Bournemouth (2003)
Perhaps more comparable with England’s defeat is the play-off final in 2003. The pain here was mixed with pride, but 23 years on, it does still hurt. City, on the brink of ITV Digital administration, came from nowhere in 2002/03 to climb the league with a rugged togetherness that genuinely inspired. The players were a mix of non-league gems and the remnants of a squad that stayed as together as possible while we clung to life.
May 2003, a City brought back from the brink travelled to Cardiff with genuine aspirations of third-tier football. Queens Park Rangers, Bristol City and Sheffield Wednesday lay in wait, but standing in our way was Bournemouth, a side we’d beaten 1-0 just weeks earlier.
The better side won, but 5-2 flattered them. With the roof closed, we sweated in Wales and watched a tense first half decided by a stoppage-time Cherries goal. From then on, they took control, and while pride would eventually be the order of the day, the hurt remains. We wrote a fairytale that season, and then just failed to finish the final chapter.
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