The Cardiffian takes a look back at what makes Cardiff v Swansea so special
ON September 7, 1912, Swansea City, then Swansea Town, played their first competitive game of football against Cardiff City in the Second Division of the Southern Football League.
The match ended 1-1 with Billy Ball opening the scoring for Swansea before Cardiff skipper Jack Burton equalised.
But, besides a few newspaper clippings, little is preserved of their historic first fixture.
Flash forward 110 years and the South Wales derby is known as one of the fiercest rivalries in British football.
So fierce in fact that it became the first fixture in Britain to ban away fans in 1993 after a massive brawl spilled out onto the pitch, leading to a 40-minute delay to the start of the match.
The ban was lifted in 1997, but ever since, away fans have been escorted in and out of the stadium by police.
Bluebirds fan, Christopher Alexander, 62, from Cardiff said: “Football teams in proximity have always had rivalries. Rivalry leads to hatred.
“When I was younger, we hardly ever played Swansea, in fact our main rivals were Bristol Rovers.
“However, as Swansea improved and their league position got better, we started to meet more often, so the rivalry was reignited.
“They have always had little brother syndrome as Cardiff are twice the size of Swansea and are historically a more successful club, I think that has contributed a lot to the clash.”
The South Wales derby used to be a friendly rivalry up until the 1960s.
But at the turn of the decade British crowds grew younger and with rising wages and high employment rates, young men in their teens and early twenties travelled to away matches in large numbers.
Many of these young fans adopted fashions that made them stand out, drank more than earlier generations, and got into a lot more fights. The result was a period of hooliganism in the sport that raged on for decades.
Bluebirds fan, Andy Nunn, 60, from Llanrumney, remembers this period well.
He said: “I remember travelling on the special train from Cardiff Central in the early eighties, I think it was 1984.
“There was a big firm from my home estate in Llanrumney and the rumour was that 50 plus of them were going to attack the Swansea mob in the North Bank (Swansea’s end) immediately after kick-off.”
“I was with the 4,000 plus Bluebirds behind the goal and we all knew what was going to happen.
“Sure enough, the whistle blew, and you could clearly hear the roar as 50-odd Cardiff fans ran up the steps and attacked the Swansea fans.
“It took a while to escort the Cardiff fans back into our section, where they returned like wounded but victorious soldiers.”
In the modern day, the conflict is limited largely by police intervention, but as Swans fan, Daf Lewis, 22, from Swansea recalls, the tension is still very much there.
He said: “Police are doing everything they can to stop violent outbreaks, but there is still a genuine dislike between fans.
“The fact that they have been in separate leagues for a long period of time has just built the tension that little bit more.
“Given the result last time out, I think Cardiff will have a point to prove and plenty will be done to get under the skin of the opposition which may give them that extra 1% which is so important in these tight fixtures.”
The next fixture
Cardiff and Swansea are set to face each other on April 2 at Cardiff City Stadium.
The game will go ahead with a traditional Saturday 3pm kick-off for the first time in decades, as Sky Sports, who usually pick up the coverage for a Sunday midday slot, have chosen not to air the derby.
In their last outing, the Swans thrashed the Bluebirds 3-0 at the Liberty Stadium and on game day they will be hoping for a repeat away from home.
Yet after 113 meetings, neither side has ever managed to complete the league double over the other, a fact which perfectly illustrates the competitive nature of the match-up.
In terms of form, Cardiff are currently playing the better football.
Last weekend’s win at Stoke was Cardiff’s seventh in their last 12 league games, a run which has featured only three defeats.
Meanwhile, Swansea has five wins from 12, with six losses and one draw.
Despite the fixture bearing little significance on the overall Championship picture, with both teams safely out of a relegation battle, you would be hard pressed to find a fan who is not feeling the heat as derby day fast approaches.
