Cardiff return to form by hammering Huddersfield

Posted Wednesday, October 25, 2023 by PA

Cardiff ended a mini blip in some style thanks to a convincing 4-0 victory at Huddersfield.

Erol Bulut’s side had taken just one point from three Championship games prior to the trip to the John Smith’s Stadium.

But they crushed Huddersfield with a clinical overall performance as Callum Robinson, Dimitrios Goutas, Yakou Meite and Perry Ng all found the net.

The Terriers had no answer to the Bluebirds’ slick effort, particularly in the first half.

Cardiff got themselves off to a dream start as they opened the scoring after only 90 seconds.

The ground was swiftly silenced as Josh Bowler pulled a cross back for Robinson, who finished with a cheeky back-heel, albeit via a hefty deflection off Matty Pearson.

It was clearly a big blow for Darren Moore following his first win as Terriers boss at the weekend, but his team were quickly looking for a leveller.

Delano Burgzorg twice went close for the hosts.

Despite the Terriers’ encouraging response, they fell further behind with only 12 minutes on the clock.

This time it proved to be a gift of a goal as Goutas was left unmarked to head home skipper Joe Ralls’ corner from close range.

It could have got even worse minutes later.

Karlan Grant was left in space inside the Huddersfield box, but his strike flicked off Town’s Ben Wiles before fizzing inches over the top.

The Terriers were probing for an opening and a potential way back into contention, but they did not look nearly as dangerous as Cardiff.

Robinson wasted a terrific chance, while Bowler forced Lee Nicholls into a smart near-post stop.

Meite then made it 3-0 just before the interval as he slammed home confidently after Ralls’ corner was not cleared by a hesitant defence.

Four interval changes from Terriers boss Moore indicated how he saw the game going, but Cardiff remained firmly in control.

Kian Harratt curled an effort wide for the hosts, but Huddersfield’s night took a further nosedive in the 55th minute.

Ng curled home a sweet 20-yard free-kick following a clumsy foul on Robinson.

Sorba Thomas forced Cardiff goalkeeper Jak Alnwick into a flying save as the Terriers valiantly responded, but by the hour mark many home fans had begun to head for the exits.

Substitute Kyle Hudlin curled a decent effort inches off target for Huddersfield, but Cardiff responded on the break as they almost made it five through replacement Ollie Tanner.

Huddersfield midfielder Jack Rudoni thumped the crossbar late on.