Gunnarsson and Gounongbe make welcome returns v Brentford today
Most Cardiff fans would have expected to see Aron Gunnarsson back at some point during this game, either from the start or as a substitute, after featuring for his beloved Iceland during the international break.
In the end, he came off the bench to add steel to Cardiff's midfield and was greeted with a great reception from the 15,000 or so hardy Bluebirds fans in attendance.
What those gathering crowds might not have expected, however, was the surprise return of Freddie Gounongbe. The Benin international has been the missing man for most of the past 12 months, but came off the bench late on to replace Danny Ward amid boisterous cheers from the home faithful.
"If Freddie scores, we're on the pitch," they joked. And the lesser-spotted frontman almost served up the magical moment they were craving, spinning in behind the Bees back line but shooting across the face of goal.
Neil Warnock said there was no reason why Gounongbe, who he likened to legendary Bolton striker Nat Lofthouse, couldn't follow in the footsteps of Kenneth Zohore and go on an astonishing goal-scoring streak for Cardiff.
On this limited evidence, there's no reason why the forward cannot force his way back into contention. Ward certainly shone, but Freddie could be back.