It started so well for Cardiff City.
Sory Kaba's early penalty at Bramall Lane put the Bluebirds deservedly ahead against Sheffield United and instilled a bit of much-needed hope in the fan base that a shock result might be pulled off.
Alas, it wasn't to be and quality showed through as the Blades took apart Sabri Lamouchi's men once they got into their stride. It finished 4-1 and Cardiff could have few complaints. The home side are on course for a return to the Premier League and that gulf in class showed.
The second-half collapse would have hurt - badly - in the away dressing room and in the stands post-match and it is a result which will have done nothing but entrench relegation fears.
Where do Cardiff go from here? The matter-of-fact answer is Watford on Wednesday night of course, but in reality it's a worryingly loaded question with no real answer. Digging deep is the only way they'll get out of this situation.
There was some solace, though, for the results this weekend largely worked in their favour. Amazingly, it's still in Cardiff's own hands. Let's take a look at how the weekend has panned out for them.
The results
Sheffield United 4-1 Cardiff City
Blackpool 1-0 Wigan Athletic
QPR 0-3 Coventry City
Reading 0-0 Burnley
Rotherham 0-2 Luton
Swansea City 1-0 Huddersfield Town
Although a draw would have been better, the Seasiders beating Wigan has more or less condemned the Latics to relegation. They are on 34 points, eight away from 21st spot. Blackpool arrested a bad run of form which saw Mick McCarthy sacked after defeat to the Bluebirds but still look doomed. They are now on 38 points - four behind Cardiff having played a game more.
QPR are dropping like a stone. A 3-0 reverse to Coventry City at Loftus Road means it's four defeats in five now for the Hoops who are hurtling towards the bottom three at rate of knots. They are on 43 points - one place above Lamouchi's men - again, having played a game more. Going on current form, they are major contenders to go down.
Reading, who have been hit by a six-point deduction, picked up a valuable point at home against Championship leaders Burnley. The Clarets, who have sealed promotion, were no doubt in more relaxed mood when they learned of Sheffield United's win in the early kick-off - a result which meant Burnley could not be crowned champions with a win of their own on Saturday. Still, the Royals are right in the dogfight.
Rotherham, who have pulled themselves out of the mire a tad in recent weeks, went down at home to the Hatters to keep them within striking distance of Cardiff. They are on 45 points, three above the Bluebirds, having played the same number of matches. That rearranged fixture between the two sides later this month looks massive.
Neil Warnock's Huddersfield Town were brought to a halt by Swansea City at the Swansea.com Stadium; Cardiff's Welsh rivals have really done them a favour there, with the Terriers having benefited from Warnock's magic over the last month or so. Their defeat keeps them on 43 points, a point and two places above Cardiff, having played a game more.
The table
18th - Rotherham - P 41 PTS 45
19th - Huddersfield - P 42 PTS 43
20th - QPR - P42 PTS 43
21st - Cardiff - P41 PTS 42
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22nd - Reading - P42 PTS 42
23rd - Blackpool - P42 PTS 38
24th - Wigan - P42 PTS 34
Next round of fixtures
Tuesday
Blackpool v West Brom
Rotherham v Burnley
Stoke v Wigan
Sunderland v Huddersfield Town
Wednesday
QPR v Norwich
Watford v Cardiff
Reading v Luton
What Lamouchi has said
"It's game by game. We have five games to play. One more than the others. They will be five finals. But as I said to my players, if we played like we played today, we will not be unlucky all the time.
"If we take care of the small details, we can avoid the small mistakes, and we can maybe have a different result.
"The way we started and the way we played in the first half was positive. In this way, we can probably get some points."
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