By Chris O'Brien
December 29 2004

Despite leading, the Bluebirds had to settle for a point against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Boxing Day clash at Ninian Park, Camerone Jerome the City scorer. There is now a five-point gap between the Bluebirds and 20th placed Brighton & Hove Albion.

It is difficult to say whether this is a good or bad result for Cardiff City. Wolverhampton Wanderers visited Ninian Park with both sides desperate for three points. A win for Wolves would have lifted then closer to the top half and given new manager Glenn Hoddle his first maximum in charge, whilst the Bluebirds needed the win to give themselves just a little space to breathe above the relegation zone.

It was honours even in South Wales though, with Wolves’ patience paying off as Kenny Miller’s second-half strike cancelled out Cameron Jerome’s opener to share the spoils in a 1-1 draw. The result maintains Hoddle’s unbeaten run in charge of the Midlands outfit, but three consecutive 1-1 draw goals will not appease supporters as Wolves’ hopes of challenging for promotion fade fast.

Under-fire Lennie Lawrence resisted temptation to through loan signing Junichi Inamoto straight into the starting line-up despite the absence of skipper Graham Kavanagh through suspension. Bizarrely, the half-fit Japanese international was joined by two other central midfielders on the bench, Lee Bullock and the returning Richard Langley, yet veteran defender Tony Vidmar started in midfield alongside Willie Boland in the centre. Jobi McAnuff returned to the starting XI on the right, with teenage sensation Joe Ledley on the left flank.

With Neil Harris heading north to Nottingham, Lawrence was forced to return to a two-pronged attack. Record signing Peter Thorne partnered Jerome, whilst Stuart Fleetwood warmed the bench. Alan Lee will still be out for some time with a hernia, whilst the Bluebirds manager is refusing to turn to ex-Middlesborough forward Andy Campbell after his hapless form earlier in the season.

Darren Williams was out with injury, so Rhys Weston made an unpopular return to the team. The Welsh international did look decent at right back though, with reports still stating the club are set to loan him out to League Two. Daniel Gabbidon was captain for the day alongside James Collins at centre-back, whilst Chris Barker continued on the left side of the backline.

Wolves started the brighter of the two sides and could have taken an early lead when Kenny Cooper hit the bar with a fluke shot that had Tony Warner beaten. The City ‘keeper had a woeful afternoon and a large portion of the home crowd were chanting ‘Scotland’s Number One’, begging for Neil Alexander to return and replace the former Millwall shot stopper.

Despite a bright start from the visitors, it was Cardiff who took the lead to the delight of the 15,000 home supporters forming the majority of a bumper day Boxing Day crowd. Collins’ long free-kick eluded the Wolves defence and youngster Jerome ended up with the ball only yards out in front of the Grangened. His shot bobbled over Michael Oakes and into the back of the net. Hoddle would have been fuming with his defence, who should have dealt with the set piece comfortably, but instead Jerome netted his fourth Bluebirds goal.

Wolves continued to push forward but were guilty of squandering chances. Failing to convert opportunities is a major reason why the Black Country side are struggling at the wrong end of the table for a team of such calibre. They are missing injured attacking duo Sturridge and Ndah and it is little wonder fans want to see a striker move to Molineux in the New Year.

Miller, who took a roasting from the home supporters, missed a handful of chances as City went in at the break with a narrow lead. It was the same story at Brammal Lane last week, but the Blades overturned the deficit then and nobody was counting chickens with the Bluebirds looking incapable of hanging onto a lead at present.

The travelling side continued to create more when the second period got underway. Miller again missed t target on 56 minutes. However, the Scotsman finally found the net with a quarter-hour to go and celebrated by taunting the Popular Bank, enraging the fans packing the seats and uncovered terrace. An impressive away following was making all the noise, having been silent for the opening 75 minutes.

Former Newcastle forward Carl Cort flicked on a corner from Keith Andrews before Miller acrobatically knocked the ball past Warner, stuck to his goal line. He is looking another shoddy product of the George Wood school of goalkeeping – unwilling to take risks and command his box. With Martyn Margetson returning from injury next week and Alexander desperate for another chance, are Warner’s days as number one numbered?

With under-fire Lawrence desperate for points to loosen the noose around his neck, Inamoto and Stuart Fleetwood were thrown on. Many Japanese fans were inside Ninian Park to see the midfielder make his debut, and he impressed with a few neat touches and picked up the ayatollah fairly quickly. He replaced MCAnuff, whilst fans were enraged to see goalscorer Jerome taken off for Fleetwood, prompting more ‘Lennie Out’ chants from the Bob Bank. Sam Hammam didn’t budge in the Director’s Box.

Inamoto nearly had a dream debut, with his low shot well saved by Oakes in the closing seconds. At the other end, Wolves had series of corners and could have nicked a winner with Warner making a stop from a soft Miller header. Hoddle’s side were slightly better and did more with their possession, but the draw was probably the fair result and not really any good for both sides.

It had looked as if City would end Boxing Day in the relegation zone. Gillingham had led Brighton & Hove Albion at the Withdean for nearly 80 minutes, but the hosts staged a late fight back to win 2-1. This puts a 5-point gap between City and 20^th placed Brighton, meaning the bottom four are sailing further and further adrift. Nottingham Forest were unlucky 3-2 losers in a topsy-turvy Upton Park clash, whilst Leeds’ win pulls them away from the dogfight.

Full Time – Cardiff City 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Attendance – 16,699