Cardiff City secured their second Premier League win of the season amid late drama in south Wales on Saturday lunch-time.
Neil Warnock’s side have now taken six points from a possible nine at home and will be looking to build on that after the international break.
Fantasy managers may still be reticent to buy into Cardiff’s roster but their win over Brighton did present some intriguing options.
We’ve gone over their Gameweek 12 exploits in this latest Scout Notes article.
Cardiff 2-1 Brighton
Goals: Lewis Dunk (£4.4m) | Callum Paterson (£5.2m), Sol Bamba (£4.5m)
Assists: Solly March (£5.0m) | Kadeem Harris (£4.5m), Paterson
Callum Paterson (£5.2m) demonstrated his credentials as an excellent out of position Fantasy asset once again as Cardiff City got their second win of the season. At the Cardiff City Stadium, the versatile utility man was deployed as the centre-forward in the Bluebirds 4-2-3-1 system for the fifth match in a row, and he added his third goal in that time against Brighton. Also, his relentless activities in the Seagulls’ box led to him registering an assist for Sol Bamba‘s (£4.5m) winning goal.
While he did not register any attacking returns, there were more encouraging signs from midfielder Victor Camarasa (£4.5m). The Spaniard had been on the radars of some Fantasy managers already but he was utilised in a more advanced position than usual against Brighton. Having made his previous 10 starts in central midfield, he was lined up in the number 10 role on Saturday lunch-time. No player managed more shots than Camarasa in the match.
Other changes made to the Cardiff side included Greg Cunningham (£4.2m), Joe Ralls (£4.7m) and Kadeem Harris (£4.5m) coming in for Joe Bennett (£4.5m), Harry Arter (£4.9m) and Bobby Reid (£5.2m).
It was Harris who made the biggest impact as he terrorised Brighton in wide areas all afternoon. He was deployed on the right of attacking midfield but regularly swapped flanks with Josh Murphy (£4.8m). Harris’ craft led to the opener as he got around the back of Gaetan Bong (£4.5m) to cross for Paterson. The 25-year-old was unlucky not to come away with a second goal of the campaign in the second half as he curled an effort onto the crossbar after cutting inside on his left foot from the right flank.
That said, it was Brighton who made the better start when Lewis Dunk (£4.4m) nodded home a Solly March (£5.0m) cross in the fifth minute. That was the centre-back’s second goal in as many games.
However, things changed for Brighton in the 34th minute when Dale Stephens (£4.4m) was shown a red card for a strong challenge on Cunningham. He will now miss the next three league matches and will not be available until Gameweek 16. It was tough few moments for the visitors as the red card was issued just six minutes after Paterson’s equaliser.
“That particular challenge can go either way. Dale has given the referee a decision to make. I have seen worse with the studs showing very early. I think he is very late with his foot coming up. I don’t think there is great contact with the player and I think some referees wouldn’t have given it. Some would have done so that bit I understand.” – Chris Hughton
The dismissal was bad news for March who, despite making a bright start, was sacrificed to allow Chris Hughton to maintain shape in midfield. He had been playing in the number 10 role behind Glenn Murray (£6.6m) in the 4-4-1-1 system, but Yves Bissouma (£4.7m) came on to slot into central midfield forming a 4-4-1.
The Seagulls lost most of their attacking cohesion after that as they attempted to sit in and keep the game tight. That made sure that Anthony Knockaert‘s (£5.5m) return to the side, in for the injured Alireza Jahanbakhsh (£6.7m), was rather uneventful. Of some success though, was Martín Montoya (£4.4m) replacing Bruno (£4.4m) at right-back in an attempt to contain Murphy, who actually had a reasonably quiet game.
Centre-back Sean Morrison (£4.8m) took a knock to the face in the 55th minute after catching the back of Bissouma’s head in an aerial duel. He received some treatment and attempted to soldier on but after 10 minutes he reluctantly brought himself off, reportedly claiming he was seeing double. It was his withdrawal which threw Lee Peltier (£3.8m) back into the mix. The right-back came on for his first minutes since Gameweek 6, his introduction shifting Bruno Ecuele Manga (£4.5m) into central defence. While Morrison is unlikely to miss too much game-time, Fantasy managers should make themselves aware of Peltier’s return to the spotlight, especially given his incredibly low price of £3.8m.
Cardiff spent the majority of the second-half pressing for a winner and they just about deserved it when it arrived. In fact, they have registered considerably more shots than their opponents in two of their last three home matches now. While they are still struggling to convert their chances regularly, it does present further promise for Paterson at least.
There was an element of pinball wizard about the goal as it took the Bluebirds three attempts to get it over the line. Bamba attempted a bicycle kick from a corner, which was saved before Paterson’s effort from close range was tipped onto the bar by an excellent defensive header from Shane Duffy (£4.6m). However, Bamba was on call to lash the ball home.
The first thing the former Leeds defender did was take his shirt off to celebrate but he claims that he lied to referee Martin Atkinson when asked about the incident in the aftermath. That meant he did not receive a yellow card for it.
“The referee asked me if I took my shirt off and I said no.” – Sol Bamba
“I don’t think Martin [Atkinson] will have done that on purpose if he didn’t see it that is what linesmen are for isn’t it? I did mention to the referee when he warned us before the game about taking your shirt off that I hoped three of my lads got booked for taking off their shirts today, because we don’t score too many goals, do we?” – Neil Warnock
It will be interesting to see if there is any response from the FA or the Premier League to the incident in the coming days.
Cardiff City XI (4-2-3-1): Etheridge; Cunningham, Morrison (Peltier 69′), Bamba, Ecuele Manga: Gunnarsson, Ralls (Reid 76′); Murphy (Hoilett 72′), Camarasa, Harris; Paterson.
Brighton and Hove Albion XI (4-4-1-1): Ryan; Bong, Dunk, Duffy, Montoya; Izquierdo, Stephens, Kayal, Knockaert; March (Bissouma 39′); Murray (Andone 63′).
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