Norwich City History Against......Cardiff City

All Competitions

Norwich City 26 wins  Cardiff City 13 wins  8 draws

Norwich goals 78  Cardiff goals 58

Football League

Norwich City 24 wins  Cardiff City 13 wins  7 draws

Norwich goals 72  Cardiff goals 56

All league games at Norwich

Norwich City 16 wins  Cardiff City 2 wins  4 draws

Norwich goals 43  Cardiff goals 19

All league games at Cardiff

Norwich City 8 wins  Cardiff City 11 wins  3 draws

Norwich goals 29  Cardiff goals 37

Cup Football

Norwich City 2 wins  Cardiff City 0 wins  1 draw

Norwich goals 6  Cardiff goals 2

Regular readers of the head to heads on Sing Up The River End! will know that many of the series are close, but not in this case, with Norwich holding a substantial historical advantage. The first Football League encounter took place on the 19th of December 1931 in Division Three South. Norwich won the game at The Nest 2-0, as they did the return at Ninian Park later in the season. On both occasions, the Canary goals were scored by Cecil Blakemore and Ken Burditt. The clubs finished next to one another in the middle of the table at the end of the season.

Two more seasons were spent at the same level, Cardiff gained their first ever win over Norwich with a home 4-2 win in 1932, but the Canaries won the next three games. When Norwich won promotion to Division Two in 1933-34 it brought an end to clashes for a while. Cardiff were to stay in the third tier of English football until they won the division in the first season after World War Two. Norwich of course were back at that level themselves by then and won the 1946-47 opening day fixture at Carrow Road 2-1 with goals from Billy Furness and Cyril Walker. However, Cardiff won 6-1 on the 28th of December (the biggest win in the series), sending them nicely on their way to winning the championship, whilst Norwich finished one from bottom.

Cardiff reached the top flight by the early fifties so clashes with Norwich were non existent during this period. They flirted between Divisions One and Two in the second half of the decade but their relegation in 1961-62 saw the start of 21 years out of 23 back in the second level (the other two seasons were in Division Three). With Norwich reaching Division Two in 1960-61, it meant fixtures resumed between the Canaries and the Bluebirds for the next ten seasons broken only when the former reached Division One. However, as the East Anglians prospered at the top end of the domestic game, the Welshmen went the other way, living a yo-yo existence between the third and fourth divisions from 1984-85 onwards.

No matches took place therefore between 1982 and 2003, when Cardiff got back to Division One via the play-offs. The last ten games however have seen Norwich again coming out on top in the series. However the Championship match between the clubs on the 30th of October 2010 saw Cardiff win 3-1 (Wes Hoolahan netting our goal) in City's first and only visit to the new Cardiff City Stadium. The return fixture the following January finished 1-1, with Russell Martin equalising with a very late goal. Cardiff City have only ever won two matches at Norwich, in 1971 and 2007, both times with a 2-1 scoreline.

Only three cup games have ever taken place. In the FA Cup, Norwich beat Cardiff 3-2 during the cup run of 1958-59 (Cardiff were Second Division at the time and Norwich were in the third). Terry Bly scored twice and Errol Crossan got the other in one of the most famous matches in our history. In 1983, a two legged League Cup fixture took place, following a 0-0 draw at Ninian Park, Norwich won 3-0 at Carrow Road courtesy of a Mick Channon hat-trick. Cardiff therefore have never beaten Norwich in a cup match. The best Norwich win against Cardiff came in 1963 in a Division Two match, 5-1 with Ron Davies getting a hat-trick and Bill Punton and Tommy Bryceland also scoring.

Cardiff City were formed in 1899 as Riverside AFC, a spin off from the local cricket club. They changed to their present name in 1908 and joined the Southern League Second Division in 1910. They won promotion to Division One of that competition and so played the Canaries either side of World War One in non league football. When, in 1920-21, the Southern League members were asked en-bloc to form a Third Division of the Football League, Cardiff City were invited into the well established Second Division on the basis that they were 'the best team in Wales'. They finished second in the table and so in 1921-22 embarked on an eight year stay at the top level of English football. It is regarded as the peak period of their history, they finished as runners up in 1923-24 and won the FA cup in 1927.

A few of the Canaries with Cardiff City connections include Peter Thorne, Cyril Spiers, Robert Earnshaw and Keith Robson.


To see what part Cardiff City have played in the history of Norwich City Football Club, just pop their name into the search facility in the side bar.


Most recent games
15 Jan 2011  (Championship)  Norwich City 1 Cardiff City 1
30 Oct 2010  (Championship)  Cardiff City 3 Norwich City 1
10 Mar 2009  (Championship)  Norwich City 2 Cardiff City 0
23 Aug 2008  (Championship)  Cardiff City 2 Norwich City 2
9 Feb 2008  (Championship)  Cardiff City 1  Norwich City 2
1 Sep 2007  (Championship)  Norwich City 1 Cardiff City 2

pictured : Robert Earnshaw, a great favourite with supporters at both Norwich and Cardiff