But, was it as simple as it seems?
Did Cardiff just lose focus with a cup final in sight?
Having beaten Crystal Palace in the semi-finals in a penalty shootout, Mackay seemed to make it clear his attentions were already on the final: “We can enjoy this night but we go to the final with a competitive bunch, who don’t lie down and we will do the best we possibly can.” However, as soon as his side returned to their league fixtures, he readdressed the balance in the pre-match conference, “There’ll be hype for the Carling Cup final and so there should be, but as far as the squad and staff are concerned, we’ll be 100% concentrating on league matters until then.”
His side went on to draw against Saints as aforementioned, having taken the lead, but February was a disappointment in both the league and the cup. In the Championship, Cardiff endured their most unsuccessful month, averaging their lowest points per game ratio (ppg) of the season, 0.75 – relegation form, and in the cup final, they lost to Premier League Liverpool in a penalty shootout, having drawn 2-2 after 120 minutes.
However, it still could’ve been other factors that lead to the February slump and the post-cup defeat to fellow promotion hopefuls West Ham. The biggest factor was the quality of the opposition: apart from their one success in February, a 3-1 win at home against Peterborough, Cardiff faced Blackpool, Leicester and Ipswich, losing all three.
Sunday night, Mackay identified Cardiff’s problem, symptomatic of their February slump, as their concession rate, stating his delight at his team’s shutout after shipping goals at an alarming rate of late: “It [was] one of those – the lads in the dressing room are frustrated [with the draw], but we’re also happy with having kept a clean sheet and limited to opposition to no shots on target in the last hour of the game.”
This was their problem in February. With just over ten minutes left at home to Blackpool, Cardiff were leading 1-0 through a Joe Mason goal. However, by the 83rd minute, The Seasiders had reversed the score line and prolonged their unbeaten run further into 2012. The game finish 3-1 Blackpool, with Phillips adding an injury time third.
Then they travelled to the King Power Stadium to take on a Leicester side that hadn’t record a win in five games and Cardiff fell victim to the resurgent Foxes, who took a 2-0 lead and finished the game 2-1 up. To cap off a miserable February in the league, after a glimmer of hope against The Posh, winning 3-1, The Bluebirds were hammered 3-0 by Ipswich – their fourth consecutive win.
Whilst Cardiff have improved since the Carling Cup defeat, turning their form from a February haul of 0.75 ppg to a March return of 1.25 ppg, they’re yet to regain the form they had prior to February, 1.79 ppg – promotion form. On the surface of things, the fact they’ve picked up just eight points since January, is a worrying state of affairs.
However, last season, Cardiff were only four points better off and sat in fourth place. At the moment, they’re one point off of fourth, Birmingham, who have a game in hand. Things aren’t drastically different: yet, if Cardiff are going to finish in the play-off positions, they’re going to have to fend off strong opposition from Neil Warnock’s Leeds side, who’ve improved under his stewardship, and step up their performances once more.
Having only two teams above them to play, one of which is Birmingham, presenting the Bluebirds with the chance to close the gap on them, Cardiff with fancy their chances in comparison to the other teams within a win’s distance – some of which have much harder run-ins. But ultimately, if Cardiff fall short, people will look to February, fingers will be pointed at the cup and questions will be asked. One of which will be, “was it really worth it?”
Written by Jordan Florit for www.maycauseoffence.com/ For more articles visit my website or my Twitter @JordanFlorit
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