For the Bluebirds, it was the first opportunity for fans to pay a full tribute to striker Emiliano Sala, who is missing after the plane carrying him and pilot David Ibbotson disappeared over Guernsey 12 days ago.
Amid touching scenes, Cardiff also produced the goods on the pitch, racing into an early lead when Reid coolly dispatched a penalty after Steve Cook inexplicably handled.
Birthday boy Reid scored again after just 15 seconds of the second half when he raced clearly and slotted home, ensured a morale-boosting win for the wounded Bluebirds.
It was Cardiff’s first win in five league games and moves them just two points from safety in 18th position, while Bournemouth stay in 10th.
The emotions were high all evening in the Welsh capital on a night of reflection.
Outside the Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff’s statue of Fred Keenor, their 1927 FA Cup winning captain, remains a shrine to Sala, with tributes for the Argentine forward laid since his disappearance.
A privately-funded hunt for the plane was started after £324,000 was raised in a GoFundMe appeal, with several high-profile footballers contributing.
Cardiff’s first home match since the disappearance represented a chance for City fans to express their sadness collectively and there were emotional scenes before during and after the game, not for the first time this season.
This should have been a season-long celebration for the promoted-Bluebirds, but this is the second time this term a home game has been overshadowed by tragic events away from the football pitch.
In November, the Bluebirds hosted Leicester City in the first match since the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Leicester chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four other people. It was an afternoon when football seemed both an irrelevance and a form of release for Leicester’s grieving players and fans.
Manager Neil Warnock was keen to point out the importance of this match and Cardiff’s need to move forward, but the tributes to Sala were a feature of the evening.
The Bluebirds’ shirts were adorned with embroidered daffodils, with every supporter also receiving a flower as they entered the stadium. Before kick-off there was a ‘moment of reflection,’ that was impeccably observed by the Cardiff faithful and Sala’s name was sung by the supporters throughout as verses of “Sing a song for Sala, we will never let you go, you will always be, at City with me” rang out.
However, the ultimate tribute to Sala was paid by the Cardiff players after Reid’s fourth-minute penalty. They quickly ran to the touchline to lift a shirt with his face embroidered on it, a personal moment from the players who would have dearly loved to have got to know their new team-mate.
