From delight to total despair in the space of four agonising minutes.
That was the story of the night for ten-man Ipswich Town, as Cardiff notched their first League win against them for 40 years.
They fought manfully after Fabian Wilnis' early sending-off, grabbed what looked a dramatic late equaliser but then conceded a last-gasp winner to go home empty-handed.
It was a sickening outcome for the visitors after controlling spells of the game, especially in the first half.
They battled gallantly and defied their numerical disadvantage, although they were more and more stretched in the second half and indebted to several superb saves from Lewis Price.
The Welsh international kept his side in the game until the closing seconds but there was nothing he could do about the winner.
Jason Koumas strode into the box from the left, worked himself space to get in a shot and then sent a powerful effort into the top right-hand corner.
It was a terrific finish made possible by some questionable defending, but it was highly disappointing for Town because only four minutes had elapsed since their equaliser by Jimmy Juan.
And that looked to have earned them a hard-earned share of the spoils.
Substitute Billy Clarke was tripped by Jeff Whitley and, from the free-kick, Juan sent a curling effort into the top left-hand corner.
What was already a tough-looking assignment had become considerably harder for Town when they were reduced to ten men, after just 13 minutes.
Wilnis was the player sent for an early bath, after putting himself under pressure with a poor back-pass.
Cameron Jerome burst through and, in an attempt to avert the danger, the Dutchman put his arm out to block him.
Town felt hard done by but they were given a huge break from the resultant spot-kick, when Ricketts' embarrassingly weak effort was saved by Price.
However, the striker soon redeemed himself by scoring the game's opening goal on the half-hour mark.
More in today's Evening Gazette
Published Tuesday, November 29, 2005
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