Joe Ledley has issued an apology to Leon Britton – 16 years on from making his first appearance in a south Wales derby.
Midfielder Ledley was shown an early yellow card for a foul on opposite number Britton during Swansea City’s 1-0 League Cup victory over Cardiff City in September 2008.
Jordi Gomez’s 57th-minute free-kick proved enough for the Swans to earn victory, and former Wales international Ledley admits he swiftly learned from his rash moment, in what was his first taste of derby action.
“Obviously, being a Cardiff boy, this was a massive derby for me, all of my mates and family were on me, making sure you put in a performance and hit someone hard,” Ledley told the Feast of Football podcast.
“Just before I was going out on the pitch, you know what it’s like with managers giving the team talk, [former Bluebirds boss] Dave Jones said ‘right, nobody lose your head and just concentrate on the game’.
“I was getting booed in the warm-up, booed when I touched the ball. I apologise… first five minutes into the game, the ball being passed to Leon and I just went steaming through, took him out, yellow card.
“It completely ruined my game. You know what it’s like when you’re on a yellow, you don’t want to get sent off, it’s the last thing I needed, going back to Cardiff.
“So I do apologise, there was an opportunity there and I took the player first and not the ball.”
Ledley was never on the winning side during his outings for Cardiff against the Swans, and the 37-year-old recalled the time where he was able to fully appreciate the hostility between the two sets of supporters.
“I remember another story at your place [Swansea], there was a throw-in and this geezer has gone ‘Joe, I know your address’ and it was the whole address. I was living at home,” he added.
“He said it. I was living in Fairwater at the time and I was thinking, ‘I hope my parents are alright when I get back home’.
“Thankfully nothing happened. But it [the derby] means a lot to both sets of fans.”
The full episode of Feast of Football is available now.