Interim Cardiff head coach Omer Riza felt a tenacious display in a 1-1 draw at Severnside derby rivals Bristol City offered further proof of his ability to do the job on a permanent basis.
Ollie Tanner’s superb right-footed strike, arrowed into the top corner from 15 yards, put the Bluebirds ahead after 54 minutes only for centre-back Luke McNally to head a 73rd-minute equaliser, his first Bristol City goal, from a Joe Williams cross.
The match was marred by a serious injury to Bristol City’s Cameron Pring after 14 minutes, the left-back being taken off on a stretcher with a suspected broken leg after what appeared an innocuous foul by Tanner with no animosity intended.
Riza, whose second game in charge had seen Cardiff register their first Championship win of the season against Millwall in midweek, has made no secret of his desire to succeed Erol Bulut, with the club expected to make a decision during the international break.
He said: “We have taken four points from six and can only view that as a positive moving forward.
“I think it is plain to see a difference to when I took over and that I can lead a team by being professional in all I do. I have worked hard for this opportunity and, of course, I want the job.
“I know I am ready to become a head coach. Whether it is at Cardiff or not remains to be seen. There are no immediate plans to talk to the board, but I am sure they will want to speak to me about this game.
“Ollie Tanner has scored a beautiful goal and the players are deflated in the dressing room because we had the result in the palm of our hand.”
Bristol City head coach Liam Manning said: “We started the game well and again have created a lot of chances without taking enough of them.
“Over the nine Championship games we have played this season, I am pretty happy. We have only been beaten twice, but we have drawn too many and need to address that.
“I wasn’t pleased with the way we started the second half, but again the lads have shown great togetherness and character to fight back when things have gone against them.
“The injury to Cam Pring did not result from anything intentional. First and foremost, our thoughts are with him and I am waiting to hear more on how serious it is.
“It looked pretty bad and Cam has gone to hospital. It is an injury to his lower leg, but we are not sure yet whether it is a break.
“It was a great header from Luke McNally and not a bad game to get his first goal for us in.”
Interim boss Stephen Frail expects Motherwell to appoint a new manager next week and admits their first job will be to lift the players’ confidence after a 3-0 mauling at home to Ross County.A double from Ronan Hale and Connor Randall’s last-minute strike secured an impressive victory for the Staggies at Fir Park.Defeat sees the Steelmen drop into the bottom half of the Premiership tab...
Mark Hughes heaped praise on goalkeeper Gabe Breeze after Carlisle picked up a vital point in the League Two relegation battle with a goalless draw against in-form Colchester at Brunton Park.Breeze made two excellent saves from Lyle Taylor as the Cumbrians ended a four-game losing run and the former Man City boss was astounded by the 21-year-old’s performance.He said: “The game had som...
Chesterfield boss Paul Cook launched a scathing attack on his play-off hopefuls after they surrendered an early lead to lose 3-1 at Sky Bet League Two table-toppers Walsall.The Spireites enjoyed a rapid start when Jamie Grimes’ eighth-minute header put them ahead against a wobbling Walsall side, who were winless in five matches with the chasing pack closing in.However, Bim Pepple and Dylan D...
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has allayed fears of an injury scare to top scorer Erling Haaland ahead of next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid.Haaland went down clutching his leg in the latter stages of the champions’ 4-0 Premier League thrashing of Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and was immediately substituted.Losing the Norwegian would be a major blow to ...
Rotherham manager Steve Evans described Thomas Parsons’ performance as “atrocious” after the referee awarded a stoppage-time penalty from which Reading snatched a 2-1 victory in League One.Reading had led 1-0 at half-time through top scorer Harvey Knibbs but Sam Nombe levelled for Rotherham from a spot-kick in the 57th minute.With the game heading for a draw, Parsons adjudged Mil...
Michael Flynn believes his team can make a charge towards the League Two play-offs places after watching them come from 2-0 down to beat Barrow 3-2 at home.Matty Taylor scored twice before fellow substitute Ashley Hay hit the winner as the Robins continued their perfect home record in 2025.Cheltenham climbed to 13th in the table and sit eight points off seventh-placed Crewe with two games in hand....
Birmingham manager Chris Davies praised Jay Stansfield’s work ethic after he lit up St Andrew’s with the only goal of a 1-0 win to sink play-off chasing Charlton.Stansfield’s 23rd-minute strike stretched City’s lead to nine points ahead of second-placed Wycombe, with Blues boasting a game in hand.Victory was City’s 30th in all competitions as they extended their unbea...
Andoni Iraola refused to get carried away after Bournemouth fans were left dreaming of a potential Champions League adventure following a first league double over south-coast rivals Southampton.Travelling Cherries fans chanted of playing in European football’s premier competition next season after their side soared to fifth spot in the Premier League table thanks to a deserved 3-1 success at...
Norwich head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup praised his side for fighting back to draw 1-1 at Hull after he demanded “I want to see my football team back”.The Norwich boss had some tough words for his team as they trailed 1-0 at half-time to the relegation-threatened side, including for Kellen Fisher – but the player then delivered the assist for Josh Sargent’s equaliser.The Un...
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says Jota has a chance of starting against Bayern Munich after scoring and impressing in a 3-0 victory over Dundee United.Jota earned the club’s man-of-the-match award after cutting in from the left and curling home from 18 yards to double the lead given to the hosts by another impressive finish from Callum McGregor.The Portuguese winger has now started two gam...
