By Fraser Watson
Mick McCarthy reckons Cardiff City have got their promotion mojo back after their gritty 1-0 win at Swansea City in the Welsh derby.
The Bluebirds now sit four points outside the top six after Aden Flint’s early header clinched derby delight for McCarthy’s men, but left Swansea City in danger of losing touch with the automatic promotion slots.
Cardiff faced the prospect of a relegation battle when McCarthy took over from Neil Harris, but they are now looking up after an important battling triumph over their fiercest rivals.
“I’m delighted,” said the Cardiff manager. “I’m going to put a coat hanger upside down in my mouth to keep the smile on my face.
“I’m delighted for the players who put a real shift in. It was a stoic performance.
“We knew how Swansea were going to play. The pride and bragging rights were at stake and I can see why the lads celebrated the way they did because apparently they did that at our place earlier in the season, so good for them.
“It was important not to be beaten and we have two weeks now to enjoy a good win against one of the best teams in the league. It’s an important win for our momentum and it’s brilliant for the fans and everyone at the club.
“When Swansea won at our place, they celebrated as if they had won the league so you might say that was retribution.
“I think the players wanted to prove a point and why not? They earned the right as they won with a performance that was full of determination and resilience.
“This gives us back our momentum and we deserve it because the boys have worked their socks off.
“And I’m really pleased for Aden. I’ve always really rated him as a centre-back and I was surprised to hear he had gone out of our club on loan. He’s been fantastic for me.”
Swansea’s automatic promotion hopes were dealt another blow with their second defeat in a week. But head coach Steve Cooper believes his side were the better team.
Cooper claimed his Swansea side “dominated every stat except for the important one” after it was Cardiff who took the South Wales bragging rights at the Liberty Stadium.
The result dealt a big blow to Swansea’s automatic promotion hopes, leaving them six points off second placed Watford, whilst at the same time kept McCarthy’s side in touch with the play offs as they cut the gap on sixth placed Reading to four points.
It also meant that the search goes on for either club to complete a league double over the other in the same season.
The defining moment came just eight minutes in when Will Vaulks’ long thrown sparked a scramble which culminated in Cardiff defender Flint heading home.
“We conceded a really soft goal from a long throw which we knew was coming,” said Cooper.
“It was a cruel game because we did everything but score. We were by far the superior team.
“It was a difficult day and it’s a difficult one to take because of the importance of the game. We’ve got to stick together, and we are still in a positive league position.
“Everybody has had a tough schedule, so we are not looking for sympathy or excuses.
“We’ve got nine games to go so third is a good position to be in. It hurts today but we’ve got to get over it and look forward.
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“There were a lot of blocks and a lot of chances. We played some brilliant football which will be overlooked today because of the result.
“We have got to keep going and will never give up. We will fight to the end. I don’t think many would have put us in this position at the start of the season and we will be back stronger.”
Swansea had plenty of second half pressure, but failed to capitalise with Andre Ayew heading against the post and Morgan Whittaker shooting wide from point blank range late on.
Whittaker also stung the palms of Cardiff keeper Dillon Phillips with a long range effort late on, as led by skipper Sean Morrison the visitors were resolute despite some scrambled action in their area.
And Cooper admitted he began to get a sinking feeling during the second half – but also did reserve praise for his young striker on what was his first league start.
“I literally started to think we aren’t going to score today. I’m not going to say it wasn’t our day because you’ve got to earn your luck and make things happen but it wasn’t our day.
“Morgan did well and I fancied him on some of the chances he had on his left foot. He’ll be ruing a few of them but overall, for his first start, I thought it was very positive from him. He’s a young player and should be pleased with his work.”
The international break means Swansea will now have a two week gap before going to Birmingham on April 2nd, something their manager said they needed after a frenzied schedule.
“It means nothing now but today is as well as we’ve played for a while.
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“And still we’re third in league. Not many would have put us here at this stage of the season. It’s tough to take but we will get over it and come back stronger.
“We need a rest. We will train a bit as we haven’t been able to do that normally for weeks. We’ll use the time wisely.
“There are nine games to go so we will get over the disappointment and react the only way we can – and that’s to go for it.”