Cardiff City’s Carabao Cup adventure ended on Tuesday night, but not without a real fight, as the Bluebirds were beaten 3 to 1 by Chelsea in a memorable quarter final under the lights at the Cardiff City Stadium.
This was a night supporters had been waiting for. Premier League opposition in town, a sold out stadium of more than 30,000 fans and the chance to book a place in the semi finals. From the first whistle, the noise inside CCS reflected just how much this game meant, with the home crowd fully behind Brian Barry Murphy’s side.
Chelsea may have arrived as favourites, but Cardiff never rolled over. The Bluebirds pressed, competed and showed real belief, making it very clear that this was not going to be an easy evening for the visitors.
Barry Murphy rang the changes following Saturday’s win over Doncaster Rovers, making five alterations to his starting line up. Dylan Lawlor, Perry Ng, David Turnbull, Joel Colwill and Callum Robinson all came in, and the changes paid off early as City started on the front foot.
The first chance of the game fell Cardiff’s way. Cian Ashford did brilliantly to hold off his man before sliding Colwill in down the right, and his delivery found Robinson in the box. The header just missed the target, but it was an early warning sign that City were up for the challenge.
Turnbull tested Chelsea keeper Jörgensen with a strike from distance, while Isaak Davies looked lively and nearly got in behind again, only to fire wide under pressure. At the other end, Nathan Trott was called into action when Marc Guiu found space, but the City keeper stood firm with a sharp save using his feet.
City’s best moment of the first half came after 34 minutes. Davies’ cross from the left took a deflection and almost crept inside the near post, forcing Jörgensen into a smart reaction save to push the ball behind. It summed up a first half where Cardiff more than matched their Premier League opponents.
With the score still level at the break, Chelsea upped the tempo after half time. Trott once again proved his value, denying Alejandro Garnacho after good work from Facundo Buonanotte. The breakthrough did arrive just before the hour mark, as Buonanotte intercepted possession and released Garnacho, who finished well to put the visitors ahead.
Rather than dropping their heads, City dug in. Trott kept the deficit to one with an excellent fingertip save moments later, and that resilience was rewarded with 15 minutes to play. After another well worked move down the right, Perry Ng delivered a superb cross into the area. David Turnbull attacked it perfectly and powered a header beyond Jörgensen to level the match, sending the Cardiff City Stadium into absolute chaos.
For a brief spell, it felt like anything was possible. City nearly went in front soon after as Ng again found space, but his effort was denied by the Chelsea keeper. That missed chance proved costly, as Chelsea struck back almost immediately. Substitute Pedro Neto found space on the edge of the box and his shot, helped by a slight deflection, ended up in the back of the net.
Turnbull continued to push, going close again with a volley that bounced just over the bar, but Chelsea wrapped things up in stoppage time as Garnacho grabbed his second, finding the far corner to seal the result.
Despite the defeat, this felt like a performance Cardiff can take real pride in. The atmosphere was electric throughout, although South Wales Police have since confirmed one arrest and an investigation into homophobic chanting. More details on that can be found on Wales247.
Attention now turns back to league action for the Bluebirds, who travel to Lincoln City on Saturday December 20th, with kick off at 3pm, looking to carry this spirit and intensity back into League One.
