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.”
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola described the win as “important” while stressing the need to keep calm and carry on after his side secured a dramatic 2-1 victory over Aston Villa to boost their Champions League hopes.Matheus Nunes struck the winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time at the Etihad Stadium, where Bernardo Silva’s early opener for City had been swiftly cancell...
Matheus Nunes’ stoppage-time strike sealed Manchester City a potentially crucial win against top-five rivals Aston Villa as the quest for Champions League qualification intensifies.Neither side could afford a slip-up on Tuesday as the FA Cup semi-finalists sought to head to Wembley on the back of an important result in the battle to reach European football’s top table.Marcus Rashford l...
Manchester United are hoping to sign Matheus Cunha and Liam Delap in the summer, though are also thinking about a move for Victor Osimhen.WHAT HAPPENED?Ruben Amorim is expected to revamp his Manchester United squad after a dismal season for the Red Devils. The Portuguese coach wants to bring in Cunha from Wolves, with United hoping to pay his £62.5 million release clause in instalments, accor...
Italian top flight Serie A has postponed Saturday's three fixtures until Sunday due to Pope Francis' funeral being held that day in Rome, the league said on Tuesday.Earlier media reports had suggested that Serie A might make an exception for Inter Milan's clash with visitors AS Roma to allow Simone Inzaghi's side additional rest time ahead of their midweek Champions League semifinal at Barcelona.B...
Roy Keane defended Marcus Rashford after he was picked over Ollie Watkins in Aston Villa's starting XI against Manchester City.Watkins had expressed his frustration at being benched after Rashford's loan move from Manchester United. Against Pep Guardiola's men, he was named among the substitutes, and the Red Devils great has backed Unai Emery's decision."Rashford obviously has a good track record ...
Man Utd working to quickly close Cunha & Delap transfersRuben Amorim is expected to revamp his Manchester United squad after a dismal season for the Red Devils. The Portuguese coach wants to bring in Matheus Cunha from Wolves, with United hoping to pay his £62.5 million release clause in instalments, according to The Telegraph. The Red Devils are also believed to be admirers of Liam Delap...
Nuno Espirito Santo acknowledged no one at Nottingham Forest expected to be third in April but backed his team to embrace the challenge after they started a huge week with victory at Tottenham.Forest had slipped to sixth in the Premier League after weekend wins for Champions League qualification rivals Manchester City, Chelsea and Aston Villa, yet responded with aplomb in the capital.Early efforts...
Chris Wood’s 19th goal of the season fired Nottingham Forest back up to third in the Premier League with a 2-1 win at Tottenham.Forest had slipped to sixth after the weekend’s results, but Nuno Espirito Santo savoured a sweet three points against old club Spurs after early goals from Elliot Anderson and Wood in the capital.It brought Ange Postecoglou’s team back down to earth aft...
Leeds boss Daniel Farke saluted his players for holding their nerve after a 6-0 home win against Stoke helped seal promotion back to the Premier League.Joel Piroe scored four goals, including Leeds’ fastest-ever league hat-trick, with strikes in the sixth, eighth and 20th minutes and added his fourth before half-time after Junior Firpo had put Farke’s side 4-0 up in 26 minutes.Willy Gn...
Burnley captain Josh Brownhill sent the Clarets back into the Premier League with both goals in a 2-1 win over Sheffield United that also saw Leeds promoted and left the Blades relying on the play-offs.Scott Parker made it three promotions with three different clubs in the space of six seasons as Burnley extended their unbeaten league run to a club-record 31 games, bouncing straight back to the Pr...
- 1 Man Utd & Man City join PSG in race for Akliouche
- 2 Jordan Bowery earns Mansfield a point at Rotherham
- 3 Man City in pole position to secure Morgan Gibbs
- 4 Liverpool join race to sign attacker Jeremy Monga
- 5 Arteta makes exciting Arsenal transfer claim
- 6 Grant McCann to keep Doncaster players calm despite being on brink of promotion
- 7 Mentality and spirit unbelievable – Daniel Farke praises promoted Leeds players
- 8 Rushian Hepburn-Murphy double helps ease Crawley drop fears
- 9 Four Tottenham stars could leave this summer
- 10 Ten-man Falkirk beaten by Raith as late goals keep title race alive