City Flashback - 2010 | Olofinjana and Rae tame the Tigers
As the Bluebirds prepare to welcome Hull City to Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday night, we take a look back at a memorable performance against the Tigers in 2010.
City went into the contest having enjoyed an unbeaten start to the 2010/11 Championship season, recording August victories over Derby County, Doncaster Rovers and Portsmouth, as well as a 1-1 draw with Sheffield United.
Welcoming Hull City to CCS was a tough challenge given the Tigers' Premier League experience from the previous campaign, but City stepped up admirably to secure a 2-0 victory.
The Bluebirds were finding joy down the right flank early on, with Peter Whittingham and Chris Burke continuing the fine form they showed during our previous outing at Fratton Park.
Whittingham was the architect of City’s opening goal, with loanee Seyi Olofinjana meeting the midfielder’s teasing free kick after 20 minutes.
The Nigerian international was on loan at CCS from Hull City, and, with defender Anthony Gerrard going the other way, both were allowed to feature against their respective parent clubs.
Coincidentally, Olofinjana beat Gerrard in the air to break the deadlock for the Bluebirds, heading home the first of six goals during season-long stay in South Wales.
Kevin McNaughton went close to doubling City’s lead six minutes after their opener. After skipping past two challenges, the right-back was denied by Matt Duke's outstretched hand, which nudged the long-range effort onto the right-hand post and out to safety.
The Bluebirds had the better of the chances throughout the second half, but it was the introduction of Gavin Rae which wrapped up the victory.
Despite missing the injured attacking trio of Craig Bellamy, Michael Chopra and Jay Bothroyd, City were able to put the game beyond the visitors nine minutes from time.
Whittingham fed substitute Aaron Wildig, and the young substitute's beautiful reverse pass found Rae, who had broken into the box. The Scottish midfielder poked the ball past Duke to seal the points.
Securing another victory in the Welsh capital, the Bluebirds enjoyed their third consecutive clean sheet and fourth successive league win, as they remained in the top two.
The Tigers, however, left South Wales looking for their first away victory since March 2009. Nigel Pearson's side eventually picked up three points on the road against Norwich City a fortnight later, at the 30th time of trying.
During his four-year spell with the Bluebirds, Rae went on to make 130 appearances for the club before re-joining Dundee FC in 2011.
Under the guidance of Dave Jones, the midfielder amassed a total of 55 appearances in all competitions in his debut season at Ninian Park, more than any other player at the club, and played in all six matches during our run to the FA Cup Final in 2008.
Speaking about his Cardiff City career in 2018, Rae said: "I absolutely loved being a Cardiff City player. Some of the guys I met, and the times we had, were very memorable.
"That (2007/08 season) was the first season I'd ever played in the FA Cup. So, going all the way to the Final was outstanding after a difficult start, going down 1-0 at Chasetown.
"I remember Kev McNaughton scoring an own goal and Peter Whittingham coming on to change the game, and then Aaron Ramsey scored, which shows you how long ago it was.
"I have great memories of that — and every season at the club. We were very close to achieving a lot, and it's a shame that we fell short of a few things at the last moment."
