Source: Telegraph
Cardiff City 0 Newcastle United 1: match report
Crisis, what crisis? Newcastle moved back to the top of the Championship when they ended Cardiff's high-scoring 100 per cent record at their new stadium, earning their fifth consecutive clean sheet in the league in the process for the first time in 27 years. Not quite good enough for the Premier League, too good for the Championship is a sentence which could now describe them.[LNB]"They certainly know what they are doing," said Dave Jones, the Cardiff manager. "They put 10 men behind the ball and we couldn't break them down. They are a Premier League club with Premier League players."[LNB] Related ArticlesViduka quitting English footballKevin Nolan's warning to NewcastleSmith out to prove his doubters wrongHughton stunned by Newcastle startThis looked as if it would be a very big test for them as they arrived at a buoyant Cardiff but, such was the visitors' control in the middle of the park, marshalled by Alan Smith who tarnished his display with an injury-time sending off that Newcastle rarely looked threatened.[LNB]"We competed well and limited Cardiff to minimal chances and we defended well as a group," was the verdict of Newcastle's acting manager, Chris Hughton, August's Manager of the Month who went on to deny reports in one Sunday newspaper that he had been given the job on a permanent basis.[LNB]"That was news to me," he added. "The situation is the same. I've been asked to look after these lads until I am told anything different. But I haven't been told anything different."[LNB]Newcastle took 18 minutes to get the goal that won them the points a powerful header from Argentine defender Fabricio Coloccini from Ryan Taylor's cross.[LNB]Cardiff had looked in awe of their opponents but they reacted to going behind well even though Steve Harper in the Newcastle goal had very little to do.[LNB]Several times Cardiff were awarded free-kicks in good areas, only to blast the ball straight at the wall, most notably in injury time when Michael Chopra, so keen to score against the club where he started his career, could not breach it from right on the edge of the box.[LNB]Cardiff should have had a set-piece without having to worry about the wall, though. Chopra turned Steven Taylor inside the area but his shot, which was heading for goal, was stopped by the outstretched arm of the Newcastle defender.[LNB]"It was a stone wall penalty," moaned Jones. "It's hard to swallow. We mounted pressure on them only to be let down by the officials. You just can't miss incidents like that."[LNB]The one bad thing for Newcastle was the sending off of the excellent Smith in injury time. This was the 11th time in his career he had been shown red and the second successive time in Cardiff, having been sent for an early bath in a Cup tie at Ninian Park while playing for Leeds in 2002.[LNB]"I think he was very unfortunate," said Hughton. "He was right to be booked for the second offence, but the first one was very harsh. It was a competitive game and Alan is generally in the thick of it and he probably suffered for his reputation."[LNB][LNB]Match details[LNB]Cardiff City (4-4-2): Marshall, Quinn, Hudson, Gerrard, Capaldi, Burke, Rae, Whittingham (Etuhu 68), Ledley, Chopra, Bothroyd. Subs: Enckelman (g), Kennedy, Gyepes, McPhail, Taiwo, Matthews.[LNB]Newcastle (4-3-2-1): Harper, Simpson, Coloccini, S Taylor, Enrique, Nolan, Smith, Guthrie (Lovenkrands 62), R Taylor (Butt 76), Barton (Geremi 87), Ranger. Subs: Krul (g), Lualua, Kádar, Donaldson. Booked: Enrique, Guthrie, Smith. Sent off: Smith.[LNB]Referee: A Hall (West Midlands).[LNB]
