Dave Seddon's verdict: Cardiff City 4 Preston North End 0 - Welsh woe for PNE as they ship four against the Bluebirds

The Lilywhites shot themselves in the foot so many times over the course of 90 minutes that it’s a surprise they had any toes left.

All four of Cardiff’s goals came from woeful defending as they inflicted the joint heaviest defeat of Alex Neil’s reign – matching Hull away in November 2019.

Throw in two missed penalties in the space of barely 60 seconds which would have hauled North End back into the game at 2-0, and you get an idea of the type of afternoon they had in South Wales.

Missed penalties would be doing Bluebirds goalkeeper Dillon Phillips an injustice.

He saved them both from Paul Gallagher and Ched Evans, going first to his right and then his left to preserve the home side’s clean sheet.

In my time watching PNE, I can’t recall them missing two penalties in the same game.

The historians might unearth such a happening, if they do I must have blanked it from my memory. Gallagher’s attempt from 12 yards came with 64 minutes on the clock.

As he followed in Phillips’ parry and looked likely to net the rebound, Aden Flint hacked him down from behind to concede the second one.

With Daniel Johnson having just been substituted and Scott Sinclair still on the bench, Evans was entrusted as Gallagher hobbled around from Flint’s challenge.

The Welshman’s spot kick wasn’t the best, too close to Phillips who comfortably got across to push it away.

That’s the two penalties out of the way, so what happened at the other end?

A great big mess, defending of the most generous nature would be two ways of describing Preston’s open door policy at the back.

They conceded a penalty with less than a minute gone, one which was on the soft side to say the least.

That wasn’t what the finger was pointed out in terms of their defending though.

What narked was that PNE gifted Cardiff a long throw which led to the penalty.

They’d had possession, a daft back pass forcing Jordan Storey to slide to keep the ball from going out for a corner.

Instead the ball went out for a throw in, one Will Vaulks launched into the box and Liam Lindsay’s touch on Sean Morrison sent the burly home skipper tumbling to the floor.

North End lost the ball too for Cardiff’s second, scored even earlier in the second half than the opening goal had been in the first.

There were just 27 seconds gone when Josh Murphy scored.

Things went from bad to worse after the saved penalties.

Lindsay and he otherwise excellent Daniel Iversen got themselves in a tangle in the build-up to the hosts’ third goal.

Fair play to keeper Iversen, he almost redeemed himself with a great save but could do nothing about the rebound being stuck away.

As for the fourth goal, that came from Lindsay selling Iversen short with a back pass, allowing Mark Harris to walk the ball home just moments after coming on.

Watching all that unfold back in Lancashire via iFollow or their preferred manner of following/listening method, not surprisingly had some fans sharpening their claws in terms of Neil’s future.

The inconsistency of this season, indeed since June’s restart, is taking a growing number towards the conclusion that a change should be in the offing.

The defeat dropped PNE down to 14th place, on the same number of points (39) as Blackburn and QPR above them and Bristol City below.

Bunching up behind Bristol City are five clubs on 34 points or more.

North End are 10 points above third bottom and 10 behind sixth place.

They won’t be troubling the play-offs, with them far too inconsistent for that.

You just hope their inconsistency doesn’t spiral into something which drags them further down the table.

The release of the team sheet an hour before kick-off offered some optimism and not the feeling of doom which enveloped us by 5pm.

Greg Cunningham and Emil Riis had been recalled to play in a 3-4-1-2 system which had suited PNE well in their last away game at Blackburn.

It matched the formation used by Cardiff and it was to be the hosts who used it so much more effectively.

North End were to concede a sixth penalty of 2021 and their third in three games with less than a minute played.

As Vaulks’ long throw was cleared from the six-yard box, Lindsay’s foot touched the back of Morrison’s boot and down he went.

It seems any contact in the box is punishable at present and ref Jeremy Simpson was quick to point to the spot.

Kieffer Moore dispatched it into the top corner, giving them the one-goal lead which carried Cardiff through to the half-time whistle.

It was an advantage they had comfortable held on to, having let North End see lots of the ball but not in areas where it could do any damage.

All the play was in front of Cardiff, the visitors trying to build from deep – their chief playmaker Ben Whiteman too deep for me.

Riis and Evans were left to chase lost causes, the Dane really struggling to have any kind of impact.

He was replaced at the break by Tom Barkhuizen who lost possession after PNE had kicked-off the second half.

Harry Wilson moved up the pitch and played in Murphy who drilled home a low shot.

Gallagher and Anthony Gordon joined the fray as a double change, it being a foul on Gordon by Wilson which led to Gallagher’s penalty.

Gordon was one of the few plus points of the day, lively and direct in his play – surely a starter against QPR.

The teenager set up a good chance for Brad Potts in between Cardiff’s third and fourth goals, one which Potts lifted over the bar.

This is a result which the Lilywhites need to get out of their system quickly. New team or not, seven points from the 27 on offer since January 2 isn’t good enough.

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