City Off To Wembley
Cardiff City 2 – 3 Leicester City (3-3 agg. 4-3 pens.)
The sun was setting over the Cardiff City Stadium casting its orange glow over the Leicester supporters who had packed out their small corner of the rocking stadium.
The crowd were on their feet and roaring their challenge like a lion on the African plains. The noise bounced around the ground, the sound of claps and chants echoing down the tunnel into where the heroes of the night quietly waited.
Each man with his head down absorbing the atmosphere, allowing it to guide him in his quest. And guide the crowd did.
Every seat was full, every man, woman and child was prepared for a night that was going to go down in the club’s history.
Kick-Off
Cardiff already had one foot in the final after coming away with a 1-0 victory from the first leg at the Walker Stadium, and they put themselves further ahead after Michael Chopra latched onto a flick on from Jay Bothroyd to send the stands into euphoria.
We cheered and charged the atmosphere further, until Leicester managed to take the punch out of crowd when Matt Fryatt scored on the quarter hour mark. It was an elaborate one-two that ended when Steve Howard flicking the ball onto Fryatt who hit the ball low past David Marshall giving the large Leicester support something cheer.
The atmosphere wavered. The team, feeling the dip in confidence from the crowd, sat very deep for a free kick that was taken by Nobby Solano. Howard met the ball on the edge of the area and tried to repeat the flick he did for the first goal, but it struck Mark Hudson – the Cardiff captain – and looped past a wrong footed Marshall into the net.
That brought Leicester level on aggregate and with them carrying the momentum with them until the end of the half.
Were Cardiff going to rue the half dozen chances they had in the opening of the half, or would they come back and make their third trip to Wembley in as many years?
That was the question going through the minds of the crowd as they waited impatiently for the game to start again. Maybe it was the tension or maybe it was the fact I was concentrating on trying to pour a cup of soup while quivering from the cold I don’t know but by the time I had finished my cup the players were coming back onto the field to a roar of renewed hope.
The 2nd Half
Our hope for that trip to Wembley was severely dented when Leicester took the score to 3-2 on aggregate and 3-1 on the night only 4 minutes into the half.
Paul Gallagher’s poor corner came back to him from an equally poor clearance by Bothroyd. Gallagher then took the ball over Chopra and swept a ball across onto the head of Andy King who nodded the ball past Marshall.
Cardiff were faltering, the crowd’s voice was gone and Leicester came at them. And again from a corner they almost went further ahead, only Peter Whittingham’s goal line clearance saved them.
Cardiff needed a foothold, something, anything they could grab hold of to stop this tie slipping away from them. Howard Webb gave them this hold by awarding a just penalty after Chopra stole the ball from in between Alex Bruce and the keeper, forcing Bruce to bring him down.
Whittingham dispatched the penalty and Cardiff were back.
The atmosphere rocked the ground almost as much as Whittingham and Bothroyd rocked the cross bar as chances fell to them. There was just time for Chopra to have a shot cleared off the line before extra time.
Extra Time & Penalties
Extra time came and went quickly, with both teams struggling with cramp. Exhaustion was setting in and the game became stretched. Right at the end of the half Cardiff were exposed with a break away, which saw Martyn Waghorn with yards of space in the area. He trapped the ball well on his chest but his shot went wide of the post, confirming the game to penalties.
So it was down to this, a final hurdle to jump. The tension was higher than it would have been if it was a World Cup final. Cardiff were matched by Leicester for three penalties, all of them dispatched expertly with the waves of cheers and boos varying with the penalty takers.
Then Yann Kermorgant stepped up confidently, he placed the ball down on the spot and then stalked back to where he waited for a second before jogging up.
He stuck the ball as pathetically as a fish look outs of water.
He tried to chip Marshall, but the Scottish keeper had time to dive one way, get up and save the penalty, it was that bad.
Mark Kennedy then showed the young Frenchman how to take a penalty smashing it past the despairing Chris Weale. With all the pressure on Waghorn he stepped up. He hit his penalty well, but Marshall guessed well and parried the ball away.
We were into the finals but the way we celebrated it would look like we had won that as well. A brilliant night, ending in brilliant style.
I’d just like to pay tribute to Wayne Jones from Ebbw Vale in Blaenau Gwent, who sadly died in hospital after having a heart attack in the Bob Bank while Chopra celebrated his first goal.
