Cardiff City enjoyed a fruitful season, ultimately ending in bitter disappointment though one solitary goal would have seen a completely different finale to the season. Vital Cardiff City look at three specific days where events conspired against us and contributed to our overall failure.
Turning point number 1
22nd February 2009 Wolves 2-2 Cardiff City
Things were going swimmingly for the Bluebirds. Unbeaten in eleven and with a superb 6 wins in 9 games. We were fourth in the league and ever closing the gap on the automatic promotion places when we travelled to league leaders Wolves. Trips to the West Midlands are never a favourite of City fans, that on the occasions we are actually allowed to go. However, this one saw us in top form, and Mick McCarthy`s men a little nervous.
The Championship top scorer got an early break-through for the home side when he headed in from close range but Cardiff heads didn`t drop and we played some good football. One such move saw Paul Parry make one of his few outstanding contributions of the season with a sublime pass, setting Chopra free and the on-loan Sunderland man buried it to see the teams level at half time.
Shortly after the break, up popped new father Roger Johnson to give City a precious lead. Roger`s wife Melissa has recently given birth and the towering defender celebrated his goal by cradling on the touchline. Cardiff City were in the lead at the Championship`s top club on the back of a superb run. What`s more is that we were on top, we looked comfortable and were containing Wolves with relative ease.
As is so often the case, it`s one moment of luck which can have such a powerful effect. With the home crowd against them, Wolves were losing possession at will and so it was again when Kyel Reid lofted a hopeful ball into the box. No Wolves player challenged but a gust of wind (presumably) caused on-loan Cardiff City keeper Dimi Konstantopoulos to mis-handle and knock the ball back over our own line for a calamitous own goal.
Following the game, Dimi apologised but it had knocked the stuffing out of us. We were robbed of the three points in bizarre circumstances and it seemed luck had deserted us. We failed to score in the next two games, despite having netted in the previous 14 and this culminated in a desperately disappointing away defeat at relegation threatened Southampton – we were very poor in that game and when denied a certain penalty – things weren`t looking anywhere near as rosy.
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