My favourite game: when Cambridge drew at home to eight-man Cardiff | Max Rushden
24-Apr-2020 09:30:12 | The Guardian
Nothing better sums up my experience of being a lower-league fan than a goalless draw against a team with eight men
On 28 December 1999, Cambridge United drew 0-0 at home to Cardiff City in Division Two (now League One). Nothing remarkable there. Until you realise that Cardiff City had three men sent off – one for deliberate handball on the line. Yet Cambridge still couldn’t get three points.
My memories of standing on the north terrace that day are pretty hazy. But I distinctly remember being excited that David Elleray was the referee. Who knows what mistake he’d made in the Premier League the week before to be sent down to our level but he was by some distance the most famous person on the pitch. And he meant business.
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“Elleray must blow up any second. We’re in the third minute of injury time … And it’s all over and Cardiff City celebrate as they draw 0-0 with eight men. A remarkable performance. Cambridge United nil, Cardiff City nil. And we celebrate! We celebrate as if we’ve won the European Champions League! A great day in the history of Cardiff City. And this is emotional … this is emotional here in Cambridge. This is what it’s all about. Cardiff City! The greatest team in the world. Richie Humphries come here my son. And he goes into the City crowd. The man’s a hero. They are all heroes … We are surely the greatest team in the history of football. This is what it’s all about. Man United? No. Chelsea? No. Tottenham? No. Barcelona? No. Real Madrid? No. Cardiff City. That’s what it’s all about!”
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