Cardiff City have improved under the management of Irishman Mick McCarthy. They faced a determined Blackburn Rovers side this afternoon.
Cardiff City fans would have been willing the Bluebirds to a win and three points that would have lifted them closer to the Sky Bet Championship play-off places.
However, it wasn’t to be in a defeat that instead saw opponents Blackburn consolidate their play-off place.
As a contest, it was effectively over by half-time as home side Rovers jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Sam Gallagher (24′) gave Tony Mowbray’s men the lead, a lead strengthened by a Ben Brereton-Diaz brace (32′, 45+1′)
The second half started a more even affair with Tyrhys Dolan (53′) putting Blackburn 4-0 up before Sean Morrison (58′) pulled one back.
There was just enough time at the end for Blackburn striker Brereton-Diaz (90′) to complete his hat-trick from the spot. That proved to be the last of the goals for the game as Cardiff succumbed to a painful 5-1 defeat.
Here are three Cardiff City players who didn’t perform for manager Mick McCarthy in the disappointing loss against a good Blackburn Rovers side.
Dillon Phillips – WhoScored rating 4.98
Cardiff stopper Phillips committed one big error that allowed Blackburn to score before hauling down Reda Khadra to gift Rovers a last-gasp penalty.
It wasn’t the best of afternoons for the former Charlton man, those errors compounded by letting in five goals as Cardiff City crumbled. It will be one that he will not want to repeat next week against a dangerous West Brom side.
Leandro Bacuna – WhoScored rating 5.94
30-year-old Bacuna played most of the game in a midfield four for Mick McCarthy’s side. He was tidy (84%) with his passing, completing 32 of his 38 attempts.
He also made two tackles in the game as well as winning one headed battle. Not the best of games and definitely one that needs marked improvement ahead of next week.
Marlon Pack – WhoScored rating 6.07
Pack is another midfielder who has a lot of experience at this level. He was also one of the Cardiff players who didn’t really turn up today at Ewood Park.
He completed accurately (88%) and at volume with 49 of his passes finding their intended target from 56 attempts. He missed five tackles of the nine he attempted and failed to help stem the Blackburn tide.
All data was derived from the Blackburn Rovers vs Cardiff City match profile on the WhoScored website.
