the second half underway with neither side having made a change

45
HALF-TIME: BARNSLEY 0-1 CARDIFF CITY

45
Odejayi flicks on a long ball but Kevin McNaughton does well to shepherd it back to his keeper with Ferenczi snapping at his heels

44
van Homoet lashes a 25-yard shot well high and wide after Barnsley make a hash of a free-kick and the ball deflects to him off the body of Gavin Rae

43
Foster is next to try his luck with a 12-yard header, but the ball loops up harmlessly and straight at the waiting Enckelman

41
Barnsley are building a head of steam now as they look for an equaliser before the half-time whistle is blown

39
Odejayi is then inches away from meeting van Homoet's quality cross with what would have been a powerful close-range header

37
Hasselbaink leaps well and almost gets on the end of a Capaldi pinpoint cross with the Barnsley defence stretched

36
Odejayi picks up a flick on 20 yards out but his low shot is blocked by Johnson before it causes any danger

34
Barnsley have enjoyed more possession so far but they have yet to seriously threaten Peter Enckelman's goal

32
Stephen McPhail goes on a marauding run down the right flank but his low cross looking for Hasselbaink fails to beat the first defender

30
Odejayi then mis-controls a long ball over the top and allows it to run out of play after getting in behind Loovens

29
Odejayi climbs well to meet a high cross but his knock down is too close to Enckelman who claims ahead of Ferenczi

27
Howard earns a yard of space but his left-foot drive from 20 yards is comfortably wide of the target

25
Ferenczi's shot on the turn following another dangerous corner is hacked off the line by Sinclair who was guarding the near post

23
Istvan Ferenczi meets Marciano van Homoet's deep cross with a header which loops comfortably wide of the back post as play switches ends quickly

22
Luke Steele gets away with a howler as he spills a weak Hasselbaink shot, but Trevor Sinclair can only lash the rebound straight back at him from point-blank range

21
Rob Kozluk is the first name in the book for a late lunge which takes out Hasselbaink

19
Odejayi meets a speculative low cross with a slightly scuffed first-time effort which is straight at Enckelman who holds with ease

17
It's an end-to-end encounter as both sides make the most of the wide Wembley pitch

15
Howard dallies on the ball in the box and a surprise chance from eight yards goes begging as the Cardiff defence recovers to block his effort

13
Dennis Souza meets a corner with a low header which drifts just wide of the upright as Barnsley look for an instant reply

11
Odejayi gets to the ball ahead of Peter Enckelman, but his header with his back to goal loops up and is cleared with the keeper in no man's land

9
BARNSLEY 0-1 CARDIFF CITY: Tony Capaldi's long throw into the box is partially headed clear and JOE LEDLEY produces a stunning hooked volley with his left foot which loops into the top corner from 12 yards - what a goal!

8
Peter Whittingham's low free-kick from the left flies untouched through the six-yard box with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Johnson unable to get anything on it

7
Roger Johnson steps out from the back and goes for goal from 35 yards with an ambitious effort which bounces well wide

5
The lively Jamal Campbell-Ryce gets his first touch with a trademark mazy run and the Tykes fans enjoyed that moment of excitement

4
Both players look okay to continue after treatment as they tentatively get to their feet a little dazed

3
Kayode Odejayi and Glenn Loovens both require treatment after an accidental clash of heads - that was a nasty one and both players are flat out on the pitch

2
There's plenty of passion from the stands in the opening minutes as both sides get an early nervy feel of the ball

1
Cardiff City kick-off the first half

0
Barnsley defender Steve Foster has made a surprise recovery from a foot injury to start, so manager Simon Davey has named the same 11 that defeated Chelsea in the last round

0
Cardiff are nine places higher and took out Middlesbrough at the quarter-final stage

0
The Tykes are struggling towards the foot of the Championship table, but have accounted for Liverpool and Chelsea already in the competition

0
The two Championship clubs are surprise contenders for a place in the showpiece next month where Premier League side Portsmouth await

0
Barnsley and Cardiff City are set to battle it out for a place in the FA Cup final with a Wembley semi-final meeting this afternoon

Statistics

Barnsley

Shots on target	10
Shots off target	6
Shots off bar/post	0
Fouls	13
Offsides	2
Corners	5

Cardiff City

Shots on target	6
Shots off target	5
Shots off bar/post	0
Fouls	16
Offsides	1
Corners	3

See Live Commentary