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Like i said earlier and others have said since it was another easy game and Ipswich didn't really threaten. They had a couple of poor free kicks and the ball went through the area once or twice, oh and the shot dragged wide but nothing that troubled us. Performance wise for us i would say:
Ruddy - Did everything he had to easily which wasn't a lot in fairness. Did well to just get back from the dodgy back pass. I know the defence in front of him are unbelievable but it definitely does make a difference when you have a good goalkeeper.
Bennett - Have said it before and will say it again but i thought he was a strange and poor signing, i couldn't see him getting a game and that he would be our 6th choice centre back but he's been outstanding. He isn't the best on the ball but he is a lot better than he was and is better than Danny on it. He does everything defensively that you could ask anyone an is solid. Can't be dropped even if i think we have better centre backs.
Coady - Apart from the back pass he was what Coady has been all season. Solid, comfortable on the ball and always ready to cover if needed. The leader of the side an it shows. What a player he has become.
Boly - It's too easy for him defensively in this league, he wasn't troubled at all and hasn't been for a long time. Poor on the ball early on but played a fantastic pass to Jota and drove forward well a few times.
Doherty - Not as involved as he has been for most of the season but still got involved and did well defensively. Still needs a bit of competition but had a good season so far.
Douglas - I thought he was excellent. Defended well when Ipswich tried to attack down their right and got involved quite a lot in our attacking play. Nearly got in behind a couple of times but the pass wasn't quite right. Thought his free kick was in and still not sure how it curled so much so late.
Saiss - Another quality performance and would have capped it off had he guided his header the other side of the post and he should have done. Moves the ball quickly, combines well with everyone especially Neves and is still getting forward well. Never afraid to put a foot in too and while he still commits the odd foul he is much better now and made one excellent sliding challenge in the second half as Ipswich got in to the box.
Neves - The lad just oozes class. His touch and vision are outstanding and his passing is outrageous. The passes to Costa and Saiss in the second half especially the former were absolutely beautiful. Does the dirty work too and at 20 he's got lots of improvement in him which is crazy.
Cavaleiro - Not very good early on, he got in decent positions but his crossing was woeful but then came the goal. Swapped sides with Jota for a while and after Diogo had bullied their left back his deflected cross found Cav who finished superbly. Better in the second half and was everywhere until Bright replaced him. He has to play right now as he has looked like our most dangerous player over the past few weeks.
Bonatini - Another week where a defence sat back and he hasn't had a lot of room to link up with Jota and Cav. It did start to happen more in the second half but it would be good in games like this to have a different option up top.
Jota - Getting back to his best by the looks of today's performance. Did fantastically for the goal and looked a threat even if Ipswich did try a few Cardiff tactics like blocking him off the ball and pulling him back or kicking him. Fancy a big performance from him on Boxing day.
SUBS
Bright - I thought he looked good when he came on and it also showed why we aren't looking to loan out these players as he showed that Nuno and he have been working hard. Kept the ball, moved it quickly and looked like causing problems when he ran at them. He just needs to be more confident in front of goal. I would also like some of our fans to not get on his back as you can tell some of them are waiting to moan at him for keeping the ball too long or having a shit shot.
Costa - Looked good again and Ipswich just had to keep fouling him. Probably deserves a start but not getting in front of Cav or Diogo right now.
Alf - Not enough time to have an impact really.
7 points clear at halfway and a rock solid defence. Teams aren't even really trying to attack us and if they do who knows what we could do to them going forward. I look forward to the next game where someone has a go at us. It's going to take something remarkable to stop us now but we have 2 really tough games up next and if all goes well we could be 10 or more points clear and if everything goes wrong we will still be top.
Ruddy - Did everything he had to easily which wasn't a lot in fairness. Did well to just get back from the dodgy back pass. I know the defence in front of him are unbelievable but it definitely does make a difference when you have a good goalkeeper.
Bennett - Have said it before and will say it again but i thought he was a strange and poor signing, i couldn't see him getting a game and that he would be our 6th choice centre back but he's been outstanding. He isn't the best on the ball but he is a lot better than he was and is better than Danny on it. He does everything defensively that you could ask anyone an is solid. Can't be dropped even if i think we have better centre backs.
Coady - Apart from the back pass he was what Coady has been all season. Solid, comfortable on the ball and always ready to cover if needed. The leader of the side an it shows. What a player he has become.
Boly - It's too easy for him defensively in this league, he wasn't troubled at all and hasn't been for a long time. Poor on the ball early on but played a fantastic pass to Jota and drove forward well a few times.
Doherty - Not as involved as he has been for most of the season but still got involved and did well defensively. Still needs a bit of competition but had a good season so far.
Douglas - I thought he was excellent. Defended well when Ipswich tried to attack down their right and got involved quite a lot in our attacking play. Nearly got in behind a couple of times but the pass wasn't quite right. Thought his free kick was in and still not sure how it curled so much so late.
Saiss - Another quality performance and would have capped it off had he guided his header the other side of the post and he should have done. Moves the ball quickly, combines well with everyone especially Neves and is still getting forward well. Never afraid to put a foot in too and while he still commits the odd foul he is much better now and made one excellent sliding challenge in the second half as Ipswich got in to the box.
Neves - The lad just oozes class. His touch and vision are outstanding and his passing is outrageous. The passes to Costa and Saiss in the second half especially the former were absolutely beautiful. Does the dirty work too and at 20 he's got lots of improvement in him which is crazy.
Cavaleiro - Not very good early on, he got in decent positions but his crossing was woeful but then came the goal. Swapped sides with Jota for a while and after Diogo had bullied their left back his deflected cross found Cav who finished superbly. Better in the second half and was everywhere until Bright replaced him. He has to play right now as he has looked like our most dangerous player over the past few weeks.
Bonatini - Another week where a defence sat back and he hasn't had a lot of room to link up with Jota and Cav. It did start to happen more in the second half but it would be good in games like this to have a different option up top.
Jota - Getting back to his best by the looks of today's performance. Did fantastically for the goal and looked a threat even if Ipswich did try a few Cardiff tactics like blocking him off the ball and pulling him back or kicking him. Fancy a big performance from him on Boxing day.
SUBS
Bright - I thought he looked good when he came on and it also showed why we aren't looking to loan out these players as he showed that Nuno and he have been working hard. Kept the ball, moved it quickly and looked like causing problems when he ran at them. He just needs to be more confident in front of goal. I would also like some of our fans to not get on his back as you can tell some of them are waiting to moan at him for keeping the ball too long or having a shit shot.
Costa - Looked good again and Ipswich just had to keep fouling him. Probably deserves a start but not getting in front of Cav or Diogo right now.
Alf - Not enough time to have an impact really.
7 points clear at halfway and a rock solid defence. Teams aren't even really trying to attack us and if they do who knows what we could do to them going forward. I look forward to the next game where someone has a go at us. It's going to take something remarkable to stop us now but we have 2 really tough games up next and if all goes well we could be 10 or more points clear and if everything goes wrong we will still be top.
