Joy as Cardiff join Swansea in Premier League

Tears flowed as Cardiff City reached the English top flight for the first time in the Premier League era following a 0-0 draw at home to Charlton Athletic in the Championship on Tuesday.

The result guaranteed their return to the elite after a 51-year absence and prompted delirious fans to spill onto the pitch in celebration at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Cardiff will join fellow Welsh side, and sworn rivals, Swansea City in the Premier League next season, when there will be two teams from Wales in the English top flight for the first time.

Cardiff forward Craig Bellamy, formerly of Liverpool and Manchester City, burst into tears at the final whistle, having returned to his home-town club last year to lead their push for promotion.

“It’s nice to be over the finish line. We deserve to go up, there’s no doubt about it,” the Wales international striker told Sky Sports.

“Let’s enjoy tonight and see where the next two weeks take us, try and finish as champions.

“This city’s been craving it for a number of years now. It’s going to be good.”

Charlton’s Johnnie Jackson came close to spoiling the promotion party on an emotional evening in the Welsh capital when he curled a free-kick against the post in the first half.

Craig Noone thought he had scored for the hosts late in the second half, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside.

It mattered not, though, as news of third-place Watford’s 1-0 defeat at Millwall guaranteed Cardiff’s promotion and sparked the pitch invasion that greeted the final whistle.

“It’s not really sunk in right now,” said manager Malky Mackay in an on-pitch television interview as he surveyed the scenes of celebration.

“There was a lot of hard work by a lot of people at the club and I’m delighted for these people.”

The Bluebirds last played among the English elite in 1962 and were playing in the fourth tier as recently as 2001.

Ironically, their promotion comes at the end of a season that began amid angry protests at Malaysian owner Vincent Tan’s controversial decision to change the club’s home kit from their habitual blue shirts with white socks to red shirts with black shorts.