My top City games of the millennium: Top 3

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Here comes the top 3. There’s probably no surprises here, more a mild curiosity as to the order.

3.
Date: 9 February 2008
Match: Middlesbrough 0-2 Cardiff City

Up until now, we’d had a relatively straightforward run in the FA cup. A win from behind at Chasetown, a close win at Hereford, then Wolves were dispatched at Planet Ninian. The way the FA cup had gone that season, with all the big clubs being knocked out, this was the most open tournament in years. Middlesbrough were the second highest in the league of all that remained. All of a sudden, they were one of the favourites, though I doubt many would have thought back then that the then Boro manager would lead England to a World Cup semi final!

I watched the first half at home, when I lived in Canton with Mrs HaB. McPhail goes in a bit clumsily for a challenge on the edge of the box, maybe handball, but Whittingham gets the ball out from under his feet and curls one with his right foot. Not known for moments with his standing leg, this was a curler of great beauty. The dream was on. Midway through the half, he curls over a free kick to the back post and Roger Johnson’s diving header puts us in dreamland.

At half time, I check my wallet and find it’s empty. The cashpoint was a bit of a walk away, so I empty my money tin and we go to the Duke of Clarence to watch the second half. Can’t remember much about the game, we just sang and partied for hours, all paid for in pounds of loose change out of 2 bulging jeans pockets. I found this recording which I took on my phone at the time. https://1drv.ms/u/s!AptzTr9mgVZEgiGX0TwVGHyioZoJ It was clear that Boro were about as likely to score as Sludge.

We’d made a cup semi final. We were shit in the league that season, I tried selling Dave Jones on eBay in November, but we rallied around enough and almost made a half-hearted bid for the playoffs. The big boys had all gone, Portsmouth had drawn West Brom in one semi final, so one of the other 2 bigger sides would go. This could be our year. If only Ramsey had started.

2.
Date: 6 January 2002
Match: Cardiff City 2-1 Leeds Utd

Leeds feature again. This time, they were top of the Premier League with 3 wins on the trot. We were a Division 2 side (Division 3 in old money, League 1 in today’s currency) that were stuttering. Alan Cork was under pressure. We had beaten Tiverton Town and Port Vale en route to the third round. The following season we would play Tranmere and Margate in Rounds 1 and 2 respectively. They were our last opponents in those rounds of the FA cup.

Cork made some bold decisions that day. He went with 3 up front and put Earnshaw on the wing in the hope his pace would upset Irish international full back Gary Kelly.

Some months before I met Rio Ferdinand in a Chinese restaurant in Wetherby. I said I’d see him play in Cardiff some time. Little did I realise it would be only a few months away. He would last 10 minutes after being crocked by Gavin Gordon. On came Michael Duberry to partner Jonathan Woodgate, part of the recent court case trio. Awkward. We wondered why Lee Bowyer wasn’t in jail. This wasn’t just hostile. This was Cardiff City hostile, throughout.

Anyway, Spencer Prior makes a hash of a pass and Viduka is put through to blast a shot past the helpless Alexander. Bugger.

Legg is fouled. Free kick, about 30 yards out, level with the left edge of the box. Kavanagh over it. I remember thinking to myself, we’ve loaded the far post with our big targets, I wonder if this is a bluff and he’s going to go for goal? It would take a monster strike from there to beat Nigel Martyn, though. Up runs Kavanagh. Over the wall. Martyn no chance. The noise is deafening.

Alan Smith elbows Leggy in the mouth. Cheerio, cheerio, cheerio.

Second half and Leeds boss the game. Scott Young’s challenge on Viduka was match saving.

Corner Cardiff. Leeds don’t deal with it. Another corner. Another corner. Ref has a word with Fortune-West. Eventually the corner comes in from the left. Fortune-West heads it towards goal, good header but going wide. David Batty can’t take any chances and blocks it. The ball goes loose to Scott Young, on his knees, sliding in, makes contact. Pure ecstasy. Sam Hammam had wound up the Grange End to a frenzy and now it was erupting like a popped champagne cork.

Full time. On the pitch. We’d beaten the league leaders. I think that was the last time we did beat a team top of the Premier League. It is also only one of three occasions where we’ve beaten a Premier League side in a cup competition where we’ve been in a lower division. This was probably our last real giantkiller. We’ve been on the opposite end of enough in recent seasons.

1.
Date: 3 April 2010
Match: Cardiff City 2-1 Swansea City

Let’s wind back 18 months to the first South Wales derby in some years. During the 2000s we had grown as a club, got close to the playoffs for a Premier League spot and made an FA cup final. Swansea had almost gone bust and been relegated from the league. In 2008 our little brothers made the Championship and looked the part from day 1. We lost in the league cup thanks to a deflected free kick. We led 2-1 at Planet Caravan in the league only for McPhail to get sent off again down there and we drew. We were thankful for a dubious Mike Dean decision to give us a penalty in the last ever Ninian Park derby that saw us with another 2-2 draw.

Paulo Sousa was Swansea manager that season. His football wasn’t as free flowing as Roberto Martinez, but defensively Swansea were quite solid. They did manage to score more than 2 goals in a game that season. Against us at the Liberty. 4 games against the Jacks. 0 wins. 2 defeats. They played with 5 in midfield and could pass the ball. We often struggled. This was a game that we weren’t looking forward to. Swansea could play better football than us but we had more attacking threat.

The maths of the situation was simple. We were 3 points clear of the Swans in 4th. They were in 5th. A win for us would almost guarantee a playoff place. Swansea needed a win. I billed it as the biggest derby in the club’s history at the time. There have been few derbies as big as this since. There was a great atmosphere inside the ground, the first derby at the new Cardiff City stadium. This kicked off at 5.20pm, rather than the regular midday kickoffs we usually have to endure.

Orlandi scores from a corner that David Marshall makes a dog’s ear of. Without looking like levelling, just before half time Bothroyd manages to get a flick on for Chopra to bury. 1-1.

The second half was a bit of a stalemate. Minutes to go and there’s a sound of “You’ll Never Beat the Jacks” wafting from their corner. They were rubbing our noses in our inability to beat them. Somehow Marshall makes a miraculous save with his feet. They were that close to beating us again.

Last minute or so of injury time and we have a throw in Ninian side. Matthews hurls it in, it gets headed out. Aaron Wildig is first to it to head it back into the box. Straight to Chopra inside the 6 yard box. No-one near him. Only the keeper to beat. Whack. Net ripples. Football is such a simple game sometimes.

After the game the Automatic’s “Monster” gets played and City fans stay in the ground for ages. This was a bigger party than either the Leicester playoff semi or Palace League cup semi. We made the playoffs that season, they missed out and we helped cause that. Swansea would go on to be thrashed by Blackpool, costing them a top 6 place. Did I mention Blackpool. Nope, thought not. I got away with that.

What’s that coming over the hill? It’s Michael Chopra, it’s Michael Chopraaaaaa.

[the other bob wilson]

I more or less agreed with your choices two to ten Eric, but, although I accept my attitude towards Swansea is different from most City fans, your number one might not even make it into my top twenty - if I had to pick one match with the jacks from the last twenty years it would probably be the one at the Liberty where Bellamy scored a late winner.

Also, sorry to be a pedant, but I think Earnie made Ian Harte's afternoon a bit of.a nightmare, not Gary Kelly's in the Leeds game.

Apologies for coming over a bit negative in this message, but I've enjoyed reading your top twenty over the last few days especially the personal bits like the bus driver who thought you were mad and you using all of that smash in the Duke of Clarence which was maybe my favourite pub around the time of the Middlesbrough match.

[bobh]

This wasn’t just hostile. This was Cardiff City hostile, throughout.

Some time later, Rio Ferdinand was being interviewed about an upcoming game vs Galatasaray.
He was asked if he was worried anout theexpected hostile atmosphere.
"No" he replied, "I've played at Ninian Park"

[Eric the Half a Bee]

I more or less agreed with your choices two to ten Eric, but, although I accept my attitude towards Swansea is different from most City fans, your number one might not even make it into my top twenty - if I had to pick one match with the jacks from the last twenty years it would probably be the one at the Liberty where Bellamy scored a late winner.

Also, sorry to be a pedant, but I think Earnie made Ian Harte's afternoon a bit of.a nightmare, not Gary Kelly's in the Leeds game.

Apologies for coming over a bit negative in this message, but I've enjoyed reading your top twenty over the last few days especially the personal bits like the bus driver who thought you were mad and you using all of that smash in the Duke of Clarence which was maybe my favourite pub around the time of the Middlesbrough match.

Thanks. You are right about Ian Harte. Got that mixed up.

I lived just around the corner from the Duke of Clarence and always popped in if City were playing away on Sky. Some of the initial trust meetings and chats were held there as well. Me and my missus went to a few, then we moved up to the Cynon Valley and that put a stop to that.

[poc]

thank you for 10 great memorires

[the other bob wilson]

Thanks. You are right about Ian Harte. Got that mixed up.

I lived just around the corner from the Duke of Clarence and always popped in if City were playing away on Sky. Some of the initial trust meetings and chats were held there as well. Me and my missus went to a few, then we moved up to the Cynon Valley and that put a stop to that.

Did you go to the Real Madrid night that was held in the Duke in 2011? I really enjoyed that.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Did you go to the Real Madrid night that was held in the Duke in 2011? I really enjoyed that.

I'd moved by then. I think we considered coming down for it but without a car it became impossible.

I enjoyed living out in Canton. Could walk to home games, plenty on my doorstep. Quite happy now being surrounded by mountains, though the travelling is a pain.

[NYCBlue]

Thanks for that. A good read and some great memories.

[MacAdder]

This is quite a timely series of posts when read with another recent one, making me wonder if it would have been a completely different story had that scoundrel Hammam not pitched up.

Superb accounts of the games, most of which I have very similar memories of.

[Maurice Swan]

Just about the same.....but these are mine.....

1) Date: 3 April 2010
Match: Cardiff City 2-1 Swansea City

2)
Date: 6 January 2002
Match: Cardiff City 2-1 Leeds Utd

3) Date: ?????/ circa 1962/3???
Match: Cardiff City 3-2 v ???? was it Everton or Newcastle???? or...?? (enlighten me....) It was under floodlights...my namesake (!) broke his collarbone and Derek Tapscott went in goal (no subs....). Incidentally...Derek Tapscott’s staggering six goals against Knighton Town in 1961 are the most scored in one match by a City player though. They came in a Welsh Cup Fifth Round tie against the non-league outfit, as City won with a 16-0 score-line, which is also a Club record. (I was there....)

4) vs Real Madrid

5) vs Hamburg.....

will today's generation ever have such memories???

[Former Labour leader]

Just about the same.....but these are mine.....

1) Date: 3 April 2010
Match: Cardiff City 2-1 Swansea City

2)
Date: 6 January 2002
Match: Cardiff City 2-1 Leeds Utd

3) Date: ?????/ circa 1962/3???
Match: Cardiff City 3-2 v ???? was it Everton or Newcastle???? or...?? (enlighten me....) It was under floodlights...my namesake (!) broke his collarbone and Derek Tapscott went in goal (no subs....). Incidentally...Derek Tapscott’s staggering six goals against Knighton Town in 1961 are the most scored in one match by a City player though. They came in a Welsh Cup Fifth Round tie against the non-league outfit, as City won with a 16-0 score-line, which is also a Club record. (I was there....)

4) vs Real Madrid

5) vs Hamburg.....

will today's generation ever have such memories???

This was a thread from 2000, but like you, I'm an oldie and my best matches are mainly in the 60s. I must have been at the 62/3 match you mention. My mothers cats were named Tappie after our Derek, and I will have to get my thinking cap on over the match.

[Former Labour leader]

This was a thread from 2000, but like you, I'm an oldie and my best matches are mainly in the 60s. I must have been at the 62/3 match you mention. My mothers cats were named Tappie after our Derek, and I will have to get my thinking cap on over the match.

I think it's the 1960/1 season. Feb 1961 we beat Newcastle 3/2

[Maurice Swan]

Ah...that's it....merci

[Maurice Swan]

Incredible atmosphere.......only one to compare under lights (apart from Real and Hamburg)...was the game v Leicester when we were down to nine men...and held out!!!