THE CITY & THE SCOTS

The final part of our Wales v Scotland build-up

Connections between the Bluebirds and the Scots go back to the very first season in which we were a professional club - 1910/11. Our first manager was a Scot –Davy McDougall, a former player. The name of our former home – Ninian Park – was of Scottish origin too, named afterLord Ninian Crichton-Stuart, second son of the Third Marquis of Bute whose family ancestral home was on the Scottish island of Bute. What’s more, ‘Ninian’ was a Scottish name.

 

.Kenny Miller and Jimmy Blair, Jimmy Nelson, Neil Alexander, Kevin McNaughton, David Marshall, Ross McCormack, Craig Conway, Don Cowie. City’s Scotland Internationals over the years include Malky Mackay and, of course, Jimmy Scoular, Jimmy Andrews, Frank BurrowsThere have been many Scottish players with Cardiff City over the years, and several Scottish-born managers - McDougall,

 

Both Jimmy Blair and Kenny Miller captained Scotland whilst with City, and when Blair led Scotland against Wales at Ninian Park on February 16 1924 in the Home International Championship, he was also captain of Cardiff City while his opposite number for Wales was his City vice-captain Fred Keenor. In those days, International Associations only provided players with shirts – they had to bring with them their club shorts and socks. The pre-kick-off photo of Blair and Keenor meeting for the spin of the coin shows them both in their respective International shirts, but each wearing Cardiff City shorts and socks. So David Marshall will not be the first Cardiff City and Scotland player to use the visitors’ dressing-room on his home club ground!

 

of Newcastle United, one of the greatest players of his era, fell on the rough pitch that had been laid on the site of a rubbish tip. He damaged his knee-ligaments on a piece of broken glass, and never played again, though went on to become a famous manager with Tottenham and Middlesbrough.Peter McWilliam 1911 on what was then a primitive recently-built ground in its first season of existence. The changing facilities were spartan – a wooden chalet-type building in the Sloper Road/Canton End corner, and just one room for both teams! There was no running water, and post-match washing was with bowls of hot water heated on a coal-fired iron stove. It was a 2-2 draw in front of a then-record attendance for the ground of 17,500. Scotland’s half-back ^th built seven years later. Our former home’s first International fixture was against Scotland on March 6Ninian Park with Cardiff Arms ParkAlthough Scotland had first played Wales in Cardiff on March 9 1903, that match took place at

 

From that point on, matches between the two countries have regularly been played in Cardiff, mainly at Ninian Park, though the February 2004 match was played at the Millennium Stadium when Wales were 4-0 winners. Scotland’s last visit to Cardiff was in November 2009 for a friendly which Wales won 3-0 at Cardiff City Stadium. In the heyday of Home International fixtures after the Second World War, Ninian Park hosted capacity crowds for Scotland fixtures. It was usually 60,000, sometimes 55,000 depending on safety restrictions in those days when the ground had just 7,000 seats.

 

In October 1964, there was a dramatic finish to a Wales-Scotland match at Ninian Park. Scotland led 2-1 with a few minutes left, but then Wales and Leicester City centre-forward Ken Leek scored twice to give Wales a 3-2 victory. In May 1979 Wales gained a decisive Home International Championship 3-0 win thanks to a hat-trick from former Cardiff City forward John Toshack, then player/manager at Swansea City. He scored with each foot and with his head – the perfect hatrick.

 

in the return leg at Ninian Park, Scotland drew 1-1 to knock Wales out of the tournament, but the game will be remembered for the sad death of Scotland manager Jock Stein who collapsed with a heart-attack just before the end of the match and died in the medical room.^thTwo matches in 1985 stand out too, each for very different reasons. On March 27 in a World Cup qualifier at Hampden Park, Ian Rush scored the only goal of the game to give Wales a 1-0 victory. Later that year on September 10