Nine injuries, no firepower and three avoidable goals ... the story of Cardiff City 3 Rotherham United 0
“OUR game-plan was to try to frustrate them.”
Let's make it clear now: Matt Hamshaw was referring to opponents Cardiff City, not the Rotherham United fans making the long, long journey to South Wales.
The manager was talking about the first-half mission in the League One contest and the Millers were on course to realise it until lax defending just before the break allowed a very decent home side to take the lead.
Following the break, the visitors quickly conceded twice more and were never in the game. After the long, long journey came the long, long afternoon.
The new boss understood why travelling supporters weren't happy. He wasn't happy himself and apologised for what was, well, a bit of a sorry show.
“The level of performance has to be much better than it was, certainly in the second half,” said Hamshaw. It wouldn't be the last time he mentioned something similar in his post-match press conference at Cardiff City Stadium.
Injury-hit Rotherham kicked off eight men down: four strikers and three midfielders unavailable and a defender kept on the bench by a niggle.
They've lost their only scorer of goals in open play this term while the leader of the frontline on Saturday has hit the target once in the last nine and a half months.
New boy Lenny Agbaire took the absentees to nine when he failed to appear for the second period.
“We need to strengthen in certain areas,” Hamshaw said. “It's quite apparent that we're not scoring enough. As soon as the other team get a goal, we're struggling a little bit. It's down to me and my staff to try to put that right.
“When you're missing players of the quality we are, it's tough. Cardiff are a big club with an unbelievable academy. They pump a lot into that and you could see that today. We don't have that luxury.”
The Millers' Cameron Dawson saved from Yousef Salech early on and was then relieved to see David Turnbull's low 18-yard effort from a corner skid inches wide.
The running of Dan Gore was carrying Rotherham into good positions and for a brief period they pressed hard, forcing a young Cardiff back four into moments of rushed anxiety,
The spell passed and in the 42nd minute the visitors were found wanting at a corner again, only this time with worse consequences as Salech made a run that no-one tracked and earned himself a free header that brought the opening goal.
The Milers are a team in transition. The manager keeps saying it. His men, beaten in their last two league games after an opening-day victory, keep reminding everyone of it.
Rotherham don't have the budget of the last few years, which means that not every player at AESSEAL New York Stadium is of the boss's choosing. Progress is going to take time as they figuratively pay the price for the literal price of the previous campaign.
“I thought that we got into some really dangerous areas in the first half with ‘Gorey’ and (Ar'Jany) Martha,” Hamshaw said. “We showed our inexperience. Listen, we're a work in progress. I'm well aware that there are going to be games like this because of where we are at the minute and what we have got available.”
The boss and former coach brought up a certain subject again: "Second half, we were just too open. It wasn't good enough.
“I was disappointed with the lack of resilience. Every team who played against Rotherham when I was here before always knew they were in for a tough game.”
Rotherham were so far from home that the road signs on the approach to the ground were in a foreign tongue. ‘Cardiff’ to us, ‘Caerdydd’ to Welsh-speaking locals. The Millers' defending wasn't fluent in any language and all three goals could have been avoided.
The second arrived ten minutes after the restart when the visitors stood off and stood off and a series of Cardiff passes across the penalty area ended in Cian Ashford curling a pinpoint first-time effort into the far corner.
Sadly, Sean Raggett got into the spirit of passes across the penalty area and played a loose one that missed intended target Zak Jules, allowing City to return the ball to the back post where Rubin Colwill tapped in.
Things might have been different had the Bluebirds been down to ten men, as they should have been.
Young debutant Dakarai Mafico was on a booking when he brought down Gore in full flow in the 36th minute. It was an obvious yellow-card offence but referee Thomas Parsons allowed him to remain on the field, unlike Cardiff boss Brian Barry-Murphy who immediately hooked the 18-year-old to spare him any further risk.
With the match in the bag, Cardiff barely let go of the ball, content to see out proceedings rather than push to cause further damage.
“It's not bad for them when they can bring on the subs they did and we're missing players,” Hamshaw said. “I didn't think that our keeper had a lot of saves to make, despite us losing 3-0. The goals we've conceded are really poor.”
Late on, new boy Marvin Kaleta turned on the turbo, beat two opponents and tested keeper Nathan Trott with a stinging shot. It was Rotherham's only attempt of the game, their only attempt on target in the last two league outings.
It's not been an easy couple of away fixtures for the 18th-placed Millers. Their conquerors a fortnight ago, Stevenage, are in top spot, Cardiff are second.
“I'm really disappointed with all three goals,” Hamshaw said. “To concede the first one from a soft set-piece is really disappointing.
“There were a couple of key turning points within the game. Murph brings the left-back off straight after he could have had a second yellow card. It is what it is. I'll let people make up their own minds on that.
A lot of hard work lies ahead and the boss continued on what was by now a well-worn theme: “We have to be much, much better.”
Or ‘Mae'n rhaid i ni fod yn llawer, llawer gwell’, as they say in that part of the world.
Cardiff (4-4-1-1): Nathan Trott; Ronan Kpakio (Calum Chambers 88), Will Fish, Dylan Lawlor, Dakarai Mafico (Joel Bagan 36); Ollie Tanner, David Turnbull, Ryan Wintle, Cian Ashford (Isaak Davies 81); Rubin Colwill (Joel Colwill 81); Yousef Salech (Callum Robinson 81). Subs not used: Matt Turner, Chris Willock.
Rotherham (3-4-2-1): Cameron Dawson; Lenny Abaire (Marvin Kaleta H-T), Sean Raggett, Zak Jules; Denzel Hall, Liam Kelly (Jack Holmes 81), Dru Yearwood (James Clarke 75), Reece James; Dan Gore, Ar'Jany Martha (Ciaran McGuckin 75); Jordan Hugill. Subs not used: Ted Cann, Joe Rafferty, Kane Richardson.
Goals: Salech 43, Ashford 55, Colwill 61 (Cardiff)
Referee: Thomas Parsons (Lancashire)
Attendance: 17,555 (300-plus)