By Chris O'Brien
March 29 2005

Whilst the rest of Wales was celebrating a Grand Slam triumph, those loyal supporters who bothered to turn up to Ninian Park witnessed their side take a big step towards relegation. A 1-1 draw with Crewe Alexandra has put a wasteful Cardiff in serious trouble of dropping into Football League One.

"It should have been all over by half-time. We should have been dead and buried by then."

The words of Crewe Alexandra boss Dario Gradi sum things up perfectly. Wasted chances and shocking ineptness in front of goal meant Cardiff City took only a point from this relegation battle with the Cheshire side, despite dominating the first-half and totalling up a mammoth 17 corners and 22 shots on goal over the course of the game.

Looking at the fixture list for the rest of the 2004/2005 campaign, this was a must win game for Cardiff City. With Crewe not having won since New Year's Day and without victory since the departure of super strike Dean Ashton to Norwich City, Cardiff were more than capable of taking the three points needed as the battle against continues.

Cardiff came out of the blocks with a bang for the first-half. The Crewe defence did well to withstand a constant barrage of pressure as City attacked in numbers and looked to break the deadlock from the very beginning. Jobi McAnuff and Cameron Jerome both had chances as the hosts played with confidence and panache in this must-win encounter.

Still, despite numerous early opportunities it took a set-piece to give the Bluebirds a more than deserved opening goal. Daniel Gabbidon sent a looping free-kick over the Crewe wall and over the helpless Ben Williams in the Alexandra goal. The former Manchester United stopper had an otherwise faultless afternoon, but the kick from the Welsh international eluded him.

Cardiff fluffed chances all the way up top half-time. The game should have been in the bag at the break, yet resolute and gallant defence from the visitors mixed with some hapless finishing from City saw the lead kept to a narrow margin after 45 minutes. It was Alan Lee who perhaps was most guilty, miss-hitting a shot from only yards out as his lack of fitness following suspension was evident. He needs a morale job, and as his fellow countrymen blew their chances of a Triple Crown hours later, Lee missed his chance of winning back the Ninian Park faithful.

The game changed slightly in the second-half. Cardiff still were in control, yet Crewe had belief and played with passion. They are a team with ability, pushing on the playoffs prior to the New Year, yet a woeful run now see the Railwaymen many people's tip for relegation. However, in fairness, the Cheshire-men kept going and showed courage, if nothing else. For this, their travelling fans will claim they deserved their point, yet this was an astoundingly one-sided affair.

Their goal came on the 57-minute mark to silence the small home crowd. Little over 10,000 showed up with season ticket holders not even bothering to come. The Bob Bank terrace was shut, supposedly through a lack of stewards, yet the ground still looked relatively empty and the whole thing was like a 1990's throwback. As I stood in my temporary home of the Grangend, it really did hit me that Cardiff City is my club and Ninian Park is my ground. Welsh visions and new stadiums aren't for me, long live the Bluebirds! It's a very emotional time to support the club, and hearts sank as David Vaughan smashed the ball through the legs of Alexander with a superb finish.

Cardiff were still the better side and enjoyed mass amounts of late pressure, yet Crewe looked more likely to win the game with a handful of good chances. This was shocking from the Bluebirds, who should have had it in the bag at the interval. It was a must win game and a point simply isn't good enough. Crewe keep themselves out of the muddle for now, whilst City are right in the thick of it. Roll on Plymouth, following a break for internationals.

Full Time - Cardiff City 1-1 Crewe Alexandra
Attendance - 10,007