Preview: Spotlight on Cardiff City - 09/02/10
STAR MAN STRIKER MIchael Chopra reckons he's bang on target to reach his aim of 30 goals this season.
STAR MAN
STRIKER MIchael Chopra reckons he's bang on target to reach his aim of 30 goals this season.The 26 year-old (above) has 16 so far with 18 Championship matches and at least one FA Cup tie to go. He started the season in blistering fashion, suffered an inevitable dip in form, but he's back on the ball now.
He'd scored three in his last three matches before maintaning his record of never having scored at St James' Park last Friday. Even when he was a Newcastle player.
OTHERS TO WATCH
CARDIFF have scored goals galore this season, but they've been more productive away from home than at their brand new base, the boringly named 'Cardiff City Stadium'.
Indeed Posh have scored one more goal at home than Cardiff (it's 23-22) in the Championship, but the city side have no-one as productive from midfield as Cardiff's Peter Whittingham.
Whittingham has claimed an astonishing 18 goals in all competitions. The former Aston Villa player has an outstanding left-foot and is a free-kick specialist.
Centre-forward Jay Bothroyd is lagging behind Whittingham and Chopra with just nine goals, but he has been a perfect foil for both players.
Wide men Chris Burke and Ross McCormack make up Cardiff's frightening array of attacking talent, but Posh have shown once already this season that the Welshmen can be exposed at the other end of the pitch.
Hungarian Gabor Gyepes didn't play on the day of Posh's comeback from 4-0 down, but he has been in the side lately. Unusually he lists Ferencvaros and Northampton Town among his former clubs.
Gavin Rae provides the midfield protection, while David Marshall has proven to be a reliable last line of defence.
Match coverage: Cardiff City v Posh.
A PLAYER with a foot in both camps . . .
FORMER lifeguard Brian McGorry was predictably christined 'Baywatch' before he set foot in London Road in 1994.
Posh paid Bournemouth 60,000 for the all-action midfielder, but he lasted just one full season under new boss John Still before leaving for Wycombe on a free transfer.
McGorry scored six goals for Posh, one of them in a 2-1 win at Cardiff in October 1994. He eventually joined Cardiff on loan from Wycombe in 1996, but made just seven appearances before moving on to Hereford, Torquay, Telford, Southport, Woking, Chester and Nuneaton.
Current form:
CARDIFF'S impressive run of form came to an abrupt end at St James' Park last Friday night when Championship leaders Newcastle cruised to a 5-1 win.
The Bluebirds had won their previous four competitive matches including a 6-0 win at Bristol City. They were 4-0 up at half-time for the second time this season at Ashton Gate, but this time they avoided a humiliating come-back from the home side.
v Newcastle (a) L1-5 (Ch)
v Doncaster (h) W2-1 (Ch)
v Bristol City (a) W6-0 (Ch)
v Leicester (h) W4-2 (FAC)
v Bristol C (h) W1-0 (FAC)
Key: Ch=Championship, FAC=FA Cup.
Big match odds:
Posh to win: 5/1
Cardiff to win: 4/9
Draw: 11/4
Draw: 0-0 - 12/1; 1-1 - 6/1; 2-2 - 20/1; 3-3 - 66/1.
First goalscorer: 7/2 Chopra (Cardiff), 9/2 Bothroyd (Cardiff), 5/1 Whittingham (Cardiff), 11/2 McCormack (Cardiff), 7/1 Feeney (Cardiff), 8/1 Burke (Cardiff), 9/1 Boyd (Posh), Mackail-Smith (Posh), 10/1 Mclean (Posh), McLeod (Posh), Simpson (Posh), 12/1 Reid (Posh), Wright (Posh), 14/1 Wildig (Cardiff), 16/1 Matthews (Cardiff), Frecklington (Posh), Livermore (Posh), Rowe (Posh), Whelpdale (Posh), 18/1 Blake (Cardiff), Gyepes (Cardiff), Taiwo (Cardiff), 20/1 Capaldi (Cardiff), Kennedy (Cardiff), Rae (Cardiff), Lee (Posh), 28/1 Gerrard (Cardiff), 33/1 Bennett (Posh), Morgan (Posh), Williams (Posh).
Famous match:
August 15, 1998
Cardiff 1, Posh 3
Division Three
POSH boss Barry Fry reacted to a shocking home defeat to Halifax on the opening day of the season by signing a young forward on loan from Crystal Palace.
And Leon McKenzie, nephew of British boxing champion Duke McKenzie and son of another pro fighter Clinton McKenzie, proved a knock-out with two goals on his debut.
Posh needed them because they delivered an insipid first-half display and trailled to Andy Saville's 17th minute strike at the break.
But McKenzie turned the game with a quality strike from the edge of the penalty area six minutes after the re-start. Within three minutes Martin Carruthers had finished neatly to for Posh in front.
Posh cruised through the rest of the match and sealed a deserved victory when McKenzie strode on to Jimmy Quinn's flick to finish neatly.
McKenzie scored once more in three matches before succumbing to a hamstring injury and returning to Palace. The game after he left Posh won 9-1 at Barnet.
Posh: Griemink, Hooper, Drury, Gill, Bodley, Edwards, Davies, Castle, Carruthers, Quinn, McKenzie.
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