Western Mail - West Divs Rugby Round-up

Round-up of rugby results in the West divisions for the Western Mail:

Carmarthen Athletic went top of Division Two West after beating Gorseinon 22-0 thanks to the postponement of Mumbles match against Kidwelly. At the other end of the table Nantymoel notched up their first win of the season 12 – 10 at home to Pontyberem.

There was no change at either end of Division Three West, leaders Ammanford winning 34-12 away to Llanelli Wanderers and relegation candidates Pembroke Dock Quins suffering a 46-0 hammering at home by Aberystwyth.

In Division Three South West the top three marched on with bonus point wins. Nantyffyllon overran Tonna 31-3, BP Llandarcy beat Banwen away 34-6 and Tondu dismissed Vardre 36-3. But fourth-placed Aberavon Quins fell off the pace, slipping up 13-15 at home to Skewen.

Division Four West leaders Hendy lost 20-6 at Trimsaran and bottom-placed Neyland pulled off a 13-0 away victory against mid-table Pembroke.

Division Four South West leaders Bryncoch outclassed Neath Athletic 20-14 and Resolven won an important relegation fight 18-7 at Abercrave.

Cefneithen took the lead in Division Five West with a 12-8 away win against St Clears.

In Division Five South West Bynea won the battle of the bottom two 17-5 against Swansea Uplands while top dogs Ystradgynlais beat Gowerton 41-8 to extend their lead.

And in Division Six West Cimla crossed 12 times against Aberavon Naval to win 80-10.

Club rugby - West round-up

Round-up of Welsh club rugby from the national league West divisions for the Welsh Rugby Union website and the Western Mail.

Kidwelly took advantage of the wet-weather cancellations in Division Two to move into third place with a 23-10 win over rock-bottom Nantymoel. The only other game played saw Gorseinon beat Cwmavon 22-5 to draw level with them on points.

The top two in Division Three West secured bonus point victories to pull further away from the chasing pack. Leaders Ammanford beat Newcastle Emlyn 31-3 and second placed Llanybydder won 22-6 at fourth placed Laugharne. Cardigan beat Amman United 14-3 to stay third while Aberystwyth put 40 points past Llanelli Wanderers without reply in the mid-table battle of the day.

Division Three South West leaders Tondu slipped to third after they crashed 32-7 to BP Llandarcy who go second. Nantyffyllon breezed past bottom-placed Banwen 17-0 to go top and Seven Sisters squeezed past Skewen 8-6 to leapfrog Kenfig Hill who lost 36-7 to Aberavon Quins.

Division Four West top dogs Hendy smashed Milford Haven 77-14 in a 13-try hammering while the bottom two both won their first games of the season. Birchgrove won 13-12 against Pembroke 13-12 and Neyland pulled off a major shock, beating second place Pontarddulais 12-8.

Bryncoch now lead Division Four South West after an away win at Glyncorrwg as the clash between top two Glynneath and Brynamman was called off. Pontycymmer scraped a precious 10-10 draw against Abercrave and Resolven got their second win of the season against Hirwaun.

Burry Port put six tries past St David's to stay top of Division Five West but Cefneithen and Aberaeron both got bonus point wins to keep up the pressure on the leaders.

Betws climbed into the top three in Division Five South West with a 15-11 away win over New Dock Stars. Ystradgynlais made it eight wins out of eight at the top beating bottom placed Swansea Uplands 32-12.

PA Sport - Six points for Rovers

A pair of short match reports for PA Sport which went in the Sunday Mirror:

Bristol Rovers 3 - 0 Carlisle

Chris Lines scored his first goal for Bristol Rovers as they sealed their first win in five games against fourth-placed Carlisle.

Rovers began the day one point above the relegation zone while Carlisle were just four points behind leaders Swansea. But the visitors fell foul to two first-half strikes.

Lines headed in Stuart Campbell's cross and Craig Hinton doubled Bristol's lead within the opening 15 minutes, stabbing home a Campbell corner.

Andrew Williams made it three mid-way through the second half with a curling right-foot effort from 18 yards.

Doncaster 3 - 1 Southend

Adam Lockwood scored his second goal in as many games to send Doncaster fourth in the table after despatching Southend 3-1.

Defender Lockwood headed home Brian Stock's cross in the seventh minute to give Doncaster an early lead.

Southend levelled ten minutes later through Charlie MacDonald but midfielder Paul Green restored Doncaster's lead on the half-hour mark from a Stock corner.

Gareth Roberts made it 3-1 shortly before half-time. Stock was again the provider, crossing from the left for Roberts to hit a rare 18-yard volley into the bottom-left corner.

Alpine adventures in a roller suit

For anyone who has been on a Swiss mountain road and thought they'd seen some crazy cyclists descending at high speeds, this is the next step up. Watch out for the oncoming traffic.

Journos in surf victory

A piece on the Nokia Trends Lab competition which was used virtually verbatim on http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/. To see it click here.

Two trainee journalists won an all-expenses-paid trip to South Africa after taking their surfboards and a state-of-the-art mobile phone into a Cardiff river.

Chris Cousens, 22, of St David's, Pembrokeshire and Andy Sloan, 28, of Horsham, West Sussex dived into the freezing waters of the River Taff in Cardiff with a new mobile phone strapped to their boards to win a weekend’s sunshine in South Africa and all in the name of mobile journalism.

The pair are undertaking a Post Graduate Diploma in newspaper journalism at Cardiff Journalism School, but it was their skills as mobile film-makers which earned them the free trip of a lifetime.



The Cardiff school teamed up with Nokia to test out Nokia’s latest mobile offering, the N95. The collaboration was part of Cardiff’s expanding online journalism module and Nokia’s “Trends Lab” experiments. It was designed to explore the possibilities for mobile journalism.

As an incentive to the trainees Nokia ran a competition with the winners being flown out to South Africa to make a film on Nokia’s first Trends Lab experiment in Africa.

Both avid surfers, Andy and Chris wrapped Nokia’s latest mobile in freezer bags and filmed their adventures surfing down Cardiff’s River Taff in search of an imaginary surf spot, Cardiff Reef. Their film was chosen by Nokia and four days later they were on a plane to Cape Town.

Andy said: “I was absolutely delighted. You can’t really argue against a long weekend in Cape Town in December. We only had a few days to get everything ready and it was all a bit of a whirlwind, but what an experience.

“Nokia started out making wellies and the company was named after a river so we decided to splash around in some water to win the prize. It was great fun and a little bit out of the ordinary so I think that’s what sealed it for us. We got a different perspective on Cardiff thanks to the size of the phones and by taking a bit of a risk with them.”

Chris said: “Everything about the trip was fantastic. Cape Town is a breath-taking place, the sun is shining, the locals are friendly and the scenery is stunning. We only had a short trip, but we saw so much; we even made time to go surfing.

“We are so grateful to Nokia and the Cardiff Journalism School for giving us this opportunity. We both learnt so much. Bring on the next competition.”

Matthew Yeomans, lecturer in online journalism at Cardiff, said this was the first time the department had worked with Nokia and it was designed to show how online stories can easily contain more multi-media elements due to the quality of film and sound that can be captured on the latest mobiles.

“The idea was to create a piece of mobile journalism that would tell a story of film, design or music in Cardiff,” he said. “The winners were sent to South Africa for the weekend, which was a great coup for the journalism school and for the trainees.”

Jackson: Don't Panic

Piece for the Cardiff City website. Click here to see it in its published form.

Colchester midfielder Johnnie Jackson has given Cardiff a boost with a timely reminder not to panic as there are plenty of games left to play.

The former Spurs player has been a regular for the U's this season who are also at the wrong end of the table, level on points with City, and his reminder will be welcomed by Cardiff boss Dave Jones.

Talking to Cardiff City's Andy Sloan Jackson said: "I think Cardiff would expect to be higher up the league, especially with the strikers that they've bought in. You'd expect them at this level to be really doing the business and putting a string of results together. But it's pretty early. It's only a third of the way through the season so I don't think its time for panic."

Jackson is surprised at his own team's position in the league after their tenth place finish last year in their first season in the Championship. "Obviously we want to be higher up ourselves," he said. "Every team down there does. I'm sure every team is capable of getting out of it. The league's so tight, if you put a couple of wins together. You'll find yourselves in the top half pushing for the play-offs."

But Jackson's message of hope was qualified by his belief that the U's are intent on continuing their good record against the Bluebirds.

He said: "We know Cardiff's a difficult place to go and a draw would probably be a decent result for us, but we're going into this game looking for a win. We'll be confident and I'm sure Cardiff will be confident in front of their own fans and it should be a good game."

Colchester have struggled this season after holding their own last time around. Jamie Cureton and Chris Iwelumo have left to go to Norwich and Charlton respectively but the U's have replaced them with Kevin Lisbie, Clive Platt and former England, Manchester United and Spurs striker Teddy Sheringham.

"We've not been disappointed with the way we've played," admitted Jackson. "There have been a few games where we haven't really performed but there have been a lot of games where we felt we should have really taken points and haven't done or we've drawn a lot of games we thought we should have won."

Jackson echoed the feelings of many City fans as he described Colchester's current standing in the league, saying, "I'm not saying it's a false position, but we feel it could be a lot higher. I'm sure that most teams look at every game and say that if we had done that then we could be there, but we certainly feel that we've thrown away a few points where we didn't need to."

Horsham stun Swansea

The magic of the FA Cup is still alive and well. Yesterday I had my first taste of it as a supporter of my home town club Horsham and my feet haven't touched the ground since.

Not only did non-league Horsham star on Sky Sports in the FA Cup Second Round against Swansea City, four divisions and 100 places above them, but they won an 82nd minute penalty and equalised, earning a replay at the Liberty Stadium and a place in the Third Round draw alongside Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.



In the 66th minute Horsham manager John Maggs threw on the club's most expensive signing, £2,500 Lee Farrell, in search of an equaliser.

In the 80th minute, two minutes before Farrell was hauled down for the penalty, I picked up the following email:

Christianne Lambert to chriscousens, andynsloan, matthew 4:56 PM (4 hours ago) Reply

<mailto:chriscousens@hotmail.com%3ECongratulations Chris and Andy!

You've won the Nokia Trends Lab Experiment and will be coming to South Africa next week to be our Roving NTL Reporters!!!

We loved your film and will be in touch on Monday (3rd) to discuss the finer details of your trip!
In the meantime could you please email me a direct contact number and also ensure that you are able to travel from London on Thursday 6th December, returning on Sunday 9th or Monday 10th December.

All details will be confirmed on Monday 3rd but we will of course cover your additional transport from Cardiff to London, flights and accommodation to South Africa.

Have a great weekend!

Bestest

Christianne and the Nokia Trends Lab Team

Boss Watch: Alan Pardew

Piece for the Cardiff City FC match program:

Alan Pardew has been described by the BBC as a “distant and dangerous animal,” and is the only man to have taunted Arsene Wenger to the point of fisticuffs; a feat even Sir Alex Ferguson, Wenger’s great protagonist, hasn’t managed.

The current Charlton manager starred as a player for Crystal Palace in the days when short shorts were de rigeur and wages were £400 a week. That’s roughly £129,600 a week less than Chelsea’s John Terry is on today.

Pardew helped Palace win promotion to the old Division One and scored the winning goal in the Eagles’ 4-3 FA Cup semi-final victory over Liverpool in 1990 but had to settle for a runners-up medal after taking Manchester United to a replay in the Final.


The former glazier, who once took six months out of football for a better-paid window job in the Middle East, moved to Charlton Athletic in 1991 and was their top scorer in 1992/93.

His managerial career began at Barnet as a player coach before he moved to Reading as reserve team manager. In 1998 he took charge of the first team and led them from the bottom of the old Second Division to Division One and narrowly missed out on back-to-back promotions to the top flight when Reading lost in the play-offs.

West Ham came calling at the start of the 2003/04 season and the prospect of handling an outfit more likely to make the Premiership than Reading was too much for Pardew to turn down. He failed in his first season but secured promotion to the top flight in his second.

A remarkable season followed in 2005/06, culminating in an epic 2006 FA Cup Final clash against Liverpool and an in-form Steven Gerrard. West Ham lost on penalties and from there things went to pot for Pardew.

In the summer of 2006 Pardew stunned the world when he pulled off the signing of the Argentinean duo, arguably the hottest prospects in world football. But they failed to fit in at Upton Park. Tevez eventually scored the goal that spared Alan Curbishley’s blushes at the end of last season, but by then Pardew had been sacked and taken up the reins at Curbishley’s old stomping ground, Charlton.

Pardew was unveiled at the Valley less than two weeks after Icelandic moneyman Magnusson lost patience with him at West Ham. He took over with Charlton in 19th place and with the worst goal difference in the league. Charlton's form improved but he was unable to keep them up, suffering the first relegation of his career as a player and manager.

His motto? Tenacity, spirit and flair.

Charlton Athletic - Form Guide

Piece for the Cardiff City FC match program:

Charlton have had a mixed time on the road this season. An away defeat at Wolverhampton is no great shame but a defeat against Luton is a bit more suspect. These can be offset though by good results against Crystal Palace and, more recently, Bristol City and the Addicks have won their last four matches so confidence is high.

Alan Pardew will be pleased with his side’s place in the league. Charlton lie in third place despite a nasty slip up against QPR and being held to a draw by Colchester and Barnsley.

Reading their results makes you realise how easily Cardiff could have been up there with them. But that’s football, and Charlton are all too familiar with varying degrees of fortune.

In the 1998/99 they succumbed to relegation from the Premiership on the final day after their first year in the top flight. The board kept faith with then manager Alan Curbishley and Charlton bounced straight back up the following year. Curbishley kept them there and the club even flirted with a Champions League place in 2003/04.

After 15 years at the helm, Curbishley parted company with Charlton in 2006. Pardew was appointed after the club failed to fall in love with Ian Dowie and Les Reed in quick succession. Dowie only managed 12 league matches before being given the boot in November 2006 and Reed was removed a month later on Christmas Eve.

Pardew lifted the club’s fortunes, and found some consistency, but relegation was confirmed in the penultimate game of the season.

The Addicks have never been a big club and it is widely recognised that Curbishley worked wonders in getting them to the Premiership. They may have had a centre-back pairing at one point in their recent history of ‘Costa’, ‘Fortune’, but finances were few and far between and Curbishley had to rely on his coaching skills rather than transfer kitties.

Pardew, a former Addicks player, is intent on getting Charlton back to the Premiership and carrying on Curbishley’s good work. To date he is on track but the Christmas period will prove the test of his and his player’s resolve.

Darren Bent, Hermann Hreidarsson, Dennis Rommedahl, Luke Young and Cardiff’s own Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink were all off-loaded over the summer to raise funds and reduce the wage bill. Chris Iwelumo, Chris Powell, Svetoslav Todorov, Nicky Weaver and youngsters Dean Sinclair and Izale McLeod were all brought to the club. Iwelumo's free transfer from Colchester is looking particularly shrewd.

Pardew's biggest outlay was on Chinese midfielder Zheng Zhi, for two million pounds, who has been a regular this season.

England enter a cold spell

English football may have entered a long winter of discontent, but elsewhere the cold is less figurative and is causing tangible excitement.

The scottish winter climbing season is kicking off and despite climate change concerns there is still a fair amount of snow to be had in Scotland this winter.

Something completely different

Cardiff Journalism School and Nokia joined forces recently to test the latest offering from the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer.

And remarkably the best entry to the competition set out by Nokia would win a trip to South Africa to film the next big Nokia event.

The company began by making wellies so we decided to splash around in some water with their latest product, the Nokia N95, in the name of experimental film-making.

Parry pops up to save Jones

Cardif City v Ipswich Town

Sat 24 Nov 2007 - 12pm

Paul Parry’s first-half strike was enough to earn Cardiff City a valuable 1-0 victory over Ipswich Town and ease the pressure on under fire boss Dave Jones.

It was a vital win for Jones who has been under scrutiny following Cardiff’s record of only one win in their last 11 matches. A result was required against Ipswich who had failed to register an away win this season and Parry duly delivered for his boss in 31st minute with the only goal of the game.

Jones’s had stressed the need to stick together in his pre-match notes. His players took heed, a huddle before kick off demonstrating the significance of a result against an Ipswich side placed 6th in the Championship in stark contrast to their own perilous position just a point above the relegation zone.

The visitors may not have travelled well this season but they were riding high after dismantling Bristol City 6-0 in the last defence of their 100 per cent home record.

Jones rang the changes for Cardiff dropping Robbie Fowler from the squad and overhauling half the defence, Glenn Loovens and Chris Gunter replacing Roger Johnson and Kevin McNaughton respectively. Steve Thompson was paired with Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink in attack for his second start of the season.

Cardiff’s intent was clear from the off. A raucous penalty appeal in the 5th minute earned Loovens a yellow card and the tempo set by his team mates appeared to rattle Ipswich in the early stages.

A surging run from Thompson drew a scything tackle from the Tractor Boys’ captain Jason De Vos in a desperate bid to slow the pace being set by Cardiff. Joe Ledley promptly demonstrated that home side were prepared to mix it as well, joining De Vos in the book minutes later for a crunching challenge on the Ipswich right back Dan Harding.

But Cardiff almost had a nightmare start. Within 15 seconds of Cardiff’s kick-off former Bluebird Alan Lee broke free down the left and chipped Kasper Schmeichel. Only the woodwork saved the young keeper’s blushes. Schmeichel’s loan from Manchester City has been extended until January and his presence will be key if Jones is to save his job but on this occasion the Dane was caught out completely.

The Cardiff boss is also pinning hopes on the development of Chris Gunter and the young Wales International rewarded his manager’s faith in him with an energetic performance. He did everything asked of him with determination and maturity beyond his years and his composure and positioning enabled Paul Parry ahead of him the freedom to roam.

Almost every Cardiff attack came through Parry although the best chance of the opening exchanges belonged to Hasselbaink. His curling free-kick dipped narrowly over the bar in the 20th minute.

Cardiff failed to make their early pressure pay though. Despite spending most of the first 45 in the Ipswich half they were unable to make the breakthrough they deserved. It’s been the story of their season so far.

On the half hour mark Ipswich seemed to be seizing the initiative. Parry over-hit a cross, Gunter attempted a woeful 40-yard pass and Cardiff started to crumble.

But, from a throw within their own half, Stephen McPhail unleashed Parry on a surging counter attack which ended with a goal that Parry and his boss will remember for some time.

As Parry neared the edge of the box on the right wing he jinxed back inside and released a left foot curler. It sailed around the outstretched arm of former Bluebird Neil Alexander and rippled the back of the net at the far post.

Ipswich’s Danny Haynes replacing Pablo Counago was the only highlight of a dire start to the second half. Swirling rain dampened the performance of the players from both sides who lacked invention in the final third.

Joe Ledley was forced off by a knock in the 64th minute. Two international games for Wales appeared to have taken their toll on the midfielder who disappeared down the tunnel for treatment.

His replacement, Peter Whittingham, flashed a free-kick across the face of goal in the 78th minute but the Cardiff attack failed to capitalise on it and finish off the game.

Owen Garvan, so often Ipswich’s playmaker at home, was effectively taken out of play by the Cardiff midfield to the extent that he was replaced in the 70th minute. Ipswich boss Jim Magilton brought on Billy Clarke in an attempt to find a way back into the game. But Clarke’s only contribution of note was to test the hands of Schmeichel well after the referee had blown for a clear offside. For the record Schmeichel saved it, much to the joy of the home fans.

Ipswich’s performance was summed up by the fact that it came to centre-back Alex Bruce to take the initiative. He almost caused Cardiff some problems with an excellent run in the last ten minutes which resulted in a searching cross. Schmeichel was easily equal to it but it sparked a period of sustained pressure from the visitors.

Jones final substitution enraged Cardiff’s Steve Thompson. The Scotsman was replaced by centre back Johnson as Jones’s looked to settle for a 1-0 win and bolster the defence for the dying moments of the game.

But Johnson headed for the other end of the pitch and took his place alongside Hasselbaink. Whatever the plan, Cardiff survived the late push from Ipswich to earn what could be a significant three points and a win that buys Jones a touch more time in the Ninian Park hot seat.


Cardiff (4-4-2): Schmeical, Capaldi, Rae, Purse, Loovens, McPhail, Parry, Ledley (Whittingham 64’), Thompson (Johnson 87’), Hasselbaink, Gunter. Subs Not Used: Oakes, McNaughton, MacLean,

Yellows: Loovens, Ledley
Goals: Parry 31’

Ipswich (4-4-2): Alexander, De Vos (Capt), Lee, Miller, Bruce, Harding, Walters, Wright, Garvan (Clarke 70’), Williams, Counago (Haynes 58’). Subs Not Used: Supple, Wilnis, Legwinski.

Yellows: Miller, De Vos, Williams, Haynes


Referee: Mr A Bates
Attendance: 15,173

Salako tips City revival

Piece for the Official Cardiff City FC website. Click HERE for link.

Thu 08 Nov 2007

by Andy Sloan

Former Crystal Palace star John Salako has tipped Cardiff City to turn things around and said they were unlucky to draw against his old side on Tuesday night.

Salako, 38, who made 222 appearances for the Eagles during his nine years at Selhurst Park, was commentating on the game for Sky Sports and is familiar with Wales after a loan spell at Swansea early in his career.

"The two sides have really struggled for any consistency and form but I think both sides will be alright, they should climb up the table. I thought Palace were very spirited. They came out and did very well. Cardiff never seemed to really get it together. It was a little disjointed, passes going astray but they had all the best chances," said Salako.

Cardiff drew 1-1 after taking an early lead through Captain Darren Purse but Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink had the opportunity to seal all three points late on.

"Jimmy had two or three really good chances; one with the head, one at the far post," said Salako. "In the end you probably thought 1-1 was the fair reflection, but Cardiff were really throwing away two points."

The midfielder, who won five caps for England and was part of Steve Coppell's side that took Manchester United to an FA Cup Final replay in 1990, was pleased with Palace's latest manager, Neil Warnock.

He said: "I thought it was a good performance from Palace. Neil Warnock really went for it, took the bull by the horns, and made the changes at half time. He went for a little more pace, a little bit more direct."

And he agreed with Cardiff boss Dave Jones and the majority of the crowd that Palace's controversial penalty equaliser had been wrongly awarded, saying, "It wasn't a penalty. My first thought was that it was outside the box and he fell into the box."

Worse still for Mason and the Cardiff fans, Salako believes the home side should have had a penalty of their own in the second half.

He said: "The referee, Lee Mason, didn't have the best of games. He missed a lot of things, got the penalty wrong and then McPhail went down in the second half on the edge of the box and I thought it was a little bit rash by Tom Soares. [Mason] could have given that one to level it up but he didn't. Dave Jones won't be too happy with him because I think everything really went against Cardiff today."

Cardiff strikes it rich with fifth Heineken Cup Final

In 2008 Cardiff will host the Heineken Cup Final for the fifth time and to launch this season’s competition a star-studded gathering was held at City Hall. ANDY SLOAN was there to hear the Welsh Premier extol the virtues of Wales as a sporting destination and make an extraordinary plea for a return to rugby tactics of old.

First Minister Rhodri Morgan lined up alongside the captains of each of the 24 competing teams and former Welsh rugby stars Ieuan Evans and Scott Quinnell at the launch and Miss Wales, Kelly Pesticcio, added an extra splash of glamour to the occasion.

Mr Morgan did not need to add any gloss to his views on Cardiff as a sporting venue. “I think you have to say, based on all the evidence so far, [Cardiff] is as good as the home of the Heineken Cup,” he said. “It is coming back to its natural home in 2008.”

He reflected on the spectacle of the 2007 Rugby World Cup and the Calzaghe v Kessler fight and acclaimed Wales as a centre of sporting excellence. He pointed to the 2009 Ashes test to be held at Sophia Gardens and the 2010 Ryder Cup to be held in Newport.

“How do you match that in the next decade?” he said. “We have to think about that. We have some amazing facilities.”

But having rounded off his speech, Mr Morgan couldn’t resist an attempt to set out his stall on the way rugby is played today.

“We’ve been through the Rugby World Cup and it was heart-stopping at times for everybody. There was some great entertainment but I hope that one way or another we could have some matches that see a lot less than 15 up and unders in the game.

“I would like to see a little more ball-in-hand rugby. But it’s not a matter for me. People want to win and whatever tactics you can use to win people will use. I can do a lot of things, but unfortunately I can’t control that.”

He can’t, it is true. But with the money generated from hosting events such as the Heineken Cup Final he may see an improvement in the “Welsh way” on the World stage.



See the Heineken Cup captains pose with the trophy in the video above and click here for more information on your favourite team

Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Roger Lewis, who also spoke at the launch, said: “The last time the Heineken Cup was held in Cardiff the Welsh economy benefited to the tune of more than £25 million.”

It is no surprise therefore that Mr Lewis was eager to talk about the business of rugby. Over the course of the year he anticipated the total benefit to Wales would be closer to £90 million.

“It is about taking rugby to the world and taking the world to Wales,” he said. A career in politics beckons if he continues with such sound bites but if the world does keep coming to Wales then the coffers of the WRU, who own and operate the Millennium Stadium, will be far healthier; and that can only benefit Welsh rugby.

Heineken Cup Ambassadors Miss Wales and former Wales and Scarlets number eight, Scott Quinnell, carried in the trophy at the start of the ceremony. Quinnell quipped he had waited a long time to get his hands on it and Ieuan Evans, compèring the event, jested, “You are talking about the cup aren’t you Scott?”



Listen to Miss Wales talk rugby above then click here to see how she won her crown and what she's been up to this year

Quinnell recalled the magnificence of the Millennium Stadium and admitted he wept when he played his testimonial there in 2005. “Two years ago was one of the highlights of my career,” he said. “The whole city rose to the occasion. I have never seen 50,000 people cry at once. I was one of them.”

Cardiff-born Miss Wales won her title after battling a rare spinal disease, scoliosis, which forced her to spend many of her teenage years in a brace. The 23-year-old medical student backed the Blues to overcome their own hurdles in the form of Bristol, Harlequins and Stade Francais and line up a dream date in Cardiff on May 24 next year.

Cardiff Blues boss David Young was a little more circumspect but was more confident of his team’s chances than in previous years.

He said: “The Heineken Cup is always a tournament we look forward to playing in and a yardstick by which we get measured. It’s not a bad draw for us, there are no easy groups, but it probably isn’t as difficult as we had last year. The proof will be in the pudding.”

Cardiff lost the inaugural 1996 final 21-18 after extra time to Toulouse at Cardiff Arms Park. No Welsh team has made the final since. There are a number of Welshmen hoping that is about to change.

Championship Review (23/24 Oct)

Round-up for the Cardiff City FC match program:

What now my love by Andy Sloan

Cardiff City’s aspirations at the start of the season were clear: promotion. Defensive frailties let them down again midweek against Wolves and they are in need of a belter of a performance to get back on track. A performance akin to the away win over West Brom in the Carling Cup, a performance that would be worthy of another great Welsh performer: Dame Shirley Bassey, the inspiration for this week’s theme and the inclusion of 33 album and track names. Can you spot them?

Wednesday born to sing the blues
Cardiff face Scunthorpe today; at home. It is not the easiest of encounters squaring up to a side whose nickname is The Iron, who’ve only lost one of their previous five matches and who won their last one, inflicting a fifth home defeat on Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday night. Scunthorpe are used to breaking hearts.

It was an Owls old-boy, Martin Paterson, who took Wednesday’s heart away with a brace before the break after Deon Burton put the home side ahead from the spot on Tuesday. Scunthorpe are up to ninth and where Cardiff should be.

Sheffield Wednesday are home to Blackpool today and a result for the Owls could see them rise from the relegation zone and help keep Blackpool below Cardiff.

West Brom reach for the stars
Despite losing four games away from home West Bromwich Albion have climbed almost every home mountain and on Tuesday they beat Blackpool to go second. Results elsewhere mean they now lie fourth and today they will have an opportunity to add to their excellent home record against Norwich.

West Brom took the lead early on against Blackpool through Ishmael Miller but before the break Scott Vernon equalised for the visitors. James Morrison pulled the goldfinger trigger to start a fire down below and belt home a 20 yard rocket in the closing stages to steal the points.

Baggies boss Tony Mowbray entertained Cardiff City fans when he said: "At home this season, we have been pretty impressive.” We all remember the Bluebirds 4-2 Carling Cup victory at the Hawthorns.

Watford talk of the town against Coventry
League leaders Watford pulled further away from the chasing pack with a thumping result at the Ricoh Arena. Their 3-0 demolition of Coventry compounded Ian Dowie’s problems and helped fuel strenuously denied rumours about the berth at Bolton.

West Brom and co. have a chance to claw three points back today, but only until Monday when the Hornets face Palace. Watford have been good and bad but midweek they were beautiful and the Eagles are unlikely to upset them.

Marlon King carried on where he left off against Hull, scoring the Hornets second goal against Coventry after Adam Johnson’s opener, set up by the King, naturally. He also hit the wood work and set up Henderson for the third before half time to send Watford nine, count them, nine points clear.

The good news was that Adrian Boothroyd’s men weren’t infallible. The bad new was that Michael Misfud seemed to have lost his Midas touch and blew the best of the home sides chances.

Coventry have to pick themselves up to face Colchester who got ideas above their station with a 3-2 defeat of Premiership yo-yos West Bromwich Albion last weekend. They were brought back down to earth with a horrible 3-1 reverse against Ipswich.

Ipswich never, never, never lose at home
No one wants to lose a derby and Colchester boss Geraint Williams would have been delighted when Clive Platt gave the U’s a 31st minute lead against Ipswich. It was a lead they held into the break giving a fine demonstration of why they’ve scored even more goals than Watford.

The flipside is that Colchester have conceded the same number of goals as Sheffield Wednesday and failed to stop the rot in the second-half at Portman Road. Mark Yeates missed what turned out to be a pivotal penalty and Ipswich took full advantage, seizing the momentum to score three goals in thirteen minutes to snatch the bragging rights.

More significantly, they maintained their 100% home record. Jonathan Walters, Liam Trotter and Danny Haynes would have been the toast of the town. If completely unsubstantiated rumours are correct they might even have Beckham training with them over the winter as he attempts to maintain his fitness during the MLS close season. Today they have to settle for a kick-a-bout with Mick McCarthy’s Wolves.

Nobody does it like Warnock
Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan employed Neil Warnock as a winner but he lost against Stoke in his first home game last Tuesday and on Monday faces a Watford team on the rampage.

Richard Creswell for Stoke and Dougie Freedman for Palace traded goals shortly after half time but the former had another one up his sleeve. Freedman, and the Eagles, had no reply. Ryan Shawcross won’t have pleased Jordan when he added a third for the visitors. ‘And We Were Lovers’ was unlikely to be on the post match entertainment shortlist.

Stoke supreme Tony Pulis had nothing but thoughts of love for his defence despite alarming reports of premature arthritis. "The oldest player in our back four is 22, and Palace had a good spell when we were creaking a bit,” he said.

Love, life and feelings are looking good for Bristol
Bristol City maintained their sensational start to life in the Championship with a battling 2-0 win over Southampton midweek. They will be relishing today’s clash with Stoke as a chance to further outline their credentials for back to back promotion.

Darren Byfield and Ivan Sproule put the Robins two goals up within the first twenty minutes. Southampton were given hope by an own goal from Jamie McAllister in the second half but could not find an equaliser and lost Youssef Safri to a red card in injury time.

Robson is no fool on the hill
Neil Warnock’s successor at the Blades, Bryan Robson, does not have the greatest of golden eyes for rescuing teams from relegation. But he pulled the oldest football club in the world, Sheffield United, away from a drop zone they had no right to be anywhere near with a 1-0 win away to Leicester on Tuesday night. They start today on thirteen points, level with Cardiff.

James Beattie will be in need of counselling after the Championship’s top scorer failed to get his name on the score-sheet against Leicester although he did have a goal disallowed for offside. Instead it was Danny Webber who took on the goal-scoring duties, striking ten minutes into the second half to secure Robson a much needed win.

Gary Megson is another name that has been heavily linked with the vacant remit at the Reebok stadium not least after the Foxes had kept clean sheets in their last three matches until the visit of Beattie and co.

Barnsley lose the rhythm divine
Next up for big spender Bryan and the Blades are Hull, who were something else in their 3-0 demolition of Barnsley on Monday night. A brace from yet another Manchester United youngster, Frazier Campbell, sealed the win. Campbell is on loan from the Theatre of Dreams in a bid to kick-start some of his own. A draw between the Sheffield United and Hull would suit Cardiff just fine.

Barnsley, who saw their seven game unbeaten run ended at the KC Stadium will look to bounce back against Leicester today, not least after Sheffield United’s Danny Webber proved that no defence is water tight for long.

Pilgrims living a special dream in the Valley
The undisputed highlight of the midweek activity was Plymouth Argyle’s 2-1 away win at the Valley which leaves them fifth in the table ahead of their trip to Preston today.

The visitors were something else as they took a surprise lead through Sylvan Ebanks-Blake barely five minutes after the Pilgrims boss Ian Holloway had taken his seat for kick-off.

Danny Mills rolled back the years with a fabulous long range effort to equalise although the goal was credited to the Plymouth keeper Luke McCormick after Mills’s shot hit the woodwork then McCormick to find the net.

Barry Hayles stopped the show in the 38th minute with what turned out to be the winner as Plymouth held on stoically in the second half to infuriate Alan Pardew and get the party started in the West Country.

“The referee and the goalkeeper's performance are excuses that could have been taken out of the equation tonight if we had better finishing,” said the Addicks boss.

Ian Holloway said: "Sometimes us managers fall on our sword but if we continue to play like that, it won't happen to me." He didn’t say: “Kiss me, honey, honey, kiss me.”

The show must go on at QPR
Flavio Briatore’s attempts to return Loftus Road to the glamour days of Rodney Marsh and company could take a step in the right direction today as a win would see them leave the relegation zone for the first time in a long time.

A goalless midweek draw away at Preston salvaged another point to put towards their cause but today’s fixture away to a Charlton side smarting from some smart talking from Ian Holloway is unlikely to yield the desired result. Can QPR prevent history repeating and turn the tide of results?

Norwich simply hope to get by
Peter Grant might well wonder “Does anybody miss me?” Norwich are now level on points with QPR, likely to take a hiding at the hands of the Baggies and lost (again) in midweek to Burnley, although they did score.

Unfortunately it took Robbie Blake less than a minute to put the Clarets ahead and Andy Gray made it two from the spot three minutes later to prolong the nightmare for Norwich. Chris Brown’s first goal for the Canaries gave them a sniff of some points but Burnley kept the music playing to take all three.

And for those of you wondering how I planned to get diamonds are forever into this review, well, that’s another story.

Today's other fixtures:

Bristol City v Stoke, 15:00
Burnley v Southampton, 17:20
Cardiff v Scunthorpe, 15:00
Charlton v QPR, 12:45
Coventry v Colchester, 15:00
Hull v Sheff Utd, 15:00
Ipswich v Wolverhampton, 15:00
Leicester v Barnsley, 15:00
Preston v Plymouth, 15:00
Sheff Wed v Blackpool, 15:00
West Brom v Norwich, 15:00

Fowler finds form for City

Cardiff City v Preston North End
22 September 2007 - 12.45pm

Robbie Fowler fired his first two goals for Cardiff City yesterday against Preston North End. But the Bluebirds could only draw after Callum Davidson added a second of his own in injury time rounding off another madcap week at Ninian Park.

As Jose Morinho rocked English football with his departure from Chelsea, Cardiff City Chairman Peter Ridsdale caused similar shockwaves across the border in the Welsh capital this week, tendering his resignation.

Ridsdale had been receiving abuse from fans following a poor start to the season and reports of financial troubles off the pitch. “I am getting more stick for saving Cardiff City than I did when things went wrong at Leeds," he said.

Unlike Mourinho at Chelsea, Ridsdale retained the backing of the rest of the board and his resignation was rejected. And come the 38th minute of City’s encounter with fellow strugglers Preston the fans were singing his name following Fowler’s opening salvo, the first of his Ninian Park tenure, which brought promises of a first home league win of the season. His second, after a long range equaliser from Davidson, brought delirium.

But full-back Davidson spoilt the party in the dying moments leaving a frustrated Dave Jones with just the solitary point and a prone Roger Johnson who was later carried tentatively off the pitch by a number of concerned paramedics. A neck injury was feared but it was later confirmed that he is unharmed.

Cardiff’s season began with the fanfare signings of Fowler and Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink, amidst focus on an impotent attack. City’s other strikers having since found their shooting boots away from home, and Hasselbaink opening his account with a fine long range strike on Wednesday night against Watford, it is the defence to whom the focus had shifted.

With the continued absence of Darren Purse and Glenn Loovens, Dave Jones sought attack as the best form of defence to avoid the prospect of City’s fourth consecutive home defeat in the Championship. The up and coming Chris Gunter was dropped in favour of Welsh international winger Joe Ledley, with Trevor Sinclair slotting into the right-back position.

It was a tactical change that provided City with more options, Ledley and Paul Parry switching flanks and Sinclair pushing on to whip in crosses from the right and free kicks from the left.

Preston are a side also short on form, to the extent that this fixture was cheekily referred to as a relegation dogfight. Both Preston and the Bluebirds have Premiership aspirations so it is foolish to attach such a label just six games into the season but it reflects the feelings of the fans.

Gunter’s replacement, Ledley, almost opened the scoring, forcing an acrobatic save from Andy Lonergan at the far left post from a pin-point cross by Parry.

It was a carbon-copy cross from Ledley onto the head of Fowler in the 28th minute after good work from Sinclair that simultaneously broke the deadlock on the day and lifted the burden of expectation on Fowler and Dave Jones’ decision to include him after a flat-footed display against Watford.

Unlike Fowler, Cardiff’s on-loan keeper, Ross Turnbull, paid the price of flapping at Adam Johnson’s free-kick on Wednesday night as Michael Oakes replaced him between the sticks. Oakes had little to do but watch Paul Gallagher’s tenth minute shot fly narrowly over his bar and make an important interception in the 33rd minute as the City defence were once more caught napping, allowing Preston to fire in a dangerous cross.

With a one-nil lead and his side playing with the majority of the possession, Dave Jones pulled Parry at half time, restoring Gunter to the field and Sinclair to his natural berth on the right wing. Jones revealed after the game that this was enforced by a slight injury to Parry rather than a desire to tinker tactically.

Preston put a spanner in the works ten minutes later, Davidson equalising with a stinging, low drive that escaped Oakes’ outstretched right hand and found the bottom corner of the net to the predictable dismay of the Cardiff faithful who had a first home win in their sights.

Fowler restored the lead and convinced any doubters of his calibre in the 64th minute, heading home from Ledley’s in-swinging corner. He received a standing ovation when replaced by Steve Thompson in the final five minutes.

But Davidson was not to be outdone by the former Liverpool legend. In injury time, as the Cardiff fans congratulated themselves on a job well done, a final free kick was laid square to Davidson. He let loose another rocket, this time into the bottom left corner of the net, to leave Cardiff them still seeking a first elusive home win.

“At least we’ve stopped the rot” was Jones’s optimistic post-match summary.

Cardiff 4-4-2: Oakes, McNaughton, Capaldi, Rae, Fowler (Thompson 84’), McPhail, Parry (Gunter 46’), Johnson, Ledley, Sinclair (Whittingham 78’), Hasselbaink. Subs not used: Turnbull, Blake.

Preston North End 4-4-2: Lonergan, Davidson, Mawene, Sedgwick, Agyemang (Hawley 60’), Gallagher (Mellor 71’), Carter, Chilvers, Hill, Jones, Nicholls. Subs: Hawley, St Ledger, L. Neal, C.Neal.

Referee: A R Hall

Yellows: Davidson (21’), Chilvers (39’)

Attendance: 11,772

Championship Review (18/19 Sept)

Round-up for the Cardiff City FC match program:

It’s not unusual by Andy Sloan

Tom Jones has probably played in more stadiums than Ryan Giggs and therefore the fruits of his labours deserve to be the theme for this round-up of mid-week action in the Championship and my, my, my are we now sick of writing about Darius Henderson.

Beattie burning down the house
James Beattie continued his sensational scoring streak with two strikes against Blackpool to salvage an unlikely point for his latest employers, Sheffield United. In fact, Beattie opened and closed the show, heading the opener on 13 minutes and then seeing a speculative 35 yard effort creep under Blackpool keeper Paul Rachubka two minutes from time and just seconds after Ben Burgess thought he had won the match for Blackpool. Stephen Crainey had equalised for the home side with a free kick moments before half-time and when his team-mate, Burgess, added the second the Blackpool fans could be forgiven for celebrating three well earned points but hadn’t counted on a Beattie’s sensational winner that must have had his former manager, David Moyes, shaking his head in exasperation.

The Robins run while others walk
Playing a day before Watford, Bristol City took the chance to temporarily reacquaint themselves with the top spot, but had to rely on a late equalizer from Bradley Orr and superior goal difference than the Hornets. They failed to take all three points against West Bromwich Albion yet were happy to salvage a point after coming perilously close to ending their unbeaten run. Manager Gary Johnson said afterwards, "the boys never say die and that's the attitude they've got at the moment.” His counterpart, Tony Mowbray, was understandably upset having seen his side take the lead halfway through the second half courtesy of Robert Koren. Despite missing a host of chances to put the game beyond doubt, the Baggies were seemingly heading for the win until Orr latched onto a Lee Johnson cross in the 89th minute. "When you get two minutes from the end of the game, 1-0 up, looking comfortable, we're disappointed,” said Mowbray. “Credit to Bristol City, they kept going. You've got to give respect for where they are in the league. They're not there by accident. They're there by hard work, endeavour and organisation."

Reid spot on in unusual climax
Christmas came early for Charlton skipper Andy Reid who converted two penalties in the final five minutes against Norwich City to send the Addicks third in the table. Super-sub Izale McLeod put in a sparkling cameo for Alan Pardew’s team, coming on in the 80th minute with the brief to break the deadlock and being felled twice to win his third and fourth penalties of the season. To compound the Canaries’ misery veteran striker Dion Dublin was sent off in the 90th minute for what Peter Grant deemed to be a dubious head-butt on Danny Mills. “It's important to finish with 11 men,” he said, “but unfortunately we couldn't because somebody cheated."

Dowie and Jordan remain without love
It is fair to say that Crystal Palace Chairman Simon Jordan is not Iain Dowie’s biggest fan following the former Palace manager’s acrimonious departure to Charlton in 2006. After Palace blew three points in the 87th minute on Dowie’s return to his former club, Jordan may not be current manager, Peter Taylor’s, biggest fan either. Last week Jordan stated his desire for a top six finish and after seeing Coventry’s substitute striker Leon Best connect with Jay Tabb’s cross to steal a dramatic late equaliser, Taylor said, “I am not confident [of keeping my job] but I just don't know because I have not spoken to Simon [Jordan]. If I'm honest, it's not nice when you read that he has been having regular contact with Neil Warnock.” Dowie didn’t help Taylor’s situation, pointing out that Palace made a lot of money on the players he left them and the fact that they had spent £8m last season yet failed to reach the play-offs. It was an old hand at Selhurst Park, Dougie Freedman, whose work enabled Stuart Green to give the Eagles a first-half lead but Coventry saved the Best till last, or the 87th minute at least to share the points.

Holloway enjoys the green green grass of home
Plymouth secured their first league win since the start of the season thanks to two unanswered goals against QPR from Peter Halmosi and David Norris. QPR’s Daniel Nardiello hit the woodwork in the first half and Ben Sahar had a fine effort saved late on but otherwise it was an enjoyable night for Ian Holloway on his return to Loftus Road.

Scunthorpe keep on smiling
Preston returned to their losing ways as Scunthorpe maintained a remarkable home record, Paul Hayes netting a second half winner in an entertaining 2-1 victory. Andy Crosby put the Irons in front on 24 minutes, but North End equalised just before the break through Youl Mawene. Preston had reason to feel rueful after Hayes’ shot squirmed under Andy Lonergan three minutes into the second half. They missed a penalty and Andy Carroll was sent off for retaliation, effectively ending any hope of a comeback. Scunthorpe boss, Nigel Adkins, was suitably delighted: "It was a super game, high tempo, loads of goalmouth action and thoroughly enjoyable. On any one given day, anybody can beat anybody. And that's what our philosophy is."

Why, why, why, ask Wednesday after sixth defeat
D:Ream, the band responsible for Labour’s 1997 campaign anthem ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ clearly aren’t Sheffield Wednesday fans. With a club record five defeats in their first five matches this season things seemingly couldn’t get any worse. They could. Wednesday slumped to their sixth successive defeat, this time to Burnley, thanks to goals from Robbie Blake and Chris McCann. "In previous defeats I've said we did not deserve it,” said boss Brian Laws, “but tonight we did, we looked like rabbits in headlights.”

Stoke happy with their situation
In a classic tale of mid-table mediocrity, Stoke and Barnsley played out a goalless draw to share the points at the Britannia Stadium. While Stoke were happy to continue a run of unbeaten results they are concerned about the number of draws but the visitors were delighted with a clean sheet and having failed to learn anything from watching the trials and tribulations of Martin Jol this season, Barnsley boss, Simon Davey said, “I'd be more worried if we weren't creating. I know that this team will score goals.”


Veteran Windass rediscovers that funny familiar forgotten feeling
Dean Windass, aged 392, fired home from the penalty spot to give Hull their first away win of the season although the sheer proflicacy of the Wolverhampton strike force should be noted as the primary factor behind this result. Freddy Eastwood at least managed to find the woodwork but his striking partner Andy Keogh was guilty of some wayward finishing. Jay Jay Okocha made his full debut, enabling Hull manager Phil Brown to wax lyrical about his star signing once again, although he stopped short of the overused chestnut that he’s so good they named him twice.

My, my, my Mr. Henderson
Watford established a three point lead in the Championship after sinking Cardiff City on a rain soaked evening at Ninian Park. Man of the moment, Darius Henderson, challenged his manager, Aidy Boothroyd, before the Hornets victory over Southampton, saying “When will you learn? When I play, we win.” Sadly he remained good to his word, scoring a brace against an improving Cardiff side prone to lapses in concentration. His second goal cancelled out the fervour generated in the ground by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s stunning strike, his first for the Bluebirds. The stadium had risen as one as his 25 yard effort curled effortlessly round Mart Poom and into the top corner but Henderson’s pace, power and passion for football at present were too much for the city defence and a side still looking for its first home league win of the season.

Saints move closer
St John’s Ambulance men were on hand to race to the rescue of Ian Wright during Southampton’s one-all clash with Colchester for fear of over excitement. The former Arsenal and England legend has had an exciting few weeks watching Shaun Wright-Phillips shine for both Chelsea and England, his over-exuberance beamed to the whole of Britain from the Match of the day studios. Now it’s his other son’s turn in the lime-light. Bradley Wright-Phillips sent Southampton into the lead on 52 minutes, a lead that should have been capitalised on and added to, not least by Grzegorz Rasiak. Instead an own goal by Rudi Skacel six minutes later robbed the Saints of three points and the Wright-Phillips family of another headline as all concerned had to settle for a draw.

Henderson steals show from Hasselbaink

Cardiff City v Watford
19 September 2007 - 19.45pm

On a night fit for ducks the Bluebirds sought their first home league win of the season against a Watford side who topped the table for the first time last Saturday and a man in form, Darius Henderson. It was always going to be monumental task and Henderson showed no sympathy, silencing a sodden crowd with two goals in an entertaining 2-1 victory for the visitors.

Robbie Fowler and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink started for Cardiff and there was only room on the bench for fit again Steve Thompson who scored the late equaliser against Plymouth. But the presence of the two aging marksmen failed to quell the fears inside the Cardiff faithful.

Hasserlbaink had an early shot on target but it was not until the 12th minute that Chris Gunter got the crowd on their feet with a cross-come shot that drifted clear of Mart Poom and narrowly over the cross bar.

Paul Parry warmed Poom up further just a minute later as he jinxed into the box and fired a searing shot straight at the Watford keeper. But the Robbie and Jimmy show failed to materialise and, against the run of play, it was Watford’s man of the moment who found the net first.

Darius Henderson started up front after his cheeky remark to manager Aidy Boothroyd that “when I play, we win.” He was good to his word, bundling the ball home after Ross Turnbull failed to clear a cross from Adam Johnson and then deal with the resulting shot from Jay Demerit that hit the post and seemed to rebound straight through his open arms along the goal-line and into the path of a goal-hungry Henderson. Having only scored three last season, and taking six months to find his first, Henderson is clearly relishing life back in the Championship.

Cardiff had a run of chances in response as the half progressed, the most notable being Jimmy Floyd’s interception of Demerit’s back pass. With just the keeper to beat Hasselbaink took an age to round Poom, enabling the Hornets keeper to recover and block the subsequent shot. The Watford fans’ chant of “you’re just a Fat Eddie Murphy” appeared less off the mark. Although, sung so early in a match, to a player of Hasselbaink’s calibre, it was bold indeed.

And so it was proved. Short on pace Hasselbaink may be, but when you can beat the goal keeper from 25 yards and turn a game with an inch perfect right foot curler, then who needs pace? The veteran striker proved just so in the 59th minute, answering his critics in the best way possible. If there had been a roof on Ninian Park it would have been blown off with the resultant roar.

Having stirred the Hornet’s nest Cardiff had to soak up the resulting ten minutes of pressure but Dave Jones will have been encouraged by his side’s defending in this respect and their propensity to break and harry the visitors.

Fowler may not have strayed far from a central line down the attacking end of the park but his deft and clever touches released those around him to cover the ground his aging legs long since surrendered. Cardiff began to look good for a punt and Jimmy-Floyd could have given them the lead with another right-foot flyer.

But Henderson had made a deal with his manager: if he plays, they win. Jordan Stewart forced Turnbull to palm the ball over his bar for a corner as the game reached its climax and Henderson was the beneficiary as Cardiff again failed to clear their lines.

The Bluebirds made a spirited yet fruitless attempt to equalise once more but Watford are sturdier opponents than Argyle and the introduction of Thompson couldn’t provide the finish required, although not for want of trying.

Watford would have regained top spot with a draw, but Henderson had a point to prove and as the rain continued to lash down he inspired Watford to raise their game and seize all three points, a sign of champions in the making. Perhaps now it is time for Cardiff’s own champion, Robbie Fowler, to follow in the footsteps of Hasselbaink and Henderson and prove a point of his own.

CARDIFF 4-4-2: Turnbull, McNaughton, Capaldi, Rae, Fowler (Whittingham 84’), McPhail, Parry, Johnson, Sinclair, Hasselbaink, Gunter (Thompson 82’). Unused Subs: Oakes, Ledley, Blake.

WATFORD 4-4-2: Poom, Stewart, Shittu, Demerit, Mahoon, Henderson, Doyley, Ellington (King 59’), Smith, Mariappa (O’Toole 73’), Johnson (McAnuff 78’). Unused Subs: Lee, Priskin.

Yellow – Hasselbaink 56’

Championship Review (15/16 Sept)

Themed piece for the Cardiff City FC match day program.

What have the Romans ever done for us? By Andy Sloan

Roman Abramovich’s millions have propelled the Premiership to new heights, augmenting the growing financial chasm that separates it from its poor neighbour, the Championship. But whilst Roman’s eye-watering transfer fees and pay-packets fail in any way to aid Championship teams’ hopes of holding onto their talented youngsters, or of them affording the loan services of top flight squad members, the financial prosperity of the Premiership provides an unrivalled carrot for Championship contenders to aim for. And this week, five games into their campaign to return to the land of milk and honey, Watford displaced Coventry at the front of the queue.

Darius Henderson proved he may still have a future with Watford after turning down a move to Preston North End and scoring a 90th minute winner to send his side to the top of the table. George Burley must have been suffering from déjà vu, Henderson having scored against him in his first game in charge for Southampton two years ago when Watford last swept up to the Premiership. Henderson will hope he can go on to emulate the form he showed that season when his 15 goals were a vital part of Watford’s successful push for promotion. Danny Shittu was first off the mark on Saturday not long before the break but long enough to allow Grzegorz Rasiak equalise before the break finally came. Nathan Dyer then fired Southampton in front in the 69th minute invoking the wrath of Aidy Boothroyd, who declared that he wanted to tear strips off his players for losing the lead. Henderson had entered the fray minutes earlier after telling Boothroyd he had erred in omitting him. “When will you learn?” he told his manager. “When I play we win.” Good to his word his two goals saw Watford to an important win and Boothroyd on track for a return to the big time.

Charlton’s bouncebackability suffers merely a flesh wound
Ten-man Colchester couldn’t hold on to a first-half two-nil lead as Charlton pegged them back courtesy of Svetoslav Todorov and Zheng. Teddy Sheringham set up Mark Yeates for the opener then Charlton old boy Kevin Lisbie doubled United’s lead as they chased their first home win of the season. In a reversal of fortunes, Colchester old boy Chris Iwelumo headed the ball down to Todorov in the 45th minute and he gave Charlton hope going into the interval, but it was referee Mike Russell’s controversial decision to send off United youngster Matt Connolly that proved the decisive moment in Charlton’s comeback. Colchester, despite continuing to create chances of their own, could only repel Charlton’s advances until the 73rd minute when Zheng Zhi found the equaliser. These sides have very different ambitions but both had to settle for a point a-piece. Charlton though quietly crept up a place into fifth.

Dowie didn’t expect the Bristol Inquisition
If Ian Dowie had been asked at the start of the season which side would inflict Coventry City’s first defeat, he would probably not have highlighted his team’s home clash with newly promoted Bristol City. It was Gary Johnson’s men though who posed the questions to which Coventry had no reply and swept to an impressive 3-0 victory courtesy of strikes from new signings Michale McIndoe and Darren Byfield and an own goal from the Coventry goalkeeper, Dimi Konstantopoulos. “I am not surprised and the boys are not surprised” said Johnson, clearly surprised. Dowie, though gracious in defeat, was not quite so ready for such a result. “I thought we dominated the game for long periods,” he said. “Soft goals are killing us.” Bristol City are now the only unbeaten side in the Championship and relieved Coventry of the top spot for a few hours before Watford took to the field.

Megson manages Mandaric’s sanity for the meantime
“There are some people who, through no fault of their own, are sane. Some were born sane, some became sane later in their lives. It is up to people like you and me who are out of our tiny little minds to help these people overcome their sanity.” This Monty Python quote could well have come from Leicester Chairman Milan Mandaric who parted company with Martin Allen after just three league games which included a 4-1 rout of new table toppers Watford. Gary Megson opened his managerial account under Mandaric with a one-all draw against QPR, Ian Hume drove home a 63rd minute penalty after Damion Stewart was deemed to have unfairly sent DJ Campbell spinning in the box. Asked whether he was appointed until the end of the season or on a longer term basis, Megson replied, “it’s a long term contract, I think it’s about six weeks,” as he looked across at his new boss and laughed. “Seven” interjected Mandaric as both men shared some humour in front of the cameras. Draws such as this one will need to be converted into results if the humour is to remain.

Taylor’s not the messiah, he’s a very naughty boy
“Being seventeenth in the league is not getting the best out of your squad” reflected Palace Chairman Simon Jordan after watching his side lose away from home at Norwich City courtesy of a solitary strike from David Strihavka. “We should be in the top six. I want Peter Taylor to be successful, but if I feel he is not, he will be the first person to know.” He’ll be delighted to see Palace are now 21st following the rest of the weeks results.

Laws tries to look on the bright side of life
Sheffield Wednesday plunged to a one nil loss at the hands of fellow strugglers Preston. The result constitutes their fifth defeat, the worst start to a season in the club’s history. Paul Gallagher’s goal gave Preston their first win of the season and insured that Wednesday remain rooted to the bottom of the table. Their manager, Brian Laws, called for calm despite the distressing statistic. “I don’t believe we deserve the position we are in – we just need that little bit of luck, a bit of patience and not to panic.” Wednesday fans may not entirely share that opinion.

Beattie’s no lumberjack
James Beattie continued to repay the faith Bryan Robson has put in him with a further two goals as Sheffield United came from behind to beat Wolves. Stephen Elliot opened the scoring for the visitors but Beattie put his body on the line to equalise before winning a penalty seven minutes from time. Jon Stead came off the bench to score a third in the dying moments. The Wolves manager, Mick McCarthy, said he felt “mugged”. Perhaps he should speak to Jim Magilton.

Ipswich wish they could just call it a draw
Ipswich manager Jim Magilton and his opposite number at West Bromwich Albion, Tony Mowbray, used to play together in the Ipswich side that sealed promotion to the Premiership. Any comradeship was forgotten at the Hawthorns though as West Brom romped to a 4-0 win. Despite the emphatic score-line, the Baggies did not have it all their own way. Ishmael Miller opened the scoring in the 23rd minute but the home side then rode their luck as, in Mowbray’s own words, “Ipswich had a real go.” Three late goals in the final three minutes, two from the boot of Kevin Phillips, sealed the win in dramatic fashion. Ipswich may have felt unlucky but need to turn chances into goals if they are to compete for a play-off place this season; West Brom, up to 4th and with a 100% home record still intact, are on course to aim even higher.

And now for some completely different games…

An own goal from Marcus Williams and a cool finish from new signing Kayode Odejayi secured three points for Barnsley as Scunthorpe’s early season form stuttered and they fell from fourth spot out of the top ten.

Ade Akinbye thought he had won Burnley’s clash with Blackpool with his 86th minute finish to put Burnley 2-1 up, but Andy Morrell earned a priceless point for the visitors as the home side failed to clear their lines in the final minute. Burnley manager Steve Cotterill was frank in his appraisal: “What happens leaves a bitter taste but I don’t think we deserved to win the game. We weren’t good enough and that is why we didn’t win.”

Stoke had only lost once in Hull since 1960, and maintained that record. Rory Delap gave them the lead just before half-time but summer signing Jay Jay Okocha, who according to reports was led to Hull by the Lord, inspired Phil Brown’s side to snatch a late draw. David Livermore provided the finishing touch but it was Okocha who drew the manager’s praise on the final whistle.

In one of his less exciting match summaries, Plymouth Argylle manager and Gareth Thomas look-a-like Ian Holloway declared that his side’s 2-2 draw with Cardiff City was, “probably a fair result on the balance of play,” despite his disgust at dropping two points. Cardiff clawed their way back from a two-goal deficit through Gavin Rae and a late, late strike from fit-again Steve Thompson.

Bellamy inspires final fling from Wales

Craig Bellamy kept Wales’ slim hopes of qualification for Euro 2008 alive with an out-standing display in an impressive 5-2 win over Slovakia in Trnava.

Bellamy set up three and bagged a brace to move ahead of John Toshack in the all-time Welsh goal-scorers list and level with the legendary John Charles on 15 goals.

As well as a victory in Eastern Europe Welsh dreams hinged on their Celtic cousins the Republic of Ireland defeating the Czech Republic but Toshack’s young side did all that they could, three first-half counter attacks providing three goals against the side who humiliated Wales 5-1 in Cardiff last year, before an own goal and an 89th minute finish from Simon Davies completed the rout.

The Welsh players could have been forgiven for checking their watches as they walked onto the pitch for their crunch Euro 2008 qualifier.

Last Saturday’s crowd of 25,000 at the Millennium Stadium was adjudged a poor turnout, particularly given the quality of Wales’ opposition, but the Antona Malatinskeho stadium in Trnava was virtually bare by comparison. 500 Welsh fans made the journey to Slovakia and the home support did not number many more in the 18,000 capacity stadium.

Both Wales and Slovakia retained an outside chance of qualification at the outset of the evening, yet this glimmer of hope seemed not to galvanise the Slovak public. It was Slovakia’s 7th attempt to reach the final of a major tournament in the 14 years since the countries conception and the absence of a clean sheet in their last dozen internationals gives a clue as to why.

However, the Slovakian’s defied their supporters’ indifference, opening the scoring in the 11th minute after Cardiff City’s Joe Ledley made a complete hash of a simple clearance in his own box and gifted the Slovak skipper, Marek Mintal, the opportunity to volley past Wayne Hennessey from eight yards.

Welsh fears of a repeat defeat by the Eastern European outfit were assuaged when Freddy Eastwood levelled in the 21st minute. Craig Bellamy displayed his class threading a clever little ball through the Slovak defence to feed Joe Ledley who made amends for his earlier error by crossing into the path of the encroaching Eastwood who hit the mark for the second time in only his second game for Wales.

If Craig Bellamy needed to stretch his legs after missing the defeat to Germany he was given a golden opportunity to do so in the 34th minute. Receiving the ball on the halfway line he streaked half the length of the pitch before chipping the approaching keeper to find the top right corner and complete a reverse in Wales’ fortunes.

It was almost a carbon copy of his effort minutes earlier when he found the net by the same means, chipping the goalkeeper from a similar position, but incurring a yellow card as the referee had already blown for offside.

Bellamy continued to outline the impact of his absence on Saturday by adding a third in the 41st minute. Joe Ledley, once again the provider, chipped deftly over the Slovakian back line for Bellamy to run on and finish coolly from the left side of the six yard box. Only the woodwork denied him a hat-trick in the second half.

In the 78th minute he completed his torment of the Slovak defence, beating two players down the right and passing across from edge of the six yard box to tee-up Simon Davies for a tap-in, forcing Durica to find his own net whilst attempting an impossible intervention.

Despite the score-line, Slovakia bossed large swathes of the game with inventive and high-tempo passing, but their industry was let down again by a pourous defence which has conceded an average of almost two goals a game in qualification so far.

Moments before half-time a flick-on at the near post fell for Mintal whose shot rocketed goal-ward from the edge of the area only to ricochet off the Welsh bar to the relief of an outstretched Hennessy.

When the Slovak captain then put his side back in the game in the 57th minute with his second goal of the match looked as if Wales could face a tough final third. A reverse pass from Cech on the edge of the box cut out Collins and Gabbidon, leaving Mintal to drive home.

Hennessy fumbled a fierce shot from Petras two minutes later but fortunately the ball fell for a corner rather than an opposition shirt and then Craig Bellamy stretched his legs once more and Davies added a fifth in the final moments. The provider? Craig Bellamy. Qualification or no, John Toshack can but be proud of a performance which may put more bums on seats next time round.