Back in Wales after a solid EFL Cup performance that saw Cannon and Donovan earn starting places. It was a disastrous start, followed by brilliant five minutes, followed by another eighty spent desperately defending. The performance was worrying, but the result, all things considered, was a positive one.
Michael Cooper - 6
Started shakily when allowing a Moylan effort to sneak in at the near post, but his kicking was pretty good, and he went on to make 8 saves as Cardiff created a bucket load of chances.
Jamal Baptiste - 4
Another who played a hand in the opener, I felt Baptiste improved as his game went on, but it was ultimately not a first league start he’ll remember too fondly.
Japhet Tanganga - 5
Had to do most of his defending deep in our own box, which you wouldn’t necessarily say suits him, but he put in a fair display on the whole.
Mark McGuinness - 4
Booked after being taught a lesson in aerial duelling by Salech early doors, and the Cardiff #9 generally got the better of him all game. Earns some credit for a sliding tackle when already booked, that he had to time perfectly.
Sam McCallum - 4
I personally thought Ollie Tanner was a standout performer for Cardiff, and he was in direct competition with Sam McCallum on that side. Both in and out of possession, we were left wanting more from a usually solid performer.
Sydie Peck - 2
Can’t say I’ve ever seen a worse performance from Sydie Peck, with a host of sloppy moments seeing him give the ball away far too easily.
Joe Rothwell - 4
Less destructive in possession than his midfield partner, though he too looked to be playing below his standards.
Romelle Donovan - 4
Basically a non-entity in the game due to our play totally bypassing him.
Callum O’Hare - 6
Got his goal with a nice finish, but was probably fortunate to win a couple of fouls after losing possession easily around the halfway line.
Patrick Bamford - 4
Started well setting up O’Hare’s goal, but he didn’t offer enough at the top end of the pitch in terms of hold-up play.
Tom Cannon - 7
Won and scored a penalty, and looked better than he ever has when it came to battling with defenders in the air.
Subs:
Rhys Norrington-Davies - 6
Came on and had a couple of bursting runs that briefly took us out of our own half.
Average rating - 4.67
Ratings system:
0 – Reserved for anyone who has a wayward effort at goal smash me in the face, unlikely to ever happen.
1 – Worst of the worst. Saved for disastrous performances, with result-altering mistakes.
2 – A terrible performance. Performances where a player offers very little and has many unsuccessful actions, ultimately proving to be a major detriment to the team’s overall performance.
3 – A bad performance. Negative contribution. Like a 2, just a bit less rubbish.
4 – A below-average performance. Not necessarily having a negative impact on the game; it could just be a player who struggled to impact the game at all.
5 – The baseline rating. All players go into a game starting on a 5 — it’s bang average, given out for an unremarkable yet solid performance, for a postman delivering the post.
6 – A decent performance. A player who gets a 6 has positively contributed to the game, and at the very least has had some impressive moments while being generally solid outside of them.
7 – A good performance. Awarded for players who had a noticeable positive impact on the game.
8 – A very good performance. A player who made significant contributions to the outcome of the game with their performance and consistently displayed a high level throughout.
9 – An outstanding performance. To score as high as a 9, a player needs to be dominant throughout the match, performing at a level well above the standard and/or making multiple game-changing contributions.
10 – A perfect 10, unlikely to ever see the light of day as nobody has a flawless game. For me to even think about giving out a 10 it would probably have to be a player doing something historic or unheard of.