STEW'S PREVIEWS
MIDDLESBROUGH v CARDIFF CITY
Stewart Flaherty, 13 Dec 2009
BORO EYE VIEW
Sunday 9 March 2008.
The stage was set for the Southgate reign to have its defining
moment. Manchester United had lost to Portsmouth and Chelsea had fallen to Barnsley.
Boro and Portsmouth were the only Premier League
teams in the FA Cup, and a home tie against Cardiff stood between the Boro and a
semi-final they would be favoured in.
Column Continues Below...
A packed Riverside crowd turned up, a mosaic
in the North Stand spelt the words 'Sporting Glory' and as the game kicked off, an
expectant crowd awaited an exciting new chapter in the Riverside revolution.
And then...
Oh how different it could have been!
What happened next saw a passionate,
organised and excellent Cardiff team turn over Premier League Boro. They robbed a town
of its dreams and plunged many fans into depression as a real opportunity to win
the FA Cup had gone begging.
Those ghosts will return on Sunday, and Cardiff are
just as daunting a prospect, if not more so.
A Boro squad without many of the
experienced players that featured that day will go toe to toe with an in-form third
placed Cardiff City, knowing that a loss could mean a gap of over three points opening up
between them and the top six.
It is a crunch game indeed.
When you factor in the ongoing poor home form, this really is a dog fight in which
Boro will have to dig in their heels, fight for every inch and produce points from
a very tough opponent.
CARDIFF EYE VIEW
Rather than the freshly relegated mentality of not belonging in this division and
assuming things will come easy, Cardiff City have experienced the dog fight that is
this division, spent a number of years in it and appreciate the prospect of
promotion to the Premier League.
They are firmly in the play-off spots, and will
have an eye on keeping pace with the automatic promotion contenders and damaging the
hopes of a fellow contender in Boro.
Cardiff come in high scoring form (they have two
of the division's three leading scorers in their team) and are full of confidence. They will
certainly be disappointed if they were to leave the Riverside empty handed.
HEAD TO HEAD
Goalkeepers
Boro - Brad Jones continues in goal, however a Boro side with middling results will
certainly harm his World Cup prospects. The fact that Middlesbrough have such a
relatively young centre-back pairing would require some experience and leadership
from the number one. Jones does not appear to be exerting this kind of influence, and
still has his shaky moments when aerial balls come in.
Cardiff - David Marshall was certainly thrown in at the deep end as far as his
professional career is concerned.
He made his Celtic debut at 19-years-old in an
away game against FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou. He kept a clean sheet in a historic
win for the Hoops, and also saved a penalty from Ronaldinho in a return fixture the
following season.
His Celtic career was cut short when Artur Boruc was signed and
subsequently preferred between the sticks by then Celtic boss Gordon Strachan.
Marshall will need no motivating for this one!
Since those days, Marshall went on to
play over 90 games for Norwich City, and has become a full Scotland international.
Edge: Cardiff. Marshall is a talented and consistent goalkeeper.
Boro Defence v Cardiff Attack
Boro - The chemistry is just not there! While looking very good in spells, and
producing good performances intermittently, Boro have not got a settled and quality
backline.
Defending is not about highlights, or sporadic successes, it is about
winning many small battles, executing many small details, and showing the ability to
succeed consistently over an extended period of time.
St Ledger appeared passive
for the first goal and for the second, it appeared hesitancy and indecision existed
with regards to who was to pressure the ball.
If either of these are true, it could
easily be a sign of confidence lacking. Like the rest of the team, they must focus,
hold their ground and fight in what is sure to be a real battle against a
very dangerous opponent.
Cardiff - Full of confidence and full of goals, Michael Chopra leads a potent front
line and is the Championship's leading goal scorer with 12 goals so far this season.
An ex-Newcastle player and a born and bred Geordie, Chopra will be another Cardiff
player with a little added motivation for what will be a heated affair.
Chopra is
joined up front by Jay Bothroyd, a player with top flight experience and the
answer to the trivia question of 'Who is the last Englishman to score in Serie A?'.
Bothroyd has scored five goals and is the more physical of the pair, using his 6'3"
frame to good effect.
On the bench are Scottish Under-21 international Ross McCormack and Kevin Etuhu,
who is on loan from Manchester City.
Edge: Cardiff. They have a dangerous and free scoring front pair. The quickness and movement
of Chopra is a real threat.
Midfield
Boro - Despite a bad performance against Blackpool, where Charlie Adam deserves an
honourable mention for a magnificent display, a fit Gary O'Neil and Isaiah Osbourne
remain Boro's best pair in the central midfield department.
For all the downgrading
in talent that has occurred over the years in the Boro team, I believe that in
this area, we are no worse than we were in that fateful cup tie.
Rochemback and Arca
were the pairing that day, and while they are more gifted technically and have a
better range of passing, in the less glamorous area of loose ball winning, tracking
runs on defence, and work rate, Osbourne and O'Neil provide the ability that was
proved lacking by Cardiff in 2008.
Adam Johnson lines up on the left and the right
wing appears to be a fight between Yeates and Arca.
Neither of this pair is
defensively brilliant. Arca has the experience, but Yeates has the edge in pace and
athleticism, turning in two good performances recently.
Cardiff - An area that is just as worrying when it comes to goal scoring as their
attackers.
Peter Whittingham is third top scorer in the League and has an excellent
return of 14 goals in all competitions. Whittingham's quick feet and close control
set Cardiff on their way to the cup upset against Boro:
Whittingham is joined in the engine room by Gavin Rae, a real battler who signed for
Cardiff from Glasgow Rangers.
Right winger Chris Burke is another former Rangers
player who plays on the right wing and has produced four goals already so far this
campaign.
Life long Cardiff fan, Joe Ledley, who is also a full Welsh international,
mans the left side.
Other midfielders who could feature for the Bluebirds are Republic of Ireland
internationals Mark Kennedy and Stephen McPhail.
Edge: Even. It is hard to separate two units that are filled with attacking talent.
Boro Attack v Cardiff Defence
Boro - Dave Kitson leads the line in a successful loan spell that many Boro fans
will be hoping leads to a permanent deal.
He is joined by pacy Leroy Lita and they
will look to put a Cardiff back line under pressure in what should be an
entertaining game.
Cardiff - Centre-back Mark Hudson began his career with Fulham and has played 20
games already this season in the heart of defence.
He is joined in central defence
by Everton Academy product Anthony Gerrard, the cousin of Liverpool and England star
Steven Gerrard.
The right-back is Paul Quinn, who began his career with Scottish
Premier League side Motherwell.
Kevin McNaughton has started the previous two games at full-back, and is a
Scottish international. Hungarian international Gabor Gyepes also features on the
backline.
Edge: Boro. A potent front pair are Boro's biggest chance of turning their home
form around.
Fans
Boro - It will be interesting to see the effect of Cardiff on the gate. Will the
prospect of a big Championship contender coming to town raise attendance, or will
the ghosts of Cardiff's last visit convince many to stay away?
One thing is clear,
playing at home is no kind of advantage to Middlesbrough right now.
Cardiff - The Bluebirds will bring a sizeable and passionate following to the game.
Cardiff fans are loud and will create an atmosphere that could become a real
cauldron.
Edge - Cardiff. Boro have an issue they need to deal with, and until it is, home games will become knife edge affairs with a restless crowd.
Prediction
Draw. Boro will be well aware of the size of the task at hand, and have enough
quality to score the goals needed for a tie against a very good Cardiff side.
