City Flashback - 2011 | Bluebirds defeat Derby at Pride Park
📆 The #Bluebirds produced a dominant display to defeat Derby back in 2011!
— Cardiff City FC (@CardiffCityFC) May 5, 2022
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With the Bluebirds making the trip to Derby County’s Pride Park Stadium in the final game of the campaign on Saturday, we take a look back at a memorable win over the Rams in 2011.
City went into the contest on the back of an impressive 4-3 win over Barnsley and a 1-1 draw at Leeds United’s Elland Road.
The Bluebirds were in search of a second away win of the campaign, with the first coming on the opening day at West Ham United, in which striker Kenny Miller netted on his City debut.
The Rams had enjoyed a strong start to the season, winning six of their opening eight fixtures, but had dipped in form prior to City's visit to Pride Park, and, in front of 23,078 fans, the Bluebirds seized their opportunity.
Slovakian midfielder, Filip Kiss, on loan from Slovan Bratislava, returned to the starting eleven and netted his first goal as a Bluebird in the 20th minute, striking home from close-range.
In a brilliant performance, chances fell for Peter Whittingham, Aron Gunnarsson and Craig Conway, as City pushed for a second.
The Bluebirds weren’t to be denied however, doubling the advantage through a Kevin Kilbane own goal just past the hour mark.
City wrapped up all three points with 73 minutes played, with Whittingham beating the offside trap before cutting inside and clinically firing home.
The three points took the Bluebirds into the top six at the expense of the Rams, and inspired a fine run of form, with City going on to earn wins over Crystal Palace, Reading and Nottingham Forest in November.
Fast-forward to the end of the campaign and the Bluebirds went on a similar run, going unbeaten in the final ten games of the campaign to secure a spot in the Play-Offs.
Despite falling to West Ham United at the Semi-Final stage, City went on to secure promotion to the Premier League twelve months later, finishing the 2012/13 campaign as Championship winners.
