DESPAIR IN CAPITAL AS BLUEBIRDS HEAD FOR THIRD TIER

CARDIFF City's relegation to the Championship was confirmed with a game to go after being held to a goalless draw against West Brom on a disastrous day for the club.

- GLEN WILLIAMS Football writer [e-mail]

The game was their season in a microcosm, moments of encouragement, but so often flattering to deceive.

A miserable, catastrophic season has fittingly whimpered to what many thought for some time was the inevitable conclusion.

Cardiff City will play their football in League One next season, a sobering thought, but no one can say it wasn't deserved or that it hadn't been coming.

A sad day for these loyal supporters.

This was Cardiff's time, after repeated close calls. They have no one to blame by themselves.

The match itself, ironically, started off in bright fashion for the Bluebirds, spurred on by the hyped-up atmosphere inside the stadium.

Perry Ng, in fact, had a chance in the second minute when a half-cleared cross fell to him in the area, but he hammered a half-volley over the bar.