I woke up this morning feeling like I was a kid again and it was Christmas Day I was so excited, Cardiff City in the Carling (League) Cup Final who would have though that. Has a somewhat old fan I remember those two-legged first round games to the likes of Exeter City, which more often than not we lost.
It was a nail biting night for Cardiff City fans worldwide as the two games plus extra time the Carling Cup Semi-Final was finally decided with the lottery of penalties. An Anthony Gardner own-goal squared the game 1-1 on aggregate who had the fortune and misfortune to score both goals. In both games, Cardiff dominated and that is not coming from a Cardiff City fan but the pundits from both games.
Cardiff did enough last night beat Crystal Palace but for their goalkeeper who made a number of saves to deny the Bluebirds who was help along by various goalposts/crossbars. Has for the visitor according to the BBC match stats didn’t have one shot on target.
Putting one over the Palace boss Dougie Freeman brought me just has much has winning the game because his pre-game mind game really irritated me.
The ‘scared’ tag he placed on the club backfired big time right into his face his players looked like a bunch of rabbits caught in the lights of a car. In fact they were a bit forceful after they when down to 10 man, but with nothing up front to threaten the Cardiff goal.
Therefore, after 210 plus minutes, it was down to penalties and I don’t think anyone likes to go down to penalties to decide a game because it’s a lottery.
Cardiff won the toss to decide who would go first and captain Peter Whittingham decide Cardiff would go first. The first pen was hand to top scorer Kenny Miller who ran forcibly up to the penalty spot ball in hand. Did the occasion get to him because the ball flew over the crossbar into the crowd, a miss to a hushed stadium expect for the celebrating Palace fans. The away end was soon turned to silence as they watch Cardiff goalkeeper Tom Heaton pull off a great save and square up the pens 0-0, queue mass celebration of the home fans.
Next up for the City was Craig Conway I was nervy but Conway looked positive as he placed the ball on the spot. No problem this time he fired the ball straight down the middle into the back of the net, more joy for the Cardiff fans. It was again down to Heaton to pull off some more heroics and he dually step up to the challenge and it was 1-0 to the Bluebirds.
Third round of penalties saw Cardiff‘s French connection step up to the plate we had just witnessed a 20-year-old Palace player have a pen saved could same happen young Rudy Gestede. Simply answer, no, he sent the keeper the wrong way and slipped in a sweet ball to the back of the net.
Could Heaton in goal make it three out of three penalties? It was close he got his hand to the ball but the shot was too strong for him, 2-1 advantage still with Cardiff.
Next up Peter Whittingham and if he was to score and the next Palace player miss it would be all over for the London’s, the Welshman, and their foreign legion would be off to Wembley. Whittingham was cool as he prepare to take is pen and slammed the ball home. The Palace player looked confident enough however it didn’t help the ball flew over the crossbar, queue mass celebration, a pitch invasion as Cardiff City are Wembley.
The fans are fantastic, there's a new ground, a new training ground and everything's going the right way, so it is a great club to be at.Tom Heaton says he has no intentions of leaving Cardiff with a Wembley final on the horizon.
To bring European night back to Cardiff they need to beat Liverpool, if Liverpool were to win and somehow finish in the top four of the Premier League they would forfeit their place in the Europa League which then passes on to the highest-placed team from the Premier League not already qualified for Europe, not the Carling Cup runners up.Thinking about European nights at the old Ninian Park was there that many.
FORMER Cardiff City defender Gavin Rae, released in the summer before the arrival of Malky Mackey was struggling to find a club although there was some interest no deals materialized.
He was allow to train with Cardiff to keep is fitness up and at one point there was talk of him heading over to Australia in the search for football. 
AFTER trials with Chesterfield and Yeovil Town Cardiff City midfielder Solomon Taiwo has fixed himself up a loan deal with Division 1 club Leyton Orient.
Last time Cardiff reached a Cup Final a friend mine told me he and people like him (season ticket holders) pumped the most money into the club and should get there two tickets offer at the time. Today some fans are talking again about 2 tickets but with 18,000 plus ticket holders, the maths just don’t stack-up.
WITH talk of a possible three players coming in this week the South Wales Echo have this afternoon name one of the targets has Blackpool winger Matt Phillips.
