Cardiff City delivered a stunning performance to beat Huddersfield Town 4-0 in the Sky Bet Championship on Tuesday night. The visitors scored three goals in the first half and added another one in the second half to secure a comfortable victory at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Early lead for Cardiff
The game started with a bang as Cardiff took the lead in the second minute through Callum Robinson. The forward showed his cleverness and skill to backheel a cross from Josh Bowler into the net, with the help of a deflection off a defender. It was Robinson’s third goal of the season and his first since joining Cardiff on loan from West Bromwich Albion.
Huddersfield tried to respond to the early setback and created some chances of their own. Kian Harratt, Sorba Thomas and Delano Burgzorg all had opportunities to score, but they were either denied by the goalkeeper or missed the target. The hosts were dominating the possession and looked dangerous on the flanks, but they could not find a way past the solid Cardiff defence.
Cardiff double their advantage
Cardiff, on the other hand, were clinical with their chances and doubled their lead in the 26th minute from a corner. Joe Ralls delivered a pinpoint cross into the box and Dimitris Goutas rose highest to head home his first goal for the club. The Greek defender, who joined Cardiff from Olympiacos in the summer, celebrated his goal with his teammates and the travelling fans.
The home side were stunned by the second goal and struggled to regain their composure. Cardiff continued to threaten on the counter-attack, with Bowler, Robinson and Yakou Meite causing problems for the Huddersfield backline. Lee Nicholls had to make some saves to keep the scoreline respectable for the hosts.
Meite makes it three before half-time
However, Nicholls could not prevent Cardiff from scoring their third goal just before half-time. Ralls was again the provider, as he whipped in another corner into the box. The ball was not cleared properly by Huddersfield and Meite pounced on it to smash it into the roof of the net from close range. It was Meite’s fourth goal of the season and his second in two games.
Huddersfield had one last chance to reduce the deficit before the break, as Nakayama crossed for Jack Rudoni, but the midfielder headed wide of the post. The referee blew his whistle to end a miserable first half for Huddersfield, who were booed off by their fans.
Perry Ng adds a fourth for Cardiff
The second half started with more of the same, as Cardiff added a fourth goal in the 55th minute. Perry Ng scored his first goal for Cardiff with a superb strike from outside the box that flew past Nicholls and into the top corner. Ng, who joined Cardiff from Crewe Alexandra in January, celebrated his goal with a somersault.
Huddersfield tried to salvage some pride and pushed forward in search of a consolation goal. They had some shots on target, but none of them troubled Dillon Phillips, who kept a clean sheet for Cardiff. The visitors also made some changes and gave some game time to their substitutes, who maintained their intensity and discipline.
Full-time whistle
The game ended with a 4-0 scoreline in favour of Cardiff, who moved up to ninth place in the table with 20 points from 13 games. Huddersfield dropped to 12th place with 18 points from 13 games. The result was Cardiff’s biggest away win in the league since 2017 and Huddersfield’s heaviest home defeat in the league since 2019.
Cardiff manager Erol Bulut praised his team’s performance and said that they executed their game plan perfectly. He also said that he was happy with the goals scored by his players and hoped that they would continue their good form in the next games.
Huddersfield manager Carlos Corberan admitted that his team were outplayed by Cardiff and said that they made too many mistakes that cost them dearly. He also said that he was disappointed with his team’s reaction after conceding the first goal and said that they needed to improve their mentality and confidence.
