"WE should have come away with three points, but it was my fault and I apologised to the lads after the game." So said a clearly crestfallen Graham Branch following his error which allowed Cardiff in for a share of the spoils.

The admission of guilt and subsequent self-admonishment from Branch is a noble gesture. But should the captain be the only one carrying the can for Rob Earnshaw's equaliser?

True, it was Branch's indecision which gifted the visitors possession. Yet his team-mates were slow to close down Graham Kavanagh and even more lax when it came to picking up the eventual goal scorer - Earnshaw.

That having been said, there was no denying the quality of the Welsh international's finish.

Branch, traditionally the target for the Turf Moor boo boys, has recently started to kop for some stick again. Some of it has been justified, some not.

But perhaps those dishing out the abuse should bear in mind one important fact - Branch is doing the team a favour.

No one, probably not even the man himself, would suggest that Branch's ideal position is at the heart of defence.

However, with David May still injured and Andy Todd recalled in a vain attempt to arrest Blackburn Rovers' hilarious slide down the Premiership, Branch is doing his best to help out.

One central defender who is certainly looking the part at the moment is Arthur Gnohere.

Since his return from QPR, King Arthur has been in a rich vein of form. When he wasn't selling audacious dummies on the edge of his own box to Earnshaw, Gnohere was proving he has the ability to be a defensive colossus.

Cardiff's forwards may as well have been running into a brick wall for all the change they got from Arthur.

There was only one performance better than Gnohere's on Saturday - that of Richard Chaplow. Stan Ternent referred to him as a 'terrific athlete' after the game, and he is not wrong.

The teenager's energy seems boundless, as do his enthusiasm and tenacity, which can only rub off on the rest of the team.

Quite apart from his well taken goal, Chappy turned in a first class performance of pressing and closing down the opposition. Should he continue to develop at his current rate, Burnley will have some player on their hands.

Finally welcome back, Glen Little. It took all of four minutes for Blakey to remind us what we have been missing as he left three Cardiff defenders on their backsides during an early forray into the box.

Priceless stuff. I don't suppose you fancy signing a new contract, do you?