Toulouse silence Blues
Cardiff Blues suffered a blow to their Heineken Cup hopes as they lost their clash against Toulouse in the French team's back-yard.
By Rachel Griffiths
Last Updated: 20/12/09 5:03pm
Cardiff Blues suffered a blow to their Heineken Cup hopes as they lost their Pool Five clash against Toulouse 23-7 in the French team's back-yard.
The three-time champions were boosted to victory by scrum-half Frederic Michalak, who recorded an 18-point tally to secure the man of the match award.
The match-winner booted five penalties and a drop goal as well as setting up a first-half try for captain Thierry Dusautoir, sending the Blues home empty handed.
The Welsh side made a brief response when Faao Filise crossed the line in the second half, but it was too late to repair the damage.
Dai Young's team was under pressure from the off as Martyn Williams conceded a penalty in the 12th minute and Michalak made no mistake from close-range.
Things got even worse for Cardiff from the re-start when Paul Tito was sin-binned for failing to roll away, despite warnings about discipline from Irish official Alan Lewis.
Onslaught
In Tito's absence, the Blues doggedly clung on to stay in the game, with Andy Powell and Williams laying their bodies on the line to withstand the onslaught.
However, it was not long before the hosts breached Blues' defence, with Michalak's close-range quick tap catching them off-guard to allow skipper Dusautoir to crash over the line, despite the efforts of Xavier Rush.
Finally the visitors gained possession and showed a moment of brilliance as Sam Norton-Knight escaped Dusautoir and flicked a superb reverse pass to Filise to allow him to power over from the 22, with Ben Blair converting.
The visitors entered the break in high spirits with only a one-point deficit, but all their hard work was undone in the second half when Powell was sin-binned for putting his right shoulder into Clement Poitrenaud.
The Blues were unable to recover as a ruthless Michalak hit back with his second penalty before securing a drop goal to take a 14-7 lead for the home team after 54 minutes.
The French half-back put the final nail in the coffin with three further penalties, claiming the points for the hosts and leaving the Blues' cup campaign severely shaken.
