BBC SPORT | Football | Worthington Cup | Cardiff serves up indoor fireworks

The meteorological signs on the way into Cardiff suggested a small piece of footballing history was about to be made.

For the weather was another aspect of this final that was distinctly un-Wembley.

The sunshine that so often seemed to illuminate the great days under the Twin Towers was nowhere to be seen.

Instead the umbrella salesmen were doing a brisk business outside the ground.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've closed the roof for you," an official confirmed on entry to the ground. "But I must warn you, there are a few drips in the corners."

Presumably the drips he referred were not the "prawn sandwich brigade" enjoying the hospitality of the competition's sponsors - but you did wonder.

Drips or not, the Millennium Stadium roof - an 8,000-tonne construction that takes 20 minutes to slide open and closed - is an engineering masterpiece.

It also created an atmosphere unlike any other.

Andy Cole cracks open the champagne
Andy Cole provided the only shower of the day

A stadium that already beats Wembley hands down when it comes to intimacy, sight lines and spectator comfort, was transformed into a gigantic, steel-framed warehouse party.

The acoustics were remarkable, with the sound resonating in a way that cavernous old Wembley could never manage.

Meanwhile the fireworks that were inevitably set off before kick-off created a pall of smoke that settled under the roof like a Monmouthshire mist.

Some observers have unkindly branded this competition the "Mickey Mouse Cup".

It looked like fair comment when the PA announcer revealed that the guest of honour was none other than Keith Harris - and it seemed Orville was about to take centre stage.

But unfortunately Mr Harris turned out not to be the venerable ventriloquist, but the chairman of the Football League.

If the roof ensured the 72,500 fans inside the ground were able to watch in comfort, as gales blew and the rain poured down outside - it also helped the spectacle.

The game may not have been an all-time classic, but at least Blackburn and Tottenham managed the kind of football the conditions would not normally have allowed, with a string of chances at either end.

Mind you, for the legion of Spurs supporters who had made the trek up the M4, that will not be much consolation.

Remarkably, all seven previous finals played at the Millennium Stadium had been lost by the team whose fans occupied the South Stand.

And to the consternation of the north London contingent, the Taff End hoodoo was to strike again.

The roof may have held off the rain, but for Tottenham the whole event still proved to be a damp squib.