RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE: Cardiff 1: Leeds 0

Sparky and his new bird tell us what the score is

Even though they are now bottom of the table and look certain to be relegated, a clash with the once mighty Leeds United always turns out to be an event, sometimes for the wrong reasons, and today was no exception.

Me and the Spark decided to make it an all dayer and Spark, romantic old fool that he is, decided to take his new bird who, according to Sparky, eats a lot, down to the game for her first ever football match (typical armchair Arsenal fan!).

We went down on the old choo choo and after breakfast on the run we headed into canton for some refreshments. We found ourselves in a watering hole we do not normally frequent, which turned out to be wicked, lots of old faces and the juke box turned up loud pumping out 70’s punk and ska. After lubricating the neck with a few big boys happy apples we headed for Ninian Park.

16,000+ had turned out for the day and we rammed ourselves into the chav end of the Grange, to soak up the atmosphere. The whole ground was alive with anticipation and memories of recent clashes that have seen City hammer Leeds at every meeting. We squeezed into spaces that were barely big enough for us, but it was not long before more had squeezed in around us meaning we were like sardines.

CHOPRA STRIKES AGAIN

The bar is alive, with the sound of "What's that coming over the hill, it's Michael Chopra!"

With big turnouts the queue for the bar at half time can be so big you don’t get served until after the restart, so I made an early exit to get the beer in. Typically, I missed Chopra banging in a truly magnificent free kick. I missed out on the celebrations on the terrace but I had the benefit of an action replay on the telly and the bar went bananas.

Oooops. A missed chance to double the score. Never mind, one was all that was needed

For the second half we found ourselves a spot with a bit more room and better view, but slightly less breathing in involved. It turned out to be quite an action packed half, with two city players going for an early bath, including the mighty Chopra. The red card did not come out for a Leeds united handball in the penalty area, even though we were given the a penalty (which was saved). Unrestrained criticism of the man in black was hurled at full voice from all areas of the ground as the home crows egged on the 9 men against 12. The criticism continued in the post match press conference with Dave Jones commenting, 'The referee has come down from the Premiership and he should keep going, cos he aint good enough for this division'.

The last time I saw a game this physical at Ninian Park was when the dirtiest man in football, Dennis Wise, brought Millwall here and it ended up in a 22 man punch up on the pitch and Wise fighting with the kit man in the tunnel. Wise is now in charge of Leeds and he has obviously been teaching him the cheating bully boy tactics he knows best.

"Move along please, nothing to see here"

With three points in the bag, it was back to the hostelry for a few more apple juices and to meet up with more mates, then home to iguana HQ and a night of music and meaningless rambling with Sparky and his new bird.