November
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Over to you John.

Cardiff City have managed to get from the first to the second round
of the FA Cup 23 times. If City can get past Port Vale on Saturday,
it'll mark the 20th time they've advanced again to the third round.
That'd be a second round success rate of 87%!

While one might argue that this 87% figure is fattened up by too many
wins against small fry like Enfield, Hednesford, Hendon and the like,
City have had success too against more formidable opponents.  Back in
1993-94, for instance, City went to Griffin Park and defeated
Division-Two Brentford 3-1.  In 1986-87, Division-Four City beat
Division-Three Brentford 2-0 at Ninian Park.  Two years ago, City held
Division-Two Bury to a 0-0 draw at Gigg Lane before beating the
Shakers 1-0 in a Ninian Park extra-time replay won on a 120th-minute
Mike Ford header.  A win against Port Vale Saturday would add to
City's second round successes against third-tier league opposition.

Here are some additional facts and figures on City's impressive
second round FA Cup history:

* A win against Port Vale on Saturday would give City second round
triumphs in five straight seasons. That hasn't happened since the
1920s.

* City's all-time mark in second round action stands at an estimable
19 wins, 5 draws, and 3 losses. The record since World War II shows 9
wins, 2 draws, and 3 losses.

* City's all-time record in the first two rounds of the FA Cup now
stands at 41 wins, 15 draws, and 14 losses.

* Postwar, City's record in the first two rounds shows 20 wins, 6
draws, and 9 losses.


Second Round Best and Worst, Goals For and Against:

* City's biggest second round win came in the 1931-32 competition,
when the club blasted Leyton Orient 4-0.

* City's worst second round losses came in back-to-back seasons, a
2-0 loss at Swindon in 1995-96 and a 2-0 loss at home vs. Gillingham
in 1996-97.  City haven't lost a second round match since, zipping
past Hendon 3-1 at Ninian Park in 1997-98, Hednesford 3-1 at home in
1998-99, Bury 1-0 at home (in a replay following a 0-0 draw at Gigg
Lane) in 1999-2000, and Cheltenham 3-1 at Ninian Park in 2000-01.

* City have scored 44 goals in their 27 second round matches. City
opponents have netted but 18. Only one club has scored as many as
three goals against City in a second round match.  That club?
Weymouth!

Ancient History "Believe It or Not" Department:

* Would you believe that City didn't drop its first second round
match until the 1982-83 season?  It's true. That year, City lost 3-2
at home to Weymouth, a non-league side. The loss snapped a long
unbeaten run in second round matches that began with a 1919-20 2-1 win
over Wolverhampton and covered 14 matches (11 wins, 3 draws).  (This
already impressive run got stretched out over an even longer interval
thanks to City's not having to enter until the third round between the
1938-39 and 1975-76 seasons.)

* Incredibly, a 1914 first-round loss to Bristol City was City's last
setback in the first or second round until Bristol Rovers beat the
Bluebirds in a 1932-33 second round replay. This nearly 20-year-long
run covered 22 matches (14 wins, 8 draws). City won the first two of
these 22 matches as a non-league side during the 1919-20 competition,
then proceeded to go unbeaten in its first 20 as a league side! City
was a top-division club during much of this period, of course, but
then so were many of their first and second round opponents. Byes to
the third round for top division clubs did not kick in until the
1925-26 competition.

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John Heyda