Cardiff City 4-0 Derby County: Bluebirds defeat Rams

Cardiff City were ten games unbeaten with Mick McCarthy and were back in the top six of the championship by beating Derby County 4-0 in the Welsh capital.

Will Vaulks then crashed home from 25 yards in injury time to add sparkle.

The Cardiff night was only marred when Joe Bennett was carried out on a stretcher with a serious-looking knee injury.

The victory for McCarthy’s team, which has now scored 24 points out of 30 since taking office, moves the Bluebirds back to the play-off spots, while Derby remains in 18th place after a meek display. on a very changed side.

Derby boss Wayne Rooney altered more than half of his starting eleven from the Rams’ draw with Nottingham Forest on Friday and only one of those changes was applied, with goalkeeper David Marshall missing a South Wales meeting because of to injury, with Kelle Roos replacing him.

Rooney gave a first start to Everton borrower Beni Baningime, who started alongside January signings George Edmundson and Teden Mengi, while Lee Gregory and Louie Sibley also earned withdrawals such as Nathan Byrne, Max Bird, Jason Knight, Martyn Waghorn. and Colin Kazim-Richards. abandonment.

Bluebirds boss McCarthy made two team changes that tied at Middlesbrough, with Harry Wilson and Josh Murphy leaving and Sheyi Ojo and Bacuna entering a confident side.

Derby’s unfamiliarity was evident in the early exchanges, as Cardiff continued in the excellent form they have consistently displayed since McCarthy’s appointment.

Forward Moore missed two big chances in the first 20 minutes, first firing a volley from close range after Derby sadly defended a long shot from Will Vaulks, before it headed for goal and just off target after Ojo turned. cleared and saw an appeal for a rejected handball penalty.

A goal for the hosts seemed inevitable and came midway through the first half when a perfect pass from Bennett split the Derby defense and Bacuna ran out before sliding the ball under Roos.

The Bluebirds were rampant and Moore fired wide from 25 yards before a prolonged stoppage saw Cardiff defender Bennett take off after collapsing, unopposed, with what appeared to be a knee injury.

Aside from a long-range effort from Graeme Shinnie that Dillon Phillips made with an open palm, the Rams barely threatened Cardiff’s goal in the first period, while the Bluebirds could and should have gone further.

Ojo fired straight at Roos after a sloppy backward pass and the goalkeeper made a fantastic double stop to deny first Moore’s effort and then Bacuna’s as the Dutch goalkeeper kept his team competitive with a fantastic display.

However, any strong words from Rooney at halftime turned academic as the visitors fell 2-0 behind just three minutes after the break when Moore was given too much time and space to pick his spot with a free header from the corner. corner of Vaulks.

Moore has now scored 16 goals for Cardiff this season, eight of those goals in McCarthy’s ten games.

Bacuna then tested Roos from a 20-yard free throw before beating him from a nearly identical spot, when Ojo put the ball in his way, this time getting the ball into goal.

Derby offered little to suggest they might even score a consolation goal, though Phillips was forced to save Waghorn’s free throw when a series of substitutions slowed Cardiff’s flow of opportunities.

However, Vaulks shot home a quarter when Derby gave him time and space in the last minute of stoppage time to allow him to shoot home from long range with a shot that slid under the crossbar.