The Bluebirds increased their lead at the top of the table
to seven points again courtesy of Don Cowie and Matt Connolly goals, while Hull
crashed 2-1 at home to Nottingham Forest and Watford went down 1-0 at Barnsley.
Palace were them thumped 3-0 by fierce rivals Brighton at lunch time on Sunday.
Those results brought a sense of relief to Cardiff fans who
were starting to get a bit jittery with their own team’s recent stuttering
form. But the match wasn’t without its share of heart in mouth moments, particularly
when former Swansea striker Leroy Lita had the ball in the net in the final minutes
as the linesman raised his flag for offside.
“It’s another three points towards where we want to go,”
said boss Malky Mackay, whose side still have a game in hand over the chasing
pack. “We’ve been top since November 24 and it’s a long time to be there and be
shot at, discussed, debated – I’m very pleased with the mental strength of our
players to deal with that.
“They just keep taking on the team that’s in front of them
and going on to the next one. You have to keep entering into those battles and eventually
you start to win them. We kept at it and got the result we deserved.”
In the Premiership, Swansea
City lost their second successive fixture as Arsenal avenged their victory
at the Emirates earlier this season with a 2-0 win.
Nacho Monreal and Gervinho scored in the last quarter of an
hour to inflict Swansea’s third home defeat of the season, whose best chances
were squandered by Michu and Angel Rangel, a heavy touch ending the full-back’s
one-on-one chance with Gunners’ ‘keeper Lukasz Fabianski.
Arsenal could even have had a third, but Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain saw his effort rattle the crossbar after cutting inside
Rangel.
Captain Ashley Williams expressed his dismay at the Jacks’ “flat”
performance, urging them not to ruin what has been a brilliant season for the
club.
“I don’t think we played very well,” he said. “It was the
same as last week, maybe even worse.
“It’s disappointing to lose 2-0 at home. It was flat, I’m
not too sure why. I’d never question the lack of effort, there was just no
intensity, no tempo, no urgency. In the second half we never looked like
scoring.
“We’ve got to find that motivation. If that’s what some people
are lacking, they’ve got to find it. I can’t imagine that they are, but it’s
important for us [to win] as much as anybody else.”
In the Conference, Newport’s
game against Macclesfield was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at Rodney
Parade, while Wrexham were held to a
goal-less draw with Luton Town at the Racecourse.
The result saw the Dragons blow the chance to climb back
above Mansfield to the top of the table, as Luton cleared efforts from Dele
Adebola and Martin Riley off the line, while veteran Hatters ‘keeper Mark Tyler
stopped efforts from Adebola and Brett Ormerod.
Stephen Wright could have nicked it at the end, but he
nodded wide from six yards.
The top two were due to face each other at the Racecourse tonight
(March 19), but that game has been called off due to an unplayable pitch.
Newport, on the other hand, return to action with a crunch
promotion clash with play-off rivals Kidderminster Harriers tonight (March 19).
A win for The Exiles would move them within two points of their visitors, who
currently sit third in the table, but Newport do have four games in hand over them
and Wrexham, and three over Mansfield, whom they trail by eight points.
In the Blue Square North, Colwyn Bay’s mini revival under player/manager Frank Sinclair was
further halted with a disappointing home defeat to Altrincham.
Former Chelsea defender Sinclair saw red after 83 minutes
for using what the referee deemed to be an elbow in an off-the-ball clash with
the league’s leading goalscorer, Damian Reeves, to round off a miserable day
for the strugglers.
The visitors shaded the first half, and took the lead after
22 minutes. A low cross from Shaun Densmore saw Reeves fire home from close
range.
They got their second on 54 minutes when Reeves converted a
Nicky Clee cut back, but almost immediately, Bay pulled one back when
substitute Jason Lampkin scored with almost his first touch.
Any hopes Seagulls fans had of a comeback were then halted
when Duncan Watmore beat two defenders and expertly finished inside the area to
kill the game on 80 minutes, before Sinclair’s dismissal three minutes later.
They remain in the relegation zone going in to tonight’s
game with promotion contenders FC Halifax, four points from Corby and safety,
although with two games in hand over them.
“We’ve given it a go, tried to be positive and been a bit
unlucky at times, but it was always going to be a hard test because they are a
good side and are not fifth in the table for nothing,” said Sinclair after the
Altrincham defeat. “They’ve got the league’s top scorer in their side, and
unfortunately we have caught him at a time when he has just started scoring
goals again after a lean spell.
“But we go again. These aren’t the games that will get us
relegated. We’re still in touch with teams immediately above us which is
important, and we’ve got some big games coming up against teams that are down
there with us. It is the results in those games that are going to decide
things.”
Finally, Merthyr Town’s
Evo-Stik League Southern Division One South & West match away at Didcot
Town also had to be postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
They sit fourth in the table as they chase promotion, but
hold games in hand over most of the sides around them.
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