Cardiff City endured a difficult afternoon as they fell to a 3-2 defeat at home to Sheffield United on Saturday to drop back down to 21st place in the Championship table.

The Bluebirds went into the game aiming to continue their improvements under Steve Morison and add to their run of three wins in their previous four Championship matches.

It did seem at halftime that there was every chance Cardiff could continue their positive form after Mark Harris gave the lead in the 32nd minute which they held at the break.

However, the game was transformed in the 52nd minute when Sean Morrison was shown a red card and the Bluebirds were unable to hold onto their lead with ten men.

Sheffield United did well to take advantage of Morison’s side being a man down and scored three times in the space of 14 minutes to put the game beyond Cardiff.

So, with Cardiff having fallen to a defeat that now leaves them five points clear of the relegation places, we take a look at ONE winner and ONE loser to have emerged from the game for the Bluebirds…

Winner: Joe Ralls

There were a couple of bright sparks for Cardiff in their 3-2 defeat against Sheffield United with Harris and Isak Davies giving good accounts of themselves for the Bluebirds with their performances.

However, Joe Ralls has to be considered the standout performer for them on the day with him producing some moments of quality in the final third.

Ralls was able to provide the assist for both of Cardiff’s goals with his first for Harris’ goal a really good one and he had the composure to unlock Sheffield United’s defence when needed. He was also able to produce a strong set-piece delivery for Mark McGuiness to reduce the deficit late on as well.

The midfielder’s performance showed what he can bring to the table for Morison’s side and he needs to start delivering that sort of end product more often. If Cardiff can get more of this from Ralls over the coming weeks then there is a chance that they can get back to winning ways and build some more momentum.

 

 

Loser: Sean Morrison

There can only be one selection here because Sean Morrison’s challenge on Billy Sharp was the reason why the Bluebirds’ halftime lead turned into a 3-2 defeat by the end of the game.

The defender had been fairly solid during the opening 45 minutes and he had been doing his job well to deny the Blades opportunities to get back on level terms.

However, following Morrison’s dismissal, Cardiff were unable to be as solid at the back and that allowed the Blades to wrestle back control of the game and take advantage with their three goals.

Had the Bluebirds been kept with a full complement of players for the full 90 minutes they might have had a chance of taking something from the game.

Morrison will now be suspended for coming games and that will provide his manager with a headache over who to select in his place. It might well be that depending on the performances in the next few matches, the defender struggles to get back into the team.