With hopes dwindling and a handful of minutes left to play, the Cardiff City mascot, Bartley Bluebird, the No 99 on the reverse of his costume, resorted to a meet-and-greet of sorts with younger supporters at the front of the grandstand, most oblivious to the bigger picture and the impending bad news.
Then, relegation from the Championship was confirmed, the club trading divisions with Wrexham and dropping into the third tier for the first time since 2002-03 when they won promotion via the playoffs across town at the then Millennium Stadium. Soon there was the bizarre sight of Bartley consoling those players in blue shirts, who at the final whistle collapsed to the turf like dominoes.
