Cardiff fall to back-to back losses with defeat at Fulham- Fulham 2-0 Cardiff City

For the second time this week Cardiff lost in the Championship, denting their play-off hopes in the process, with the race for the top six tightening up.

After a disappointing defeat against Blackburn on Tuesday, the Bluebirds would’ve been hoping to bounce back at Craven Cottage and bring back the momentum they had straight after the return.

However, a first-half penalty from Alexander Mitrovic and second-half strike from Josh Onomah won the game for Fulham and kept their faint hopes of automatic promotion alive.

There were a few contentious decisions during the game. The decision to award a penalty against Dion Sanderson for fouling Mitrovic was debatable and amany would argue that it was soft. But, Cardiff were hugely fortunate when the ball clearly struck Curtis Nelson’s hand in the box and it should’ve been a penalty for Fulham.

There was also a couple of moments where the referee could’ve given red cards to Fulham players. Michael Hector appeared to strike Callum Paterson in the face, but he was only given a yellow card for the offence. There was also a foul on Nathaniel Mendez-Laing which could’ve been seen as a red card. Overall the referee had a poor game.

Even though many would disagree with the referee’s decisions, Fulham did deserve the victory on the whole. Cardiff did come close through Joe Ralls in the first half who’s excellent volley hit the cross bar. But, City struggled to be threatening enough to create enough chances and break through.

Fulham created more chances and sealed the win when Onomah finished well into the bottom corner in the 66th minute. They’d come close a few times before that and even though there was still time left, it didn’t look like City were going to be able to find that finishing touch.

We will need to make sure that we return to our best when Derby come to the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday. That will be a massive game and is must-win. It will be difficult to find momentum without a victory in that game.

We were lucky to remain in the top six after the weekend’s results. Going into the matchday Swansea were only a point behind with Preston and Derby three points behind.

But, former Swansea player Pablo Hernandez scored an 89th minute winner against his former club to win the game for Leeds and dent his former club’s play-off hopes, while putting Leeds a step closer to returning to the top flight. They now only need four more points to seal promotion.

Derby faced Brentford, who still have hopes of automatic promotion. Saïd Benrahma inspired the Bees to a 3-1 victory at Pride Park, scoring two goals, including a wonderful second. After West Brom’s 1-1 draw at Blackburn, Brentford are only three points off the Baggies in second with a superior goal difference.

Preston, who were only three points off the Bluebirds going into the weekend, hosted Nottingham Forest, who occupy a place in the top six. They drew 1-1, with Jayden Stockley cancelling out an early Lewis Grabban penalty. After that result, Preston cut the gap to two points to sixth. Forest remain in fifth, six points clear of seventh.

Millwall have climbed above Derby into ninth after beating Hull City at the KCOM Stadium through Ryan Leonard’s second minute strike. They are on the same points as Preston, two points off Cardiff.

After looking out of play-off contention following defeat to Cardiff a couple of games ago, Bristol City have turned their form around with back-to-back wins and are now only three points off Cardiff in sixth, albeit with an inferior goal difference.

Blackburn have also given themselves a chance, cutting the gap to four points after beating the Bluebirds and drawing against automatic promotion chasing West Brom.

It is certainly going to be an exciting finish to see who finishes in the tops six and gives themselves a chance to get promoted to the Premier League. Forest look likely to finish in the play-offs, so it is realistically seven teams fighting for sixth. There is four points between those seven teams.

The Championship is a crazy league and always has its thrills and spills. It will be intriguing to see who can deal with the pressure in the final three games. There are game between those around the play-off places which makes it even more exciting.

One of those games between teams in the play-off hunt is the game mentioned earlier between Cardiff and Derby on Tuesday. Hopefully Lee Tomlin and Robert Glatzel will be fit enough to start the Bluebirds to provide the much-needed fire power in attack.

It will be a tough game against Derby who have a good blend of youth and experience, lead by veteran Wayne Rooney who has made a big impact since joining in January as a player-coach.

We will look forward to that game on Tuesday and hope for a positive result.