Opinion: All-change Burnley show unwanted trait in Cardiff City cup humbling

But what can’t be excused is a lack of effort, especially from a group of players that should be using this cup tie as an opportunity to show Scott Parker why they ought to be in his first-team thinking.

It speaks volumes that Hannibal, one of maybe two starting players, three at a push, to emerge with any credit only did so because he ran with intensity and at least took the game to Cardiff, when that should be the bare minimum.

But too many others looked disinterested, were guilty of strolling around, not competing for second balls, walking back after attacks broke down and being far too casual on the ball.

Cardiff, to their credit, played well and deserved to go through, let’s get that right. They pressed excellently and passed forward with incision, especially during the first-half where they gained their two-goal lead. They look a good side and, on this evidence, won’t be stuck in League One for too long.

But Burnley certainly contributed to the Bluebirds’ success, with two or three players guilty of barely breaking sweat. That’s unforgivable and certainly isn’t what we’ve come to expect from a Parker team.

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As already touched upon, the opening 45 minutes were wretched.

Burnley were left chasing shadows at times, often on the back foot and playing reactively, rather than proactively. By the time defenders finally went to close a Cardiff player down, the ball had already been played past them. It was a tough watch.

While the second-half was an improvement, it was only marginally so – and while Burnley managed to halve the deficit through a lovely curling finish from Zian Flemming, it wasn’t like they earned the goal with a passage of well-crafted play, it was gifted to them via a mistake from the Cardiff keeper Nathan Trott.

The hosts huffed and puffed as they sought a late equaliser to take the game to penalties, and Mike Tresor injected some much-needed quality off the bench for the second round running, but it still wasn’t enough. And as Parker conceded himself, Burnley wouldn’t have deserved it anyway.

The Burnley boss opted not to publicly lambast his players after the game and played down any notion of a lack of effort. But privately I’m sure some harsh words were exchanged.

But Parker, much like Sean Dyche, doesn’t appear particularly interested in cup runs. That’s understandable to an extent, when Premier League survival is clearly the priority this season. But that still doesn’t excuse a performance such as this, which leaves a bad taste in the mouth for many, especially those match-going fans who may also have witnessed the 3-0 FA Cup defeat to Preston last season.

If the Clarets do something they’ve not done in their last 13 attempts and avoid defeat at Man City on Saturday, this result and performance will be quickly forgotten. But what Tuesday night guaranteed was an easy team selection for Parker, which is never a good thing.

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