Joe Allen started life as a professional footballer at Swansea City, and knows exactly what the South Wales derby is all about. And he has scored in the fixture as well.

Joe came on as a substitute in the last game in Cardiff which Swansea City won 3-2 with a Ben Cabango last second winner - which surely ripped the heart out of every Bluebirds fan at the game. Joe put the Swans ahead in the derby back in 2009. It looked like yet another Swansea victory in this fixture, a game marred by an incident which saw referee Mike Dean bleeding from a head wound. He was struck by a coin thrown from the Cardiff end. Allen’s strike with two minutes to go looked like the winner but Dean who was clearly out of sorts awarded Cardiff a questionable penalty. Dean adjudging Ashley Williams had fouled Ross McCormack – which the Cardiff striker converted in a frantic finish to a thrilling game.

That game ended 2-2 with Cardiff fans throughout the ground celebrating a draw. Anyone watching those last ten minutes again will clearly see a referee petrified of his own shadow, let alone another coin coming out of the Bob bank. Post match Swans manager Roberto Martinez said, ‘It’s heartbreaking. Not to get three points because of a poor decision is hard to take. It seemed an emotional decision from him to me. Cardiff have had 14 or 15 penalties this season. That’s the pattern. It’s a shame someone with Mike’s experience was affected. He may have felt that there was going to be danger. If you look at the overall performance of the referee, maybe he was affected “

Joe’s career started in Swansea and it very much looks like it will end there as well. Given his Wales debut by John Toshack, he was made a key figure by Gary Speed, but it was under Chris Coleman that Allen came to the fore. His peers recognised Allen’s stability and awareness on the ball in a red shirt. "He's been outstanding, kept things simple, doesn’t overcomplicate things. We're quick to praise Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale for their skill, their goals and their assists, but they don't get as much of the ball if they don't have Joe Allen in midfield," former Wales striker Iwan Roberts commented during the Euros in 2016. "He never wanted any attention, he was happy being a player for the team, do his role quietly in the background, being appreciated by the players on the field with him and the Red Wall as well of course," former team-mate Owain Tudur Jones told BBC Radio Cymru. “I think playing for Wales over and over again, and then to get the success that he did, means so much to him. He deserves so much praise and we'll always appreciate what he's done and achieved."

Joe has achieved a lot in the game, the Pembrokeshire product raised in a hot bed of Swansea City support was always destined to return to the Swans. Even fellow Welsh international at the time Aaron Ramsey commented that Allen was "everything and more you'd want from a midfield partner" and Gareth Bale said on Allen retiring from international football “A pleasure to play alongside you, Joe. What a player. Legend."

Big words from big players indeed and this evenings match in Cardiff will no doubt surface with a calm and cool Joe Allen present. He will be there as that reassuring voice in the Swansea dressing room pre match. Starting or otherwise it’s players like Joe who managers like Michael Duff rely on. Their experience cannot be bought. Alongside captain Matt Grimes and old head Jay Fulton those new to the derby will have plenty of experience to turn to. At the back there’s Ben Cabango who has made a bit of a thing about scoring against Cardiff City, and let’s not forget Harry Darling and Nathan Wood both have also experienced the derby and victory. Kyle Naughton may well not play later today, but he too has experienced more derbies than any player in that Swansea dressing room this evening. That’s real experience.

And that’s exactly what Michael Duff needs.

Young players like Charlie Patino will look to the likes of Allen pre match and indeed if they are on the pitch together. Josh Key and Harrison Ashby won’t have experienced the tension of a big game such as this before in front of the Sky cameras, so Duff has to look to the likes of Fulton, Allen, Grimes and Naughton for assistance. However, we have to leave the last words to Joe Allen, especially with so much to put right after the last Swans outing against Bristol City, “I am pretty sure everyone here already knows and understands the magnitude of this next game. We know we have to do better, it is vital that we do, it is as simple as that, and it is a huge game coming up to try and set things right. We’ve had a poor result and poor performance at home, we have had good spells in games, but it is about making sure we stretch that out over a full ninety minutes. We have no option other than to dust ourselves down and be better.”

Cardiff City v Swansea City kicks off at 7.45pm this evening.

Photographs licensed from Reuters

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