Mick McCarthy ‘not bothered’ how goals come as Cardiff show aerial prowess again

Posted Sunday, August 22, 2021 by PA

Cardiff manager Mick McCarthy said he does not mind which way the goals come for his side after the Bluebirds once again displayed their aerial prowess.

City’s 3-1 home win over Millwall contained three more headed goals, making it eight out of eight in the Championship to date this season.

Leading the way is centre-half Aden Flint, who followed up his brace in the 2-2 smash-and-grab draw at Peterborough earlier in the week with two more in the second half against the Lions.

“We are certainly good at scoring from crosses, that’s for sure, but they all count. I’m not bothered how they come, keep winning games, that’s the name of the game,” said McCarthy.

Following a goalless first half, Cardiff took control when Flint struck in the 66th and 70th minutes – the opener coming soon after McCarthy made a double substitution.

Millwall pulled a goal back in the 76th minute through Benik Afobe but Sean Morrison wrapped up the points for the unbeaten hosts with seven minutes to go.

McCarthy added: “They probably had the better of it in the first half. We looked leggy and didn’t look up to speed, but we were better in the second half and the subs made a difference.

“We always make sure we get good movement in the box. There is nothing really clever about it, we just have good headers of the ball and good delivery.

“You can work all these short corners, which look fabulous when they come off, but with the power in the air we’ve got why wouldn’t you just put it up there for them.

“We will have to play a damn sight better than we did in the first half to get the crowd going. We had four or five players making their first start and they are still struggling to get up to the pace of the game.

“It looked at 0-0 that it might be a game we might not win. But as I’ve told them, if you can’t win the game do everything you can not to get beaten.

“If we can continue to do that we will be in and around the top six.”

Gary Rowett saw the Millwall fans boo the Cardiff players as they took the knee before kick-off. His players stood instead.

A few days after he was heavily criticised for not condemning the fans for booing the Fulham players he refused to comment any further on the issue.

As for the game, the Millwall boss was unhappy at the way his players conceded the three goals.

“We spoke a lot about needing to stand up to Cardiff and their set-piece in the 48 hours before the game, and then again at half-time,” said Rowett.

“We probably had the better moments in the first half and showed good composure and movement. But to concede three set-piece goals wasn’t great, although we had defended really well up to that point.

“We should’ve made it 2-2 when we hit the bar. It’s those small moments in matches that are getting away from us.

“We have had a hard start to the season in some ways, playing QPR, Blackburn, Fulham and Cardiff. There wasn’t much in the game today, but we are still searching for our first win.”