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CARDIFF CITY 2 (Ledley 4, Chopra 43)
BARNSLEY 0

BARNSLEY have a massive mountain to climb in the second half after being outplayed and outgunned by a well organised and hungry Cardiff City side in the first half at Ninian Park.

After struggling for the last few days, Anderson de Silva missed out on the clash with Cardiff meaning Reds boss Simon Davey was forced into one change from the team that performed so well against QPR with Jamal Campbell-Ryce coming into the side. Darren Moore was recalled following suspension and was named on the bench at the expense of Martin Devaney, who missed the game for family reasons. Cardiff's former Barnsley striker Michael Chopra shook off his recent injury woes to make the game although there was no place for ex-Red Stephen McPhail.

Barnsley had to be alert with just four minutes on the clock as Peter Whittingham's free kick caused problems but a combination of Heinz Muller and Stephen Foster managed to clear Roger Johnson's header. Things got even worse just seconds later when Whittingham's corner was allowed to bounce around in the six yard box and Joe Ledley pounced to smack the ball home from four yards.

The Reds were almost undone again just moments later when Chopra's flick sent Eddie Johnson in behind but Muller was quickly out off his line to clear.

Andranik Teymourian picked up a booking on 14 minutes after Whittingham smacked a quickly taken free kick into the Iranian before he could retreat. Teymourian really could not get out of the way but referee Pat Miller was quickly over brandishing his yellow card.

Barnsley struggled to get a foothold in the game and it was almost two on 22 minutes when Chopra whipped a great cross right along the six-yard line but Eddie Johnson just could not apply a finishing touch under pressure from Dennis Souza. Chopra had a sight of goal on the half hour but the Reds were quickly out to smother the danger and the striker's shot deflected through to Muller.

Whittingham's fall over Hugo Colace's outstretched leg gave Cardiff a shooting chance from a 30 yard free kick on 33 minutes. Ledley's effort beat the wall but Muller was well placed to palm the ball to safety. Roger Johnson then really should have put the Bluebirds two up a minute later when he rose highest to meet Paul Parry's cross but the big defender planted his free header wide of the mark.

Eddie Johnson was the next player in the book on 35 minutes as the referee spotted his attempts to punch Parry's free kick past Muller.

After being out of the game for 41 minutes, the Reds almost snatched a leveller when Michael Mifsud created half a yard of space and let fly from 25 yards only for Dimi Konstantopoulos to find a save right out of the top drawer to claw the ball out of the top corner.

Cardiff killed the game on 43 minutes after a howler by Muller. The Reds keeper failed to hold Whittingham's dipping drive and Chopra, who looked miles offside, was on hand to tap the ball into the net.

A string of very debateable refereeing decisions, influenced by the partisan crowd inside Ninian Park, incensed Simon Davey and the Reds boss was lucky not to be sent to the stands in stoppage time after protesting when Chopra tumbled easily again under Teymourian's light challenge.

CARDIFF CITY: Konstantopoulos, Rae, Gyepes, Whittingham, E. Johnson, Parry, R. Johnson, Ledley, Chopra, Kennedy, Blake.
Subs: Capaldi, Owusu-Abeyie, Comminges, Scimeca, McCormack.

BARNSLEY: Muller, Hassell, Foster, Souza, Kozluk, Campbell-Ryce, Colace, Andranik, Hammill, Mifsud, Bogdanovic.
Subs: Steele, Macken, Rigters, Moore, Van Homoet.

REFEREE: Pat Miller (Bedfordshire)
ASSISTANT REFEREE: Nick Hobbis (Birmingham)
ASSISTANT REFEREE: Simon Knapp (South Gloucestershire)
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Malcolm West (Cornwall)

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