By Chris O'Brien
September 19 2004

Lennie Lawrence's job hangs by a thread following another poor performance which resulted in a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Derby County. Changes were made to the starting line-up, but to little affect, as 12,008 witnessed George Burley's side taking all three points.

Cardiff City's hapless start to the Football League Championship season continued with a  fourth consecutive home defeat as Derby County took a comfortable 2-0 victory back to Pride Park. Lennie Lawrence is surely facing the sack after his side put up another poor showing, particularly in the second-half, meaning the Bluebirds remain in 23rd place.

To be fair, Lawrence was brave and rang the changes prior to kick-off as he looked to unleash some new life into the City side. Teenager Stuart Fleetwood made his first Football League start and partnered Peter Thorne up front, whilst Chris Barker, Lee Bullock and Paul Parry returned to the starting line-up. Robert Page was out injured, whilst Willie Boland and John Robinson were left out.

City started quite brightly and looked lively going forward. Fleetwood was impressive and a number of forward runs caused problems for the visiting Rams. Unfortunately, the youngster's first senior start was cut short as he limped off after 40 minutes to be replaced by Irish international Alan Lee, by which time Cardiff already trailed George Burley's side by a single goal.

The lead came on 34 minutes, a fantastic strike opening the scoring for County. A long-range right-footed effort from Marco Reich curled from the edge of the box past Tony Warner and off the post before hitting the back of the net. The travelling fans celebrated in delight and the goal was even applauded by home fans - Cardiff's heads dropped.

Despite going in behind at the break, there were improvements evident in the City performance. However, the second-half was a shocking contrast as City slipped back into the punch-less game that was the cause of the mid-week 3-0 reverse at home to Watford. Lawrence's side looked devoid of ideas and struggled to create chances, with the three points put all-but out of reach only four minutes into the second-period.

Experienced campaigner Ian Taylor took advantage of Cardiff's defensive frailties to slot home the second. A slack pass from Daniel Gabbidon was pounced on by the former Aston Villa star who drove the ball past Warner. Gabbidon was poor again, and it is becoming hard to see why there is so much fuss about the Welsh international - he looked miles away from Premiership class this Saturday afternoon.

Cardiff battled in vain to look for a way back into the game, but the Derby defence dealt with almost everything thrown at it. Peter Thorne missed a guilt edge chance from two-yards out when a player who cost nearly £2million really should have scored, whilst substitute Alan Lee went close on a couple of occasions. Andy Campbell, booed by home supporters, replaced Paul Parry but failed to have an impact on another dismal afternoon at Ninian Park.

Once again chants for Lawrence's head rang around the home terraces, and surely the City boss will be looking for new employment before next Saturday's visit to Molineux. Rumours suggest a handful of new players could be on their way to the Welsh capital before the game, and a new lease of life is desperately needed as Cardiff sit in the relegation zone looking void of ideas.

Full Time - Cardiff City 0-2 Derby County
Attendance - 12,008

Cardiff City: Warner, Weston, Gabbidon, Vidmar, Barker, McAnuff, Kavanagh, Bullock, Parry (Campbell 68), Fleetwood (Lee 40), Thorne.

Derby County: Camp, Vincent, Konjic, Johnson, Kenna, Reich (Junior 77), Taylor, Huddlestone, Smith, Tudgay (Bolder 65), Idiakez.