Bluebirds fans have their say on last night's 2-0 defeat at home to Sam Allardyce's rampant West Ham side...
"West Ham were far too powerful physically for us in all aspects. At times it resembled men against boys. They were far too strong physically and we were unable to stand up to them. Then, instead of trying to play it on the floor or go wide, we persisted with lumping the ball up to the eight-stone Mason or waif-like Miller for the entire 90 minutes! Meat and drink to the Hammers backline. Malky Mackay was out-thought last night by Big Sam who got the Hammers tactics spot on, we ended up playing directly into their hands."
- Aberbeeg blues
"We had no luck from the off. We had a deflected shot just over, they have one which flies in - and we could have had a penalty. We had four great chances to score in the second half but it just wasn't our night. West Ham played well, they've got better players - but we deserved something from the game and it's good to see heads didn't drop. Add four to five better and quicker players pre-season, relegate Miller to the bench and we'll do well. (that's unless we perform heroics on Monday!)
- Cretin Hop
"Both their goals stemmed from unacceptably bad defending on our part - flukes? We got what we deserved - a defeat - and the tie is effectively over. Yes, we might have scored early doors, but after that it was embarrassing to watch from about the fourth or fifth minute until half time. Misplaced passes, shocking defending, no composure, nothing in the middle of the park, no threat up front. It was a stroll in the park for West Ham. They are not a particularly great team, but we were dire at times."
- bluebird2007
"We created some brilliant opportunities but none of them as far as I can remember brought any sort of save from Robert Green, their keeper. I cannot remember one shot being on target. We allowed West Ham far too much space and time on the ball in the first half by continuously dropping far too deep and allowing them free reign to attack us, without any challenge! That was criminal. Their first goal was down to poor defending from both full backs and their second was down to a bit of luck. Second half we threw the real Cardiff City FC 2012 at them and it almost paid off BUT we couldn't hit the target. Basics!"
- thornhillblue
"We did well to keep the score at 2-0. First half, it seemed like our plan was to hit them early, then frustrate them. Didn't work. The two goals conceded were from basic errors, and who can forget the sliced clerance after sliced clearance. Whittingham was ineffective in his role, and almost cost us goals. The strange thing was, though, that both West Ham goals came after a decent Cardiff spell of possession. We also need to be a bit bolder in talking with the ref. There were four West Ham players walking with the ref at one point in the second half. I don't condone surrounding the referee, but Nolan was basically referee for large spells of the game. At the end of the day, we were beaten by a better team. No shame in that."
- Kaiser Jirga II
"We've had a good season all things considered but we were beaten by a better side who are good at this level tonight. I thought James Tomkins for West Ham was brilliant. Also, the first good game Carlton Cole has had since he was seven. We were sh*t - and it was a bad time to have an off game - but they happen."
- pillsthrillsandbellyaches
"Interesting stat: It was Cardiff's 56th game of the season and West Ham's 49th. Pretty crazy when you think that most of the starting 11 last night have started the majority of games. Plus West Ham have a far bigger and more experienced squad. I really wanted Birmingham or Blackpool in the two-legged play-off as i thought we would have a far greater chance against them. What disappointed me was the fact that Malky seemed to employ the same tactics as our previous home game with West Ham. They were just bigger and stronger than us last night and I think a long season has taken it's toll."
- Scotty boy
"At least eight of the West Ham side that started would have got a game for the City last night ahead of their opposing player - and I'm being conservative here. Carlton Cole is a Premier League quality striker who bullied everyone (except probably Turner). Faced with such superior opposition in form, our players froze from the first moment West Ham got the ball. They looked overawed and even Whittingham looked poor at times. We were totally outclassed by a bloody good team with Premier League-quality players. Only a complete lobotomy that sees us start like a house on fire and score an early goal can save our season, but it is very unlikely."
- not eddie may
"I thought Nolan was class tonight and the type of player we could desperately do with. He has a great engine and played box-to-box, made tackles, was in people's faces, and virtrually refereed the game. He ran the show whilst at the same time bullying us. Was my Man of the Match. There was an incident when Whittingham went down injured in the second half from a tackle and Nolan was having a pop at him when he was on the floor. Then when Whitts got up he was still having a pop at him with two other West Ham players. For me it showed the difference in team spirit between the sides."
- Bluebird23
"The boys ran their socks off but we didn't have any luck or the rub of the green. We lost the game today in the first half; we started well but then went off the boil and couldn't put two passes together. Second half, we outplayed and out-passed them and with a bit more composure in front of goal the outcome my have been different, we had our chances. West Ham brought on three subs - all defensive players - and just defended for the last 30 minutes. This tie isn't over; if we score first, game on. Let's get behind them - the fat lady isn't singing yet. "
- cardiff39
* Comments originally posted on ccmb.co.uk.
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