Robbie Savage looked on as his new Blackburn team-mates limped into the fourth round of the FA Cup.
After completing his protracted £3million move from Birmingham earlier today, the Wales international midfielder described the last two weeks as a nightmare
after going from hero to villain at St Andrews.
Savage may have thought his troubles were over, but he will have watched anxiously as manager Mark Hughes' side were taken to the wire by Championship relegation-strugglers Cardiff.
Blackburn appeared to have the task in hand as they took a seemingly commanding 3-1 lead inside the opening two minutes of the second half, with Morten-Gamst Pedersen making it three in three matches to add to David
Thompson's first-half double.
But Cardiff have proved resilient in recent weeks, and they again displayed they are no pushovers, albeit just falling short to leave Blackburn and Savage grateful to avoid extra time and setting up a fourth-round date with League One Colchester on January 29.
At least Savage had the pleasure of seeing two rare Thompson strikes, with his last goal 17 months ago in a 5-1 drubbing of Wolves in August 2003.
There was no doubting the power and accuracy of his first in the ninth minute as Hughes' side again grabbed an early lead, just as they did in the original tie at Ninian Park 11 days ago when they were held to a 1-1 draw.
Lucas Neill picked up a short throw from Brett Emerton and played a swift ball to the awaiting Paul Gallagher just inside the area where he proceeded to tee up Thompson for a first-time right-foot drive from 16 yards beyond the outstretched grasp of Tony Warner.
But just as 11 days ago Blackburn failed to build on their early momentum, and
although Warner was forced into awkwardly tipping over an inswinging Pedersen
corner, they lacked the creativity of their opening goal.
Cardiff gathered themselves and after skipper Graham Kavanagh had warmed the
fingers of goalkeeper Brad Friedel with a crisp shot from distance, they hit
back in the 25th minute.
The goal was well crafted, with Richard Langley and Jobi McAnuff playing an
incisive one-two on the edge of the area, and despite a tight angle, the latter
finished precisely with a shot across Friedel who could only help the ball on
its way into the net.
Cardiff celebrations, though, lasted just seven minutes as Blackburn regained
the lead with a fluke from Thompson.
The danger from a Pedersen corner seemed to have been averted when Thompson
picked up the ball 40 yards out and on the Blackburn right wing.
The central midfielder then did nothing more than loft the ball back into the
area, but his cross took one bounce and went over a deceived Warner who will
claim his attention was caught by the despairing lunge directly in front of him
of Gallagher.
Undoubtedly buoyed by his double, Thompson went for a hat trick in the 37th
minute and was not too far away as Warner just tipped away a raking 25-yard
left-foot drive.
If Cardiff took to the pitch after the break with hopes of mounting another
fightback, they were short-lived as Blackburn made it 3-1 within 85 seconds of
the restart.
Thompson was unsurprisingly involved, twisting and turning his way past City
defenders before laying the ball off to Neill for a first-time cross to the far
post where Pedersen sidefooted home his fourth goal in six starts.
But after an Emerton drive took a slight deflection over the bar off Danny
Gabbidon, the Bluebirds showed they were far from dead and buried.
In the 54th minute, Kavanagh delivered a free kick from deep to the far post
where James Collins rose to power in a header Friedel could only parry,
resulting in a scramble and the centre-back poked home the loose ball from
inside the six-yard box.
Blackburn were rattled and on the hour Cardiff came within a superb save from
Friedel of drawing level for a third time against their Premiership opponents.
Kavanagh and Collins combined again, this time the Republic of Ireland
international curling in a corner into the heart of the six-yard box where
Collins went in bravely with a diving header, only for Friedel to block at
point-blank range.
Langley then scooped the ball over from three yards and Tony Vidmar - a
51st-minute substitute for Rhys Weston - shaved the bar with a curling, swerving
shot that almost caught Friedel unawares, but Rovers just managed to hold on.
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