City History | Keogh provides late drama at CCS
The 2010/11 clash between the Bluebirds and Millwall at Cardiff City Stadium ended in the most dramatic of fashions.
The two sides met for the first time since January 2006, after the Lions were promoted to the Championship via the Play-Offs in the season prior.
Both sides came into the game in the Welsh capital as somewhat of wounded animals, with the Bluebirds previously falling to defeats to Leicester City and Ipswich Town, while Millwall had suffered a 6-1 loss at home to Watford seven days beforehand.
That made for an eventful game at CCS to say the least.
With 23,010 fans making for a great atmosphere, it was the visitors who found an early breakthrough.
That summer, the Lions made the smart loan acquisition of Kevin Lisbie from Ipswich Town, who was the architect of the opening goal.
Breaking into the box, he crossed low for Scott Barron, who had the simple task of turning the ball home from close-range to give Millwall the lead in the 10th minute.
From Kevin McNaughton to Peter Whittingham to Jay Bothroyd, City’s starting XI that day included a huge amount of quality; there was no reason to panic.
A positive reaction from the Bluebirds came with the reward of a swift equaliser, which came 14 minutes later.
A long throw into the area from Lee Naylor dropped to Whittingham, who shrewdly turned the ball to Bothroyd.
The striker went into that eighth game of the season with four league goals to his tally, as well as 13 in the campaign prior. It was no surprise to see the confidence in which he calmly slotted home with a left-footed finish.
With the score level, the Bluebirds then had a man advantage from the 40th minute onwards, as a late challenge from Liam Trotter on Darcy Blake saw him receive a straight red card.
Just before the break, City were awarded a penalty, as Whitts was brought down by Darren Ward, but the playmaker saw his spot kick saved by former Bluebird David Forde.
It is often said that it is difficult to play against 10 men, and that was the case for much of the second half, as City were unable to find a breakthrough.
That was until the 89th minute, when the waves and waves of sustained pressure finally paid off.
The ball came out wide to Bothroyd just before the board for added time went up. Cutting inside onto his left foot, the striker delivered an inviting cross into the area.
The cross was cleverly headed into the bottom corner by Andy Keogh, who sparked wild celebrations at CCS.
Keogh’s flicked header marked his first goal for the Bluebirds in some style, lifting City back up into the automatic promotion places.
The Republic of Ireland international, who represented his country 30 times, went on to play for the Lions from 2012 to 2014, scoring 18 goals in 78 games at The Den. Now 38 years old, Keogh currently plays for Dianella White Eagles, based in Perth, Australia.