CARDIFF CITY - TUESDAY 22/11/2005

IMAGES | VIDEOS
Ninian Park has long been regarded as one of the most dangerous and intimidating places to watch football in Britain. With this reputation in mind, it was no surprise that not many Brighton fans would make the journey to Wales - especially on a Tuesday night. Crocs on Tour did however, and were surprised to discover that it was one of the best outings of the season!
Mode of Transport: Neil Kane was in control of the Kane Mobile, as he drove the Crocs on Tour, plus North Stand Chat's Fatboy to the foreign land
Team: A 4-4-2 line up of: Blayney, Dodd, McShane, Butters, Reid; Carole, Hammond, Oatway, Frutos; Knight, McPhee.
Kit: Cardiff wore their home colours of all blue with white trim, while Brighton bargained on the all maroon away kit. Alan Blayney went for the yellow, black and white Tour de France goalkeepers kit, complete with black shorts and stockings
Mark McGhee's Attire: Mark took a hands-on approach to the evenings warm up, and therefore was wearing a white and ruby training jumper, complete with tracksuit bottoms
Weather: Despite the worry of an abandonment due to thick fog throughout the journey, it was a fine evening, although a little chilly
Stadium Rating: Ninian Park is one of those proper stadiums. With a large main stand, seating behind one goal, and a large terrace, which is split between home and away fans behind the other, it has the nostalgic feel. Facilities wise it is poor, but for atmosphere it is superb. 6/10
Food Rating: The hotdog was like a well lubricated penis, and rather cheap in comparison to other grounds. With Clarks Pies on offer as well, we were delighted by the standards. 7/10
Entertainment: The music before the match all had a homosexual theme to it, which was splendid. Never has dancing to "Gay Bar" on a football terrace been so much fun. Some form of half time shoot out also took place, which was thrilling and well done. Only doesn't receive full marks as there was no form of nudity. 9/10
Friendliness of Locals: On past visits, they have been rather hostile, and we received the usual gay abuse, and abuse from coming from a civilised country. Unfortunately, we did not get to mingle or talk to the lovely Welsh people that much, as we decided it was probably best to get to the car as quickly as possible afterwards . 5/10
Standard of Local Females: Poor. We had a photo with one programme seller, who obviously scores high marks for agreeing to the photo. However, there was very little in and around Ninian, and the few we saw in the home terrace could only be described as dogs. Or maybe that should be sheep. 3/10
Steward Rating: They were wonderful. Despite the police presence that is expected at Ninian Park, the stewards did a fine job and were some of the nicest we have encountered. Probably because they weren't moaning at people standing up, due to the superb terrace. 8/10
Flag Attention: The flag was hung proudly on the crash barrier in front of us. Many people commented on the pink seagull, despite the small crowd. The flag was not worn outside the stadium, as walking around with an English flag in Cardiff will usually provoke a reaction
Match Report: Play-off chasing Cardiff were given a tough game from a Brighton side who were obviously still bitter about their last minute defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday. Despite taking the lead through Alan Lee, after Brighton had lost both Jason Dodd and Paul McShane to injury, the Bluebirds couldn't hold on, and substitute Colin Kazim-Richards scored a scorching 25 yard drive to share the points
Thought of the Day: After Neil was flashed by a speed camera on the M4 for doing 70mph in a restricted 50mph zone, he came up with this classic: "I'd rather be raped than have to pay a £60 fine and get 3 points on my license"