CARDIFF Men’s 1sts 0
UWIC Men’s 1sts 3
CARDIFF’S FIRST TEAM slipped to a 3 – 0 defeat against local rivals UWIC, leaving them still waiting for their first league victory of the season.
With their relegation from the BUSA 1A already confirmed, and with injuries leaving the Cardiff squad depleted, UWIC were able to gain the upper hand, utilising their pace and power upfront to unsettle the Cardiff defence.
UWIC capitalised on this when a failed clearance ricocheted off a Cardiff player and fell straight at the feet of UWIC’s No. 9, who did not hesitate to give his side the lead.
Undeterred, Cardiff continued to battle and came close to equalising when Andre Stairmand found space down the right and produced a fine cross which striker Tom Beckley came agonisingly close to converting.
Cardiff continued to threaten, however yet again they failed to turn their possession into goals; a reoccurring theme in their disappointing season.
With 35 minutes gone, UWIC punished Cardiff’s profligacy with an incisive counter.
Having pushed forward in search of an equaliser, Cardiff’s defence were left outnumbered and a UWIC midfielder was able to race through and double their advantage with a calm finish.
Cardiff began the second half brightly, and had every right to feel aggrieved when the UWIC goalkeeper raced out of the penalty area and appeared to save Beckley’s shot with his hand.
Despite this promising start, the visitors again began to control the match as they outmuscled the Cardiff team in the middle of the park.
Their strike pairing ensured that pressure mounted as they relentlessly closed down Cardiff’s defence, resulting in a string of misplaced passes.
Goalkeeper Moranzi spared his defenders blushes with a brilliant reflex save, but was left hopelessly exposed as yet another poor clearance resulted in UWIC’s third.
Cardiff could find no way back from three goals down, and in truth a consolation goal never looked likely.
Demoralised Coach Dean Wheeler commented; “Going forward we lacked composure and patience.
“At the back we defended too far apart enabling them to play between us easily.”
