Fair play to Wayne Rooney in that he restored Mark Roberts to the back line given the Bluebirds’ strength at set pieces and this move definitely gave the Blues defence a more solid look. His move to give Ivan Sunjic a second chance also paid off as the midfielder never gave the opposition a moment’s rest, scudding around like a footballing clockwork mouse.

All this allowed the more creative players an opportunity to express themselves, as was best illustrated by the Blues winner, when the elusive Siriki Dembele set up Juninho Bacuna who showed sublime skull in slotting home. And also a word for Jay Stansfield, who whilst sometimes ploughing a lone furrow up front was a constant threat to the Bluebirds’ defence and with a bit of luck could have got a goal himself.