John Robinson gave City an 82nd minute lead only to see immediately equalise through Mark Williams. City played well only in spasms but mustered only one meaningful on-target effort other than their goal. Wimbledon fully deserved their point after hitting the bar and post separately and having forced Martyn Margetson into several excellent saves.
Nineteen years ago next week, this (then) 23 year old skinny boy went to London in jeans and t-shirt with South Wales temperatures in the 70's to watch his team try to win what seemed like an annual battle against relegation in the then Second Division (equivalent to First Division now). On getting to London, the temperature was almost 15 degrees colder with a biting wind. Cardiff ha that reputation so police met us and marched us straight into an away terrace now facing biting winds and rain. They refused to let me go in a shop to buy in a top . I managed to get out only to be forced back in again, and so paid twice to see the game, to get shelter in the (not so) Grandstand instead. City lost, other results made it academic anyway and were dispatched to the lower divisions. I headed home with near hypothermia and distraught that we were not in a major division anymore. It was the end of the world as we knew it.
Never did I think I wouldn't see us back here until I was well into middle age. Everything has changed including my physique. The team to relegate us were Sam Hammam's Crazy Gang of little, sleepy Wimbledon not long into the football league and soon to be in the "Premier League " for 14 years, winning an FA Cup too. Meantime, the mighty Cardiff City were destined to spend almost 20 years being crap - with rare highlights - in the bottom two divisions until now.
It was therefore with some irony that Wimbledon came to Ninian Park for their last away of the season already relegated. Without getting into the politics, little and sleepy again albeit in Milton Keynes instead. The weather was grey, rainy and not too warm. City are indeed once more mighty. Their owner? Sam Hammam. Meantime, Wimbledon's assistant manager was none other than Jimmy Gilligan, one of the few Bluebird players to savour in those intervening years. I knew how long the wait had been when I realised 6 of Wimbledon's 16 players team weren't even born last time City played them at this level and 5 more were in nappies!
There was a carnival type atmosphere and a decent crowd of 15,337 making far more atmosphere and noise than the game deserved. Wimbledon supporters were allowed in free and trebled their recent following in the process as just over 100 arrived inside the Grange End!
Both teams came out to a great ovation with City looking to put a difficult week behind them. I was gutted because I missed 1 home game of the 23 league matches this season so couldn't claim a £50,000 bonus off Sam but at least I didn't storm off!
As has now become public knowledge and the source of fierce supporter debate and argument, Gareth Whalley was not selected again as, with nothing to play for, there was little point in triggering a £50k bonus for his 23rd game. The club wanted to look at Lee Bullock too. Likewise, Alan Lee was rested after midweek Eire international duty in Poland but any more appearances this season will trigger a further transfer payment to Rotherham. Rhys Weston , having returned to the team last week and not playing well, was out of the squad altogether, Tony Vidmar returned from suspension and Earnie was back after a week's rest ... just before he gets another 3 months rest. Paul Parry also started with Langley on the bench after midweek international duty in the Caribbean. Nice work if you can get it.
City's line-up was therefore Margetson, Croft-Collins-Gabbidon-Vidmar, Robinson-Boland-Bullock-Parry, Earnie-Campbell. The bench featured promising young striker Stuart Fleetwood have blasted a double to win City their reserves league in midweek along with Alexander-Barker-Gordon-Langley.
As for Wimbledon, already down, the best young talented already sold onto other clubs this season, those seeing the season out are hardly household names in their own homes! For the record, they started with Bevan, Oyedele-Williams-Ntimban Zah-Lewingon, Darlington-Chorley-Smith-Kamara, Small-Grey.
A mix of youth, overseas triallists and free transfer pick ups and football fathers getting their sons a game with Dean Lewington being the son of Ray the Watford manager and sub goalie David Martin being Alvin's boy. First choice goalie Scott Bevan wouldn't need reminding he was beaten four times at Ninian last season for Huddersfield and was runner-up in the Mike Morris bald head lookalike competition with fussy whistle happy ref Mark Cooper taking the honours this week.
The Dons, Franchise FC, The Nomads, Concrete Cows, MK select or whatever they call themselves will easily end up with the worst playing record in all four divisions with just 25 points from 44 games before today. They seem to have improved since relegation with all pressure off them - 7 points in the last 7 matches is improvement - and had 5 wins on the road including at Wigan and Bradford in the last month but came to Ninian on the back of two successive defeats.
They looked like lambs to the slaughter in the opening stages as City dominated all opening exchanges albeit at less than full throttle as happens in these sorts of games. Maybe the goals avalanche may have arrived if bright link-up play involving Campbell and Parry saw a great low delivery which little Earn missed by a fraction, the ball slipping under his boot at full stretch, any contact would have been a goal.
Parry was very bright and all the early play and urgency came from him. Earnie just missing another of his through balls as he tried, but just failed to bring down a high through ball having got goalside and free of his marker. Another missed opportunity came on quarter hour as Vidmar flicked on a near post corner in front of the Grange End which James Collins met full on but could not quite adjust properly and put his point-blank header a couple of feet over.
Wimbledon were playing deep and in great numbers, City putting occasional good football together but failing to register any meaningful effort on goal was a worry. And more worrying was when Wimbledon did show the courage to break out, they registered efforts on goal. Jermaine Darlington played at QPR with Richard Langley and showed skills and power and had a physical ally in Wade. The pair combined to force Margetson into a smart low save from Wade on 25 but City had a more major let-off and then had real problem just before half-hour.
Wimbledon won their first corner, Lewington was unchallenged and his powerful header thudded off the post with Margetson looking on, the rebound fell loose just outside the penalty area where Paul Parry and Wade flew in to win the ball and had a fearsome collision. Both were down and in agony but Parry was motionless clutching his leg with other players screaming for the doctor and stretcher. It took some time to put his right leg in a splint, Parry taken away to a standing ovation and replaced by Richard Langley. The good news was that it turned out not to be serious and Parry attended Player of the Year Awards later the same evening.
City had more chances before the interval, Bullock headed wide from 10 yards meeting a Croft cross, Langley was narrowly over with a 25 yard free-kick and he finally registered City's first attempt on goal on 37 minutes as he did well to meet a Vidmar long cross at the far post, bring the ball down on his chest but saw his angled drive pushed behind by Bevan.
The biggest frustration came near the interval when a rare piece of fast, one touch link up play between Robbo, Earnie and Campbell sent Campbell racing clear on goal but to everyone's annoyance, the ref pulled play back for a foul of Earnie and booked Williams. Waiting just a half-second before blowing and it was a clear scoring opportunity.
A dominating first half for City but it was a dull, tepid affair. If only we'd known the 2nd half would be even worse, I'd have taken a book to read.
Half-time: CITY 0 WIMBLEDON 0
Any hopes that City would pick up momentum and go flat out to sign off the home season with victory were quickly quelled as they hardly got started. Wimbledon were limited but certainly did their job well. Defending deep and almost always with 7or 8 behind the ball, they suddenly realised that this was a game they could win and always did too.
The only danger came from rare shots by them. Margetson had to make three good saves whilst other threats were blocked. At the other end, City showed promise but again ran out of ideas. The Earnie/Campbell partnership has never worked and was certainly not going to today either.
The bright sport was Willie Boland, easily City's man of the match, for the 2nd home game in succession in my opinion. I'll admit to being very unsure about Willie, his passing in particular was desperately poor in the early half of the season and negated all his other undoubted excellent work. He must have worked at his game hard because he has undoubtedly improved significantly in the last three months. Bullock alongside him was again neat and tidy, I'd stop short of saying effective, but Willie was spraying the ball well and creative at times too. He was always looking for an opportunity, credit to the man.
City had a 2nd major let off when Smith, always advancing and looking for a chance, broke through and shot wide of Margetson from the edge of the area. The keeper did well again to get to the ball and send it into the air, luck was on his side as it bounced off the top of the bar and back into his arms.
Lennie tried to ring the changes with Gordon replacing Campbell for the final quarter and Stuart Fleetwood played instead of Earnie for the final 15 minutes. Can't remember any contribution by Gordon but Fleetwood showed one piece of magic to flick the ball past tow players and find space, his cross was lacked power and direction and got cut out. Some mild controversy as Darlington dived against Croft to win a penalty, earning huge boos. He was rightly booked and seemed to do it again shortly afterwards but was left alone that time.
With the game drifting to nothingness, despite the singing getting louder and more passionate, the only interest now was whether fans could get on the pitch at final whistle - a Cardiff tradition for last game - but stewards ringed the pitch to prevent it.
Then, out of the blue, 82 minutes, James Collins undid Wimbledon in the Route One style that was their trademark. Pumping a long diagonal ball forward, it evaded a defender, Langley got behind, brought the ball down and cut it back to JOHN ROBINSON who did brilliantly to take the ball behind him and powerfully steer it into the top corner for his 2nd of the season, scored in the last tow home games.
The party could start, or so we thought, but as far as our defence are concerned - oops, they did it again! Within 30 seconds of the restart, a free-kick out wide saw a simple ball floated in where MARK WILLIAMS was allowed to be unmarked and unchallenged and have no problems steering a free header home from 6 yards. How many set pieces did we concede this term? How many free headers from close range?
It was no more than Wimbledon deserved and, in truth, it was what City deserved too for another failure to perform at home. Whilst it's a waste of time trying to work out where we lost the 8 or so points that cost a play off place, home form will be a huge factor.
The fact we took only 1 point at Ninian off the bottom three this season is not clever. We well have finally beaten some big teams at home - Norwich, Sunderland and Sheffield United - in the past three months, that accounts for almost half the home points collected in more than 5 months at home. Just 18 points form the last 15 home matches - despite great backing - is clearly nowhere and is the key factor that stopped City finishing far higher.
All that apart, nobody should deny it's been an excellent season and, although disappointing in fall away from play-off contention this year, to be where we are now is well above all our expectations starting out last August. The players all stayed on or came back on the pitch at final whistle and took a standing ovation for their efforts this term, they fully deserved that. For the first time in living memory though, fans did not get on the pitch. Life is certainly different in Division One and compared to those wilderness years.
Report from FootyMad
Cardiff City boss Lennie Lawrence was upset that once again slack defending had cost his side victory.
With the deadlock finally broken in the 82nd minute when John Robinson netted, the Cardiff defence went asleep and Mark Williams was left unmarked to head home the equaliser just a minute later.
"We tried to avoid end of seasonitis and did up to a point, but this was a typical end of season encounter," said Lawrence.
"Once again the crowd were great and I thought we would send them home happy with a victory, but once again a piece of poor defending has cost us.
"So many times this season we have let ourselves down with slack defending like that. We have lost too many home games this year to be in with a shout of the play-offs, but we have to kick on and get better and perhaps the experience gained this year will help us next season.
"We have been caught out too often on the break and that is one of the things I have to address during the summer."It may have all been different if Welsh international Paul Parry had not been taken off in the 33rd minute, as he had shown signs of opening up a Dons defence that had leaked 88 league goals this season.
Wimbledon boss Stuart Murdoch was well pleased with the point his side had earned.
"We deserved a draw and would have been very disappointed had we lost. This is the third side we have had to build this season and they are now coming together nicely and we have been playing well over the last five or six weeks without a great deal of reward.
"I hope we can keep all the players here for next season as they battled very hard during the game and earlier in the year we would have lost this match 1-0.
"We are aiming to give it a good shot with these lads in division two next season."
External reports
Western Mail
Wales on Sunday