Cardiff Harlequins 14 - 1 Southampton City

Zenith West Division 1

28th February 2009

It says much about the high standards Cardiff have set themselves in recent weeks that this victory was greeted with muted celebrations on the back of a lacklustre display. Perhaps it was the Friday night rugby, or simply an air of inevitability that after last week’s heroics, the home side would struggle to produce a performance with such vim and vigour. Both sides were short-handed, as Southampton travelled with just 8 men and were forced to borrow a couple of players from their hosts – such is the friendship that exists within the sport, Quins were more than happy to oblige in order to play the game, despite leaving them with a minimum of 10 men. Ultimately, Cardiff made arduous work of it but will draw satisfaction from another 3 points and a win achieved despite a below par performance.

Will Barrett steps up the pace for Harlequins, with fellow attackman Nick Mahoney in support

Cardiff took the lead midway through the first quarter and the result was never in doubt, but for much of the game, the Quins offense could best be described as tepid. There was certainly no lack of effort, and any accusation of complacency would be misplaced, but it’s fair to say this was not vintage Harlequins. Ball movement was often laboured, a fact unhelped by a lack of the off-ball running which has been a hallmark of recent Quins displays. The consequence was that Harlequins relied heavily on isolation plays – a fact borne out by the stats which show less than half of Cardiff’s goals were assisted. But for all the frustrations, it was not without its highlights. Nick Mahoney, making his first team debut after starring for the As all year, grabbed a well-deserved brace as did leading scorer Alan Croft, whilst skipper Andy Morgan lead by example dishing out 3 assists as well as scoring with a cracking finish on a man-up situation. Chris Lee dominated at the face-off providing the home side with plenty of possession, and that allowed attackers Will Barrett and Adam Grey to weigh in with four goals apiece, whilst midfielder Ben Fey got his second in as many weeks finishing off an incisive fastbreak.

Harlequins captain Andy Morgan celebrates his goal with Adam Grey

Although the attack struggled, Cardiff can take heart from performances on the defensive side of the halfway line: goalkeeper Matt Grindle earned himself Man of the Match honours thanks to a commanding display. As ever, he was afforded cover from the always-consistent Nick Panayidis, playing alongside Rory Dewhurst and Dave Austin, both of whom improve with every match. It says much about the manner in which Quins nullified Southampton’s offensive threat that the only mark in the goals against column came directly from an error during a clear by Grindle – few in the Cardiff ranks will lose any sleep over such a rarity though, especially one which came amidst an otherwise impeccable display from the Cardiff stopper.

The final score of 14-1 reflects perfectly the nature of the game for Cardiff: dictatorial at the back; adequate, but no more, at the other end. With just two weeks before the showpiece Flags Final against Bath, this was a timely reminder for Cardiff that they are at their best when playing with tempo and intensity - they have just one remaining fixture, away at Warwick University next week, to iron out the wrinkles.