SleepingGiant 6 v JackArmy 2 - Match Report

By Sean Wozencroft
August 4 2003

The SleepingGiant football team recorded their first victory this afternoon against local rivals Swansea. A superb performance saw the Cardiff supporters clinch a memorable 6-2 triumph in the sweltering sunshine.

After last week's 8-2 hammering at Swansea, it was time to put the record straight…and we did it convincingly. With the return of a few of our key players, we were the superior team for the majority of the 90 minutes and deservedly lifted the Billy Ayre Trophy.

It took the SleepingGiant boys just 15 minutes to build up a two goal lead after a frantic start. Former professional referee Keith Copper was in charge and he had to award a number of early freekicks as the tackles flew in.

TwistedBlue broke the deadlock for Cardiff, rounding the despairing Jack 'keeper to slot home after good work by Porto Blue. The Cardiff scout looked impressed by the Portuguese ace.

Before the Jacks could settle, Mozzer's men struck again. This time it was Porto himself who got himself into a scoring position before finishing calmly. The Cardiff supporters roared their approval - never before have the JackArmy team fallen behind in a game.

But Cardiff lost their heads slightly with the excitement and the visitors pulled themselves back into the game with two goals inside a ten minute spell. If it wasn't for some fantastic goalkeeping, we may have even fallen behind.

With halftime approaching and the scores locked at 2-2, both sides looked to attack to grab that clinch interval advantage. It was infact Cardiff who took the lead into the changing rooms to the delight of manager Mozzer. We knew we had it in us to hold on for 45 more minutes.

And indeed we did. Infact the Jacks didn't manage a goal in the second period, leaving us to increase our tally to six and make the scoreline look convincing. There were some great goals in the second half and it could even have been more had it not been for some bad luck.

Mikey's effort was the pick of the bunch. The lanky defender charged from just inside the opposition half, rounded the 'keeper and poked home. Possibly our best player over the two legs, he was delighted to scratch his name onto the scorecard.

JackArmy searched for pride in the final minutes but could not find a consolation goal. Cooper blew the final whistle and our job was done. At the end of the day, we were just more up for it this time and I'm sure the Jack's will agree that we deserved it. It was nice to get the win after three previous attempts.

But of course, the main aim of these matches is to build bridges between the two sets of supporters. Winning was nice, but it was better to see everyone getting on so well again after the match. It is not often that City and Swansea fans can mingle without coppers in every corner of the room.

There have already been talks about linking the two sides together for a special Wales v England match, with the English represenative team consisting of supporters from Bristol City and Bristol Rovers. But for now we must concentrate on our next opponents - Swindon Town.

Congratulations and thankyou to everyone who took part this year. The event is growing and will only get bigger! Bluebirds!