While on-field results and off-field difficulties have left Cardiff City in a worrying situation, rare nuggets of positivity have been reaped in recent weeks.

Since returning from the international break, the Bluebirds have taken a point apiece away from Stoke City and at home to Blackpool. Not the worst results in the world overall, but Cardiff will feel they’ve dropped at least two points.

We are now halfway to the end of a season that has seen a new playing team, a different style of football, a change of managers and of course, most recently, the introduction of a transfer embargo.

READ MORE: Cardiff fans worried and angry about relegation battle and only on-pitch results can make all the difference

Mark Hudson still looks to be trying to find his ‘best XI’, with the Bluebirds now looking for a second consecutive second half of the season, making their way to escape class break.

Well, if City fans can take anything positive away from the last two games, it’s the appearance of Kion Etete, or more specifically, his link-up with the equally impressive Callum Robinson.

The lack of a strong attacking force has been a big problem for Cardiff this season. Max Watters kept a clean sheet in the first eight games of the season and failed to find the back of the net, while Mark Harris proved to be a much better operator in wide areas than in the center as a forward.

But now, finally, midway through the campaign, Hudson appears to have found a strike partnership that will help lift City.

Robinson is a class act at this level. He is already proving his worth after a £1.5m summer move from West Brom, scoring nine goals (four goals and five assists) in his last 12 games for Cardiff. But you need help and someone to share the load.

Early season performances by Etete, who is of Nigerian descent and believed to be on his FA’s radar, did little to convince him he would be perfect for Robinson, but in his last three appearances, including against Peter Whittingham Memorial, has been Cardiff’s best player in every direction.

“I did a few cameos early in the season, just to find my balance and stuff. So the drivers’ faith to start with really brought my confidence back to where it was before,” Etete said of his start in the Welsh capital. “That’s why I can act like this.”

He offers something no one else in the Cardiff team does. He has physical presence, is good in the air, lifts Cardiff on the field and skillfully involves others in the game. Now you need to create a main bank.

Etete’s goal against Blackpool knocked Robinson off his boot, his first goal for City since his £500,000 move from Tottenham in the summer, was impressive. But there was a sense of inevitability for Etete, who spoke of the partnership he formed with Robinson in training.

🇧🇷[The assist] it was exceptional”, said Etete. “That’s what he does. We do a lot of things like that in training. I feed him, he feeds me. It just had to happen.”

Robinson returned the favor after Etete helped him to Stoke last week. A real bond and togetherness is growing between them, which has been one of the few big bright spots lately.

But while their partnership grows stronger, the same cannot be said for disengaged City fans, many of whom are increasingly tired and angry at the club’s current position after Cardiff have won just two of their last 10 games. , a run of form that sees them sitting two points above the relegation zone at Christmas.

Etete, 21, urged fans to support the team, as did his manager after the draw with Blackpool at the weekend.

“The union that we all need, the coaching staff, the players, the fans, has to be strengthened”, said the striker.

“We definitely have the ability to continue. We just have to finish the game. We need an advantage to win the game. We can’t leave the holes like that.

🇧🇷[The mood in camp] It’s still positive for the way we played. But I can understand from the fans’ point of view when we equalize, come back and recycle the ball. Not everyone will agree with what we do. But we are trying to win.

“We are trying to be positive. We know we have the ability to beat teams. Against Blackpool and in previous games we are always on top. We need that edge and that bit of cruelty.”

“I think we had enough chances to win and put an end to the first half, especially that’s something we need to work on in the second half of the season.”

“The football we play is very good sometimes. If we keep playing like we did in the second half against Stoke, we’ll have a chance in the dressing room. We just need to put the whole game together, not two separate halves.”

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As for Etete himself, he hopes the goal against Blackpool, which he deftly scored by flicking the ball past Daniel Grimshaw into the Seasiders’ net, will be the springboard for the attack in the second half of the campaign.

You need the floodgates to open now and you have a series of goals to reach. Nor can it be the only one, as Mick McCarthy once said, “We need soldiers now.”

“Ruthless” has become a buzzword of late, used by Mark Hudson before and after the games, but what does that really mean?

“It has to be competitiveness within the team”, Etete tried to explain. “Competition for each other’s places. That’s how we get that bloodlust to put you in front of the goal and take your chances.

“He can only hit one hit per game, but it’s about seizing that opportunity and not thinking, ‘Oh, I’ll hit another one.’ You still need to be sure that if you fail, you’ll have another one, but you should think, “I’ll take this opportunity, it might be my last.”

It’s actually not a bad metaphor for Cardiff. They got out of prison last year by pulling away from the relegation places at the end of the season and aim to do the same this year. But they can’t just pray for more opportunities.

Source: Wales Online