Port Vale 0-0 Cardiff City: Bluebirds Hold On for a Point
Cardiff City played their first away game of the League One season.
They faced Port Vale at Vale Park.
The match ended in a 0-0 draw.
It was a poor performance from the Bluebirds.
But they managed to hold on and take one point.
Cardiff City managed to hang on for a point despite being thoroughly outplayed by Port Vale in their first away game of the campaign
Port Vale will be very disappointed not to win the game.
They were the better team and played really well.
Cardiff City looked very different from how they played last weekend.
They were much better in the win against Peterborough United at home.
But this time, they struggled.
Cardiff City struggled physically and didn’t show much quality when it came to attacking. Still, they somehow managed to hold on for a 0-0 draw. It’s the kind of game that will probably leave manager Brian Barry-Murphy puzzled.
The Bluebirds now have four points from their first two League One games. That’s not a bad start, but the performance was underwhelming – especially for the 2,000+ fans who travelled to watch the match in the Potteries.
New signing Nathan Trott made his debut in goal, just a day after joining on loan from FC Copenhagen. Captain Calum Chambers also played his first game of the season in defence, after missing the last one due to suspension.
Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community
There were a few changes to the team. Chris Willock started on the wing instead of Cian Ashford.
But overall, it was still a young Cardiff City side facing Port Vale.
The game started very differently compared to last weekend’s home match.
Jesse Debrah had two big chances for Port Vale in the first half – both from corners.
Ronan Curtis delivered both balls well, and Debrah attacked them with power.
Cardiff were second-best all over the pitch in that first half.
They were lucky not to be behind.
In fact, they nearly scored an own goal when Calum Chambers dived to clear a cross – only for his header to crash off the post.
Cardiff’s best moment came when Salech found a bit of space on the edge of the box.
He turned quickly and fired just wide – a decent effort.
Vale started the second half just like the first – strong and on the front foot.
They thought they’d scored when Mitch Clark drilled a low shot past Trott into the bottom corner.
But luckily for Cardiff, the flag went up for offside.
Cardiff’s wingers continued to struggle, putting in poor crosses again and again.
That left Salech and the other attackers with nothing to work with.
Meanwhile, Vale stayed aggressive, breaking up any rhythm Cardiff tried to build.
Make no mistake – Vale were the better team by far.
It was surprising the score was still 0–0 with just 15 minutes to go.
Cardiff’s subs helped a bit, and the game felt more even near the end.
But neither team had the quality to finish their chances.