FootyChatter.com

Kieffer Moore still plays regularly at Cardiff City Stadium for Wales Kieffer Moore scored two superb goals as Championship leaders Sheffield United won at Cardiff City to plunge the Welsh club into the relegation zone. After a drab and goalless first half, the Blades moved up a gear in the second as Moore controlled Alfie Gilchrist's cross with his chest before firing into the top corner. The strike was as memorable as the rest of the game was forgettable, and the Wales forward scored a second against his former club eight minutes later as he drilled in a low effort from the edge of the penalty area. Moore's goals were a fine riposte to being booed by the Cardiff fans who once adored him, and the result maintains the Blades' three-point cushion at the top of the Championship. As for the Bluebirds, an eighth match without victory means they will spend Christmas in the bottom three, two points adrift of safety. The day had not started well for Cardiff, with wins for Portsmouth and Hull City in the day's earlier games dumping the Bluebirds back into the relegation zone. Considering their opponents' imperious form – the Blades were on a 10-match unbeaten run which included eight victories – there was little to suggest that this would be the day when Cardiff would earn their first win in eight attempts. They barely saw the ball early on as United kept possession with the ease of a training exercise, which gave them control of the encounter albeit without creating much in the way of chances. A low-key first half produced no shots on target but there was one from each side within 10 minutes of the restart. Tom Davies had United's, forcing Jak Alnwick to palm the ball away, before Cardiff's Yakou Meite had Michael Cooper diving smartly to his left. The Blades were starting to get a firmer grip on the game at this stage, and they took the lead in spectacular fashion as Moore held off Jesper Daland to bring down Gilchrist's cross from the right and crack a left-footed strike back across goal and into the net. The Wales striker used his right foot to equally good effect eight minutes later, guiding a low 20-yard effort past the near post to double his team's lead and silence the boos that had come from the supporters of his former club. There were still some jeers at the final whistle but those were for Cardiff, who are deep in the relegation mire for a third season out of four. Cardiff manager Omer Riza: "It was a tough game. We prepared well and put out a team we thought would cause a problem. We contained them, to go in 0-0 at half-time to get a draw or win out of the game - but a moment of moment of real class from Moore with the goal puts us on the back foot. "The second goal comes from us trying to get something out of the game. Disappointing but the better team won. We know the quality of the player and the boys contained him for periods of the game. "In general we worked hard and the boys showed good intensity levels. We come away with a defeat and have to pick ourselves up. " Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder: "To get to 50 points is incredible. To come to a ground like this and break down a team like this… to play with the discipline and control we had was incredibly pleasing. "We're getting stretched a little bit at the moment with six senior players out, but they keep doing what they do. They play with that freedom, they play with that control and when they have to defend they're proud of their clean sheets. "I thought we were really good today. The pitch wasn't great, they sat in and they were dangerous on the counter-attack, so we had to get so many things right. " Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 21st December 2024 at 17: 16 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Omer Riza Formation: 3 - 4 - 3 Manager: Chris Wilder Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Omer Riza Formation: 3 - 4 - 3 Manager: Chris Wilder Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Championship All competitions All competitions All competitions Cardiff City have lost each of their last four league games against Sheffield United, as many as across their prior 18 meetings with the Blades combined (W7 D7). Sheffield United have lost just one of their last six away league games against Cardiff City (W3 D2), a 2-0 defeat in August 2017. Cardiff have failed to win any of their last five league games against sides from Yorkshire (D1 L4), conceding 15 goals in total during that time. Sheffield United are unbeaten across their last five away league games (W3 D2), scoring exactly two goals in four of those matches. The Blades haven’t enjoyed a longer run on their travels since a run of seven matches ending in February 2023. Both teams have scored in just five of Sheffield United’s 21 Championship matches so far this season (24%) – the lowest such tally in the competition. Match ends, Cardiff City 0, Sheffield United 2. Second Half ends, Cardiff City 0, Sheffield United 2. Foul by Rhian Brewster (Sheffield United). Calum Chambers (Cardiff City) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Attempt blocked. Manolis Siopis (Cardiff City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Joel Bagan with a cross. Fourth official has announced 5 minutes of added time. Corner, Cardiff City. Conceded by Gustavo Hamer. Attempt saved. Callum O'Hare (Sheffield United) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Harrison Burrows. Corner, Sheffield United. Conceded by Dimitrios Goutas. Sam Mc Callum (Sheffield United) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Rubin Colwill (Cardiff City). Rhian Brewster (Sheffield United) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Calum Chambers (Cardiff City). Substitution, Sheffield United. Rhys Norrington-Davies replaces Jack Robinson. Substitution, Sheffield United. Jamal Baptiste replaces Alfie Gilchrist. Substitution, Cardiff City. Cian Ashford replaces Yakou Méïté. Substitution, Cardiff City. Ronan Kpakio replaces Alex Robertson. Substitution, Cardiff City. Wilfried Kanga replaces Jesper Daland. Attempt missed. Callum Robinson (Cardiff City) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Calum Chambers. Attempt missed. Sam Mc Callum (Sheffield United) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Gustavo Hamer with a cross following a corner. © 2024 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.