Cardiff City’s Kenwyne Jones seals win to keep heat on Leeds United
Guardian 1/11/14Alan Smith at Cardiff City Stadium
Neil Redfearn was 64 minutes into his first game as the permanent Leeds United head coach when he was greeted with a rendition of “getting sacked in the morning” by the Cardiff City support. It is a chant he may hear quite a bit over the coming weeks, considering the reputation of Massimo Cellino, the Leeds owner. His team were eventually beaten comfortably, after a dull opening half, and it was a reminder of the sizeable task at hand to transform a beleaguered club’s fortunes.
Cardiff took the lead in the 61st minute, when Bruno Ecuele Manga impressively headed past Marco Silvestri, but there was a touch of fortune about the second, when Federico Macheda’s shot, from 25 yards out, took a deflection off Jason Pearce en route to goal. Kenwyne Jones sealed the deal with six minutes to play, after Alex Mowatt had given Leeds hope with an impressive finish.
Usually one defeat is not enough to spawn panic, but, under Cellino, time is always at a premium. Redfearn’s relationship with the Italian appears stronger than those of his predecessors, and when confirmation of his appointment arrived 80 minutes before kick-off, there was some sense of closure, and perhaps even a glimmer of optimism.
Yet questions over how long he will last under the most trigger-happy owner cannot be ignored. Redfearn said he has been assured that he will be given time to stabilise the team. “This is going to be a season of two steps forward after one step back,” he said. “I’ve spoken to Massimo, we talked about the club going forward and he sees me as the future. We’ve got to be tough, we’ve got to develop and we will get better. It takes time and it’s important to have continuity. But we’ve got to earn that continuity by picking results up.”
In comparison to Cellino, Vincent Tan appears patient – and, in Russell Slade, the Cardiff owner may have made an inspired appointment. This was their third win in four since Slade joined from Leyton Orient. “It was a non-event in the first half, there wasn’t much in it,” Slade said. “But we stuck to our game plan and hurt them in the second half.”
Indeed, the first half was desperately short of action and Cardiff’s first chance arrived in the 10th minute when Peter Whittingham’s looping free-kick was turned round a post by Silvestri.
Leeds seldom threatened; the best they could fashion was a Steve Morison header, from Stephen Warnock’s cross, that landed on the roof of the net. They remained mostly comfortable at the back up until the break, although Adam le Fondre should have at least hit the target with a free header from 10 yards out, after Whittingham’s delivery.
The introduction of Joe Ralls for Anthony Pilkington introduced a bit more bite into Cardiff’s play and, once the opening goal arrived – coming from a corner conceded by Stephen Warnock – the home team impressed. Within six minutes the lead was doubled when Macheda was allowed to advance and shoot under minor pressure. His effort was on target, but was helped by Pearce’s heavy diversion.
Leeds halved the deficit with 13 minutes to go when Souleymane Doukara found Mowatt, and his shot was calmly dispatched into the top-right corner. However, an equaliser never materialised and Jones sealed the points when he capitalised on an horrific mix-up between Silvestri and Giuseppe Bellusci to intercept and place the ball into the empty net.
“It was a mistake you can’t legislate for,” said Redfearn. “These things happen. We have to dust ourselves down and get on with it now.”