Cardiff City's Corner: What Next For The Wembley Heroes?

Not many people travelling to Wembley stadium on Sunday morning, expected the cup final fixture between Championship side Cardiff City and the world famous Premier League club Liverpool to be anything more than a one-sided easy victory for the reds.

They couldn’t have been more mistaken, though. The supposedly weaker Championship side not only scored first but also took a team of Premiership all-stars to a dramatic penalty shoot-out, only losing on a tragic fifth penalty miss taken by Anthony Gerrard, the cousin of Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard. There was cup romance all the way and you can tell the Cardiff players how proud they made their club that night, but it isn’t going to ease the pain of defeat.

It is not the first time Cardiff City have found themselves on the losing side at Wembley and now, suffer the tag of being the only team to lose the FA Cup final, Play-off final and League Cup final at Wembley. This statistic, however, like so many others, hides the true worth of a team filled with brave warriors who found themselves literally unable to walk after having given their all over the course of 120 tense minutes.

Liverpool legend Alan Hansen even went so far as to say it was ai???one of the great cup finals and Cardiff have done themselves proudai???. But where next for the blue half of South Wales?

Cardiff City now find themselves with 14 games to go until the end of the season and despite a recent blip in form, are still in the play-off positions. They can only go one of two ways in the next few games; they can use the experience of taking one of England’s best teams all the way to penalties as a springboard to success, or can capitulate and end the season in mid-table obscurity due to the psychological blow dealt by the defeat.

The truth is, with a passionate, talented manager like Malky Mackay; there can only be one way Cardiff City can go, and that is forwards and up the table. Cardiff have occupied a top-four position for much of the season and have proved, not just to the other Championship teams, but to the world, that they can cope on the big stage.

Now is the time for them to prove that the performance at Wembley was not a one-off, but the signs of a strong, stable club. The prior experience of such drama – throughout the Carling Cup including the finale at Wembley – could go either way. It could work as a positive experience for players to cope in future Wembley knockout matches – namely, the promotion play-offs – or could haunt them into further defeats.

Cardiff City unfortunately find themselves with a relatively small squad that also includes a lot of international players. This combination can leave them at times with a threadbare first team relying on youngsters such as Joe Ralls, who although are performing magnificently, are not yet equipped to deal with a promotion-chasing run in. Without a doubt, the squad is full of talented individuals, that is bound together by a never-say-die team ethic that was proved to us in the 118^th minute of the Cup Final.

The question is whether this current squad can maintain a promotion push? The talent in the squad is undeniable and for once, the world that watched the Carling Cup will accept the same. Joe Mason’s coolly slotted finish was enough indicator of ability coupled with a cool shoulder on his head. An ordinary youngster would’ve snatched at it, or even an experienced player would’ve done the same like Kenny Miller did when the Cup rested on his right foot with three minutes of regulation time to go. Miller, however, isn’t a Scottish international without a reason. He will definitely pull his socks up and gear up for the promotion push.

The defence – especially the two centre-backs in Hudson and Turner – held up against the barrage of attacks from Liverpool and this does indicate that the matches Cardiff played between the semi-final and the final of the Carling Cup may indeed have been affected by the distraction of a cup final. Cardiff leaked goals, but defended as if their lives were on the line. Every match should be treated like a Cup final from now until the end of the season.

The spirit of Wembley shouldn’t haunt these players, but instead, it should inspire the players to believe that they really can do it this season. This is where the manager steps in and Malky Mackay must not only act as a motivator, but bring in a few season-defining key loan signings into the club over the next few weeks. The thin squad needs a bit of reinforcement in key areas.

Cardiff City will, without a doubt, not just be challenging for a play-off position but will be chasing teams like Southampton and West Ham for an automatic promotion place.

One thing is for certain, though, that the next game at home to championship favourites West Ham United will gauge just how long the ai???Wembley hangoverai??? will last. Cardiff would have won many fans on Sunday and now is the time for Cardiff City Football Club to achieve that promised land – the Barclays Premier League – and you know what?

This time, unlike the Cup Final, the ribbons on that Championship trophy, might just be blue.

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This article was written by our Cardiff-born guest authorAi??Paul Gronow

Follow Paul on twitterAi??@Bluebirdblogger

Cardiff City’s Corner: What Next For The Wembley Heroes?

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