The Bluebirds now need just a point to clinch a spot in the play-offs following a comfortable victory over former manager Neil Warnock’s team Middlesbrough.
Swansea are the only team who can catch Cardiff as they are three points behind. Cardiff face Hull at the Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday knowing that a draw will be enough to finish in the top six.
A goal from the skipper Sean Morrison and two goals from Josh Murphy gave City victory against Boro. Britt Assombalonga scored a consolation late on, but the contest had already been finished by then.
They got off to the perfect start in the fourth minute with Morrison heading in from Joe Ralls’ cross. That settled some nerves that might’ve been within the club. It was an excellent cross from Ralls and Morrison found space to be able to head in past Middlesbrough goalkeeper Aynsley Pears.
City came close with a couple of decent efforts during the first half, with Pears saving a long-range effort from Ralls and Junior Hoilett firing off target from an angle.
There was also a fast start to the second half like the first half, with Murphy scoring with a composed finish. It was a fantastic counter-attacking goal. Following a Middlesbrough free-kick, Cardiff cleated the ball as far as Lee Tomlin who played it through to Murphy who ran from inside his own half. He had a clear run at goal and had the composure to slot it in.
With about 10 minutes left of the game, Murphy scored another. It came from Mendez-Laing’s work out on the right. He used his pace and power to get past the defender before playing it across to Murphy who bundled it home. That sealed the victory.
Substitute Britt Assombalonga fired in a brilliant free-kick but it was too late to affect the result and Boro will go into the final day of the season knowing that they still aren’t safe. They are two points clear of Luton in 22nd and travel to Sheffield Wednesday on the final day of the season.
All the teams from Huddersfield in 18th and higher are safe, as Huddersfield have a far superior goal difference than Luton. Birmingham, Charlton, Luton, Hull and Barnsley face Derby, Leeds, Blackburn, Cardiff and Brentford respectively only the battle to avoid the drop.
Going back to Cardiff, it was a very impressive and solid performance in what could’ve been a very tough game. They dealt with any threat and didn’t look in danger at any point. Warnock couldn’t get one over on his former side and will have to ensure that his side don’t fail to stay in the league following the next game.
Warnock did a phenomenal job during his tenure at Cardiff and will always be remembered fondly by the fans. He took the club from a relegation fight to automatic promotion the following season. He failed to keep the club in the Premier League but with the money that he had, they put up an excellent effort to try and stay up. He left in November following an inconsistent start to the season, with Neil Harris taking over as the new manager.
Harris has managed to win over more fans following City’s improvement and is now in touching distance of the play-offs. If we do manage to make the play-offs then Harris will have done a fantastic job.
We will have to wait and see what happens on Wednesday. They can’t be complacent even though Hull have been on very poor form and aren’t mathematically relegated, but with they’re inferior goal difference it is pretty much certain that they will be in League One next season.
It is going down to the final day of the season on Wednesday with all the games kicking off at 7:30pm. Swansea’s final game is a trip to Reading. There is still much to play for.
Cardiff City Daily 