Cardiff City 1 Middlesbrough 0

Mar 7 2010 Sunday Sun

PROTESTING Cardiff fans carried a coffin to the ground but it was Boro’s and not their own play-off hopes that could be buried after this drab display.

The Welsh fans were in uproar at Peter Ridsdale – the chairman has had a dressing-room bust-up with manager David Jones and the cash-strapped Bluebirds have had the jitters after a poor run.

But Boro failed to take advantage of the divisions and diversions.

If anything, it was Boro that looked distracted. In a massive game they needed to win to claw into the play-off spots and pile the pressure on their peers, they failed to find a spark.

They started slowly and paid the price as Cardiff were gifted the opener after just three minutes. Then, when urgency and penetration were needed, low-key Boro laboured through the first half.

They launched a fightback in the closing stages and only a string of brilliant saves by David Marshall denied them a point, but in truth it was too little, too late.

Cardiff got off to a flying start as Barry Robson conceded a free-kick which was deflected behind for a corner.

When McCormack took it short Blake chipped to the far post over a static Boro defence, where it bounced through and fell for the unmarked Gabor Gyepes, who tried to side foot inside the far post.

The ball looked to be drifting wide when City skipper Jay Bothroyd burst through a static defence unchallenged to slam it home from a yard out.

The early blow left Boro reeling and it took them a while to reorganise and settle.

Cardiff almost broke through again on 10 minutes when over-lapping full-back Adam Matthews whipped in an inviting cross from wide on the right but Michael Chopra just failed to connect at the far post.

And they threatened again on 13 minutes when Stephen McManus chopped down Bothroyd as he weaved in from the right. The Boro defender was booked and from the free-kick Anthony Gerrard got behind the Boro back line unchallenged but the offside flag was already up.

Boro gradually clawed their way into the game and carved out their first chance on 17 minutes when former Cardiff man Willo Flood crossed from the right towards Lita, who was steaming in at the back post.

But alert defender Gyepes tracked his run and just got there first to head away.

Boro carved out their first real chance on 29 minutes when Robson scooped up a loose ball just inside the Cardiff half and pushed it to the edge of the box for speedy Jérémie Aliadière to burst onto but his shot flew high over the bar under pressure from Gerrard.

But the visitors were soon on the back foot again. After another bright spell Cardiff went close again on 35 minutes when former Newcastle and Sunderland striker Chopra raced down the flank and whipped a cross to the far post, where Chris Burke had arrived but, under pressure from Andrew Taylor, his header squirted wide.

Then two minutes later Burke laid a ball down the right back for full-back Matthews to send in a dipping cross that Bothroyd stabbed just wide from ten yards out.