Football: Trouble flares as Swansea win derby

Cardiff City 0

Swansea City 1

Police defused a potentially explosive situation at Ninian Park yesterday when hundreds of Cardiff fans broke out of a seated enclosure and tried to reach Swansea supporters.

It was the first time away supporters had been allowed to attend derby matches between the clubs since they were fined by the Football Association of Wales because of serious crowd trouble at the same ground in December 1993.

The latest incident started shortly after Swansea had taken an 11th-minute lead through Keith Walker.

Cardiff fans seated behind the goal their team were defending managed to break out of the enclosure and raced along the unused terracing in front of the Bob Bank Stand. Swansea fans were behind the opposite goal and it looked for a few minutes as if a nasty incident would develop.

The situation was not helped when Cardiff's Scott Young was sent off for a second bookable offence while trouble flared. But police with dogs moved in and fans moved swiftly back to their seats.

Swansea's victory means their new manager Alan Cork maintained an unbeaten record since taking charge. His side opened the scoring after a corner from Jonathan Coates was punched clear by Cardiff's goalkeeper John Hallworth. The ball found the Swansea captain Walker on the edge of the box and he rifled home a fine volley.

Following the goal Cardiff fans raced from their seats on to the unused terracing taunting Swansea fans. Minutes later the Bluebirds were down to 10 men after Young was sent off.

The closest Cardiff came to equalising in a tense first-half was a strike from O'Sullivan which hit a post and rebounded into Roger Freestone's arms.

Cardiff's director of football, Kenny Hibbit, had no complaints about Young's dismissal. He said: "I think the occasion got to him. He deserved what he got. But I am very proud of the 10 men who battled so hard out there for the last 76 minutes. We created enough chances to have won the game."

Goal: Walker (11) 1-0.

Cardiff City: Hallworth; Middleton (Stoker, 80), Beech, Young, Harris, Fowler (White, 84), O'Sullivan, Penney, Saville, Crowe, Carss (Partridge, 65).

Swansea City: Freestone; Price, Clode, Walker, Edwards, Cusack, Coates, Watkin (Newhouse, 55), Bird, Appleby, O'Leary. Substitutes not used: Agnew, Lacey.

Referee: R Harris (Oxford). Bookings: Cardiff: Young, Penney, Crowe. Swansea: Price, O'Leary. Sending-off: Cardiff: Young.

Man of the match: Walker.

Attendance: 6,459.