By Gareth James
You know it’s not been a great weekend for a club when the headline screaming out from Sky Sports’ website says: “Is this the worst goalkeeper mistake you have ever seen!?”
The answer, of course, depends very much on the length of your memory.
If you happen to be under 30, then Ethan Horvath’s horrible error that led to Cardiff City conceding the opener in their 5-0 defeat Burnley may well be top of the pile.
Those who have been around a bit longer might point to the infamous Peter Encklemen howler for Aston Villa in their derby against Birmingham City as the high water mark for low grade goalkeeping.
Either way, Horvath’s horror at Turf Moor put the Bluebirds on the back foot and they slid to a painful spanking that even the normally protective Erol Bulut found hard to defend – much like his players.
Horvath was beaten three further times from outside the penalty area in a game to forget for the 29-year-old American.
It all means Cardiff are bottom of the early Championship table, having lost two matches, conceded seven goals and scored none.
You see Koleosho scored and then watch the play and it’s not an American friendly goal.
Koleosho technically isn’t getting credit for this goal either.
I continue to say it: Ethan Horvath belongs nowhere near the USMNT. Time to turn the GK position over to the next generation. https://t.co/Kf3JLjWLFD
— USMNTProspects (@ProspectsUsmnt) August 17, 2024
Next up, they travel to face neighbours Swansea City, who have their season up and running thanks to a 3-0 victory over Preston.
Scott Parker saw his Burnley side record another statement victory in his first home game in charge since replacing Vincent Kompany as manager.
The Clarets built on their impressive opening day 4-1 win at Luton with an assertive performance at Turf Moor.
Horvath’s mistake was followed by a first-half strike from Luca Koleosho with Josh Brownhill, Zeki Amdouni and Johann Berg Gudmundsson netting after the break as Burnley aim to bounce back from last season’s relegation.
“So, next week we have the derby (against Swansea) and when we are there, I will not accept any excuses,” said Bulut.
“The football over 90 minutes and on the scoreboard has to change also.”
there aren’t many things as iconic as what ethan horvath did here pic.twitter.com/t7jbTPdz66
— ًًً (@_captainpulisic) March 17, 2024
Quite what that threat amounts to is hard to determine. Bulut could make wholesale changes, but his transfer dealings – dictated by club owner Vincent Tan – have mainly consisted of freebies and loans.
Unless Cardiff can quickly strengthen a squad that appears fragile defensively, blunt up top, and lacking control in the middle of the park, then the club look destined for a long season trying to avoid relegation.
“It was not easy to come back. We can lose games but the performance has to be better than it was in the second half,” added Bulut.
“The second half was not enough to come back and we got injuries and we had to change so we could not push to score.
“It was not a positive day, we were missing a lot of goals, we had a few chances but in football you have these days, it was good that it was at the start of the season.”
Bulut was unable to say what the future holds for defender Mark McGuinness. The centre-back was again left out of the side amid links with Luton Town, but his manager claims it is out of his hands and up to the board whether they decide to sell one of their few assets.
McGuinness scored in Cardiff’s win in the EFL Cup in midweek but did not travel with the Bluebirds for their thumping at Burnley.
Cardiff City boss Erol Bulut says his side “must forget as quickly as possible” their 5-0 thrashing at Burnley ❌
Next up… the south Wales derby. ⏳#BBCFootball #Cardiff pic.twitter.com/z0qXsKJP4p
— BBC Sport Wales (@BBCSportWales) August 17, 2024
“I don’t want to talk too much about Mark McGuinness. Let’s see and wait what will happen,” said Bulut.
“It is possible he was left out because of that [a possible transfer].
“I cannot tell you if we have accepted an offer or not. The board can tell you more things about that.”
Burnley manager Scott Parker said: “I know where Burnley were last year, I have been in that position when you don’t win many games and it can be a psychological blow on the squad.
“The most important thing here is to get back to winning ways and build a winning culture, and two wins from two with two tough fixtures.
“I want us to be bright about the future because we have had two great results. I have been in this division twice and I know the demands of it.
“I keep saying there will be bumps in the road but I don’t want us to lose sight of the first two games and the level of performance we have shown.
“The deadliness of this team has been there for everyone to see, so we are upbeat and we need to roll with that.”
