Get the latest Welsh rugby news sent straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Sliding Doors

Sometimes the smallest moments can prove to be defining ones.

Scholars talk of the butterfly effect where one minute change can have large and lasting repercussions.

One year on, it is tempting to suggest such moments came to alter the fortunes of Cardiff City and Swansea City.

On the morning of February 8 2014, just three points separated the two sides going into derby day. Like any clash in the 103-year history of the fixture, the stakes were high and winning appeared the be-all and end-all for both clubs.

Yet perhaps no-one fully appreciated just how significant a turning point it became, those three points becoming a chasm in the space of 12 months in the Sliding Doors moment of the South Wales rivalry.

Would the future have been written the way it was had Garry Monk, after just 45 minutes of management, not brought Pablo Hernandez off the bench to add a missing sharpness to Swansea’s cutting edge? Or had Craig Bellamy’s shot dipped a fraction lower, hitting the back of the net rather than the crossbar while the dominant hosts remained only one goal ahead?

Would Monk found the same confidence to steer Swansea as superbly as he has from defeat as he did in victory? Or would Ole Gunnar Solskjaer found the courage of his convictions had he not been dealt what he admitted at the time a devastating blow?

They are questions that may keep those with Cardiff connections agonisingly awake at night as they face up to the worrying reality of their side’s current Championship situation, only finding answers that no-one can be sure of; Swansea have not needed to consider the ifs and buts.

They have not looked back, not wasted time wondering and remain focused on keeping an upward momentum while all the while the Bluebirds are being forced to peer anxiously over their shoulder with the recent double-drop warning of Steve McClaren ringing alarmingly loud.

And all from one 90 minutes a year ago, the importance of which seems greater now in hindsight than it did even among the deafening hyperbole and hope that accompanied the build-up to the 107th derby.

THE BACKGROUND

Kenwyne Jones had made his mind up. “They are probably in disarray, but we have to try and inflict as much pain as we can,” said the recently acquired Bluebirds striker.

Regardless of how his comments look now, Jones was not alone in his observations from outside the Liberty camp.

If not in pain, Swansea were smarting. Issues regarding Michael Laudrup’s management had gone from bubbling under to boiling over, a scalding defeat to West Ham enough to convince the board action was needed. That they were prepared to do it just days before the derby – one they needed to avoid defeat to avoid suffering a historic double – underlined how strong the feeling was that action was needed.

Monk’s ascension was a surprise, even to those who knew the former captain was being groomed for a future in the Liberty dug-out, but seen as a calculated gamble with few others knowing as well as he exactly what had gone wrong on the training ground and within the dressing room and what was needed to put right.

Monk faced the media a few days beforehand, downplaying the drama of his succeeding of the sacked Laudrup before busily plotting and planning for the showdown in the televised spotlight, not that he seemed dawned by it. “If anything goes wrong I come on and take penalties, corners, free kicks and throw-ins. So, Cardiff know our game plan, huh?”

Quite what Cardiff’s game-plan was, no-one was quite sure. Facing something of an identity crisis little to do with colour and more to do with the change in playing styles Solskjaer had been brought in to oversee, the Norwegian had yet to settle on his strongest side. In what would later be seen as a weakness, Solskjaer had made early substitutions in games in an effort to find a winning balance with the early withdrawal of Peter Whittingham for Wilfried Zaha against Norwich leading to his first victory.

“With a win behind us we are on the up,” said Solskjaer. “I am certainly pretty sure we will pick up points this month and start climbing.”

It was needed with Cardiff 19th in the table but the Bluebirds sensed an opportunity, their rivals only three points away. While most newly-promoted Cardiff were always expected to face something of a sand in grave danger of being dragged into a relegation battle that few had anticipated. While both teams were in identical form – losing six from their last eight – Solskjaer was ready to play on the fact that Swansea were not prepared for what lay ahead.

THE BUILD-UP

“It was a relief to wake up and have a few hours to relax a little bit,” said Monk of how he had spent the first few spare hours since his appointment, nothing left to be done on the morning of the early evening affair. “Of course it’s on your mind but I played with my daughter at home. My missus is walking around like a penguin because she’s pregnant with twins, so I just did the usual things. I took the bin out and cleared a bit of the garage out because she was moaning about that.”

He had ordered double-sessions, not for fitness but as a way of sharpening style and reinforcing playing principles, ones chairman Huw Jenkins wrote “were being slowly eroded” under the Dane despite the unprecedented triumphs earlier in his reign.

His intent to get Swansea back from the brink of losing their grip on what had underpinned their rise was not-constrained to the grass, sending each player home with a copy of the BBC documentary charting the story of the supporter-driven success of the past decade.

Watch: Garry Monk's pre Cardiff press conference

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

Solskjaer did his bit to build up the Bluebirds side of things. He had played to the gallery on his appointment about his aim being to finish above Swansea, either cheekily or naively understating the task at hand. Similarly he spoke of the South Wales derby being as important to him as the Merseyside-Manchester affair in which he had played, refusing to fall into the same trap as Dave Jones ahead of such games.

“I have met people around the area,” he said. “You sense this is more than just a derby and you know it as well. This is what football is about, what everybody is dreaming about. I think it’s great to play Swansea at this moment. We’ve been to the Etihad and Old Trafford, why not go to the Liberty Stadium?”

THE MATCH

“I could see it in their eyes, I just knew we weren’t going to lose,” Monk said afterwards having watched his players leave the Liberty pitch following a warm-up.

Those who had been confident of Cardiff coming close to completing the double had also been hit by that stage. Solskjaer’s criticised tinkering had begun to take hold, Jordon Mutch and Craig Noone surprisingly dropped whereas Swansea’s only surprise came in the inclusion of Marvin Emnes in his first start.

The dreadlocked Dutchman, a Swans derby hero of the past, showed the hosts’ ambition to add tempo and cutting edge to a possession game they were ready to teach Cardiff a Liberty lesson with Leon Britton the conductor.

Still, while suffering without the ball, Cardiff had still been in the game before Hernandez’ half-time arrival. A pass through an eye of a needle and Wayne Routledge was away, exposing Fabio and finishing past Marshall.

Bellamy, one of few visiting players seemingly able to match the hosts for intensity, cracked a shot against the bar but it was as close as Cardiff came as Swansea bettered the Bluebirds in every aspect and swept from defence to attack with a second goal scored by an unmarked Nathan Dyer as Declan John failed to contend.

The passionate pressing game that had won the first Premier League derby disappeared, Wilfried Bony embarrassing Ben Turner first with a show of strength and then with a headed third.

Swansea captain Ashley Williams celebrated not with his teammates but with his new manager, emotions pouring out. They did too from the hurt Cardiff supporters, Solskjaer’s almost apologetic arms out gesture not accepted nor appreciated as the other side danced to the tune of the biggest derby victory in almost two decades.

Pictures from the memorable match

THE AFTERMATH

“Maybe I should retire and go out at the very top,” joked Monk afterwards, though in reality was already talking of it being only the first step as he looked to win points for survival and then win over doubters who wondered whether he could cut it as a top-flight boss.

He wasted little time in proving his worth, performances impressing firstly and results following as they would take 15 points from their remaining 13 games, comfortably wrapping up the season with any lingering worries of relegation banished with time to spare.

Alarmed by the attitudes of some squad members, he began a slow process of shipping out those who weren’t ready to buy in to the same type of methods that had made such an impact under mentors Roberto Martinez and Brendan Rodgers, while the scouting and signing paid off heading into the new campaign. Increasingly confident in his aims and how to reach them, Monk celebrated his anniversary week with a win over former club Southampton – a result that took his tally to 51 points from his first 37 games. It is a record better than any other Swans boss in the Premier League.

A Premier League, of course, without Cardiff. It was not a scenario Solskjaer was contemplating as he dissected the result in front of the cameras, adamant there would be a South Wales derby the following season for him to seek Bluebird revenge.

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

Yet it was an aim that became increasingly fanciful as they failed to even score in their next four games with a 4-0 beating by Hull underlining the very serious nature of their position.

Cardiff became more and more timid in their approach, more unsure of what was required from them and less convincing of their ability to climb the table with every outing.

Only two wins would follow, only for the opportunity to build blown away with unbalanced side selections and a manager seemingly unable to believe in himself or find others believing in him.

It was a trait he couldn’t shake, not even in the second-tier with signings that bloated the squad but failed to show its quality. Leaving after seven games of the new season, the experimentation in finding a pleasing style was seemingly abandoned as Russell Slade was brought in to find a way of winning with the basics and on a budget only for the slide to continue.

Would it have happened if Swansea’s board had flinched and stuck with Laudrup for the derby? Or if Monk had not thrust himself into giving everything he had to that one win he could springboard off? Or if Solskjaer had not ignored the need to nullify Swansea’s game or not begun to tinker his way into trouble?

Would Cardiff confidence have handed them further wins to at least give a fighting chance of avoiding the drop, or Swansea belief slipped away if the results were different?

Perhaps the underlying issues and impacts with the respective managers and their sides would have seen the clubs follow the same paths they have, regardless of the result of that day.

But it is fair to say that neither side have looked back since the sliding doors of that South Wales derby a year ago. For very different reasons.