Cardiff climbed out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone with a second home win in the space of four days against Portsmouth.
A Regan Poole own goal and Callum Robinson’s close-range effort put Cardiff in command after 13 minutes on a night when the Bluebirds’ only regret was that the winning margin should have been far greater than the final 2-0 scoreline.
The victory, fresh from Saturday’s 5-0 thrashing of Plymouth, will strengthen interim manager Omer Riza’s hand in landing the job on a permanent basis.
Riza took charge last month with Cardiff bottom of the table after making their worst start to a campaign for 94 years; one point from six games signalling Erol Bulut’s departure.
Since losing his maiden outing at Hull, Riza has harvested 10 points from four games and now has Portsmouth in his wing mirror.
Portsmouth claimed a first scalp of the season at QPR on Saturday, but an inept opening 45 minutes left them with a mountain to climb in a city where they have not registered a league win for 40 years.
Cardiff-born Poole was a member of the Bluebirds academy before starting his professional career at nearby Newport, and it was his unfortunate touch that began Pompey’s misery.
Perry Ng’s cross was heading harmlessly across goal until the Wales international stuck out a foot and diverted the ball into the corner of the net.
Cardiff doubled their lead after Alex Robertson, barracked by the away following after an injury-hit Portsmouth loan spell last season, swung over a corner that Dimitrios Goutas helped on.
Robinson, near to the far post and two yards out, prodded the ball in via the underside of the crossbar for his fourth of the season.
Portsmouth almost went under as Ollie Tanner’s angled drive flashed by a post, Anwar El Ghazi’s ferocious free-kick was pushed out by goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid and David Turnbull’s effort was deflected wide.
But it got worse for the visitors as Schmid limped off and joined early casualty Paddy Lane on the sidelines, allowing summer signing Jordan Archer to make his Portsmouth debut.
Callum Lang’s wayward attempt failed to trouble Cardiff goalkeeper Jak Alnwick, though it did spark sarcastic cries of ‘we’ve had a shot’ from the well-populated away end.
The second-half pattern was the same as Archer thwarted Turnbull at full stretch and collected more comfortably on his line from Rubin Colwill.
Portsmouth went close when Kusini Yengi’s strike deflected off Lang and Alnwick made a tremendous reflex stop low to his right.
Alnwick denied Lang again late on, but Archer saved well from from El Ghazi, Turnbull and Colwill and it is Cardiff who suddenly have a spring in their step.
[(Gil Vicente FC) Strength]: 1. Gil Vicente FC finished 13th in the league last season. They aim to avoid relegation and fight for a Conference League spot in the new season. Facing FC Porto, the team are motivated to take points in this home game.2. Gil Vicente FC won the recent two games in a row across all competitions. They won 2-0 over CD Nacional in the last league game, smoothly starting wi...
[(Dynamo Dresden) Neutral]: 1. Both sides have never met before, so there were no records to refer to.[(Dynamo Dresden) Weakness]: 1. As the newly promoted team in the 2. Bundesliga, Dynamo Dresden suffered a losing streak in the first two rounds, being demoralized a lot. Facing 1.FSV Mainz 05 in the first game of the DFB-Pokal at home, the team find it hard to secure a win, indicating doubtful mo...
[(Jaro) Strength]: 1. Jaro are 8th in the table and still need points to secure a Championship play-offs spot, indicating full motivation in this match.2. Forward Kerfala Cissoko scored the winner in the last game, helping his side win.3. Jaro won 2-1 over FC Haka in the last game, securing a 2-game winning streak and showing outstanding recent form.4. Jaro were unbeaten with 1 win and 1 draw in t...
[(SC Preussen Munster) Strength]: 1. In the new season, SC Preussen Munster's 3 goals in two league games were scored by 3 players, showing multiple scorers on offense.2. SC Preussen Munster won 4 of the last 5 home games in AH, boasting a decent home trend.[(SC Preussen Munster) Neutral]: 1. SC Preussen Munster drew 1-1 with SC Paderborn 07 in the last 2. Bundesliga game, showing average performa...
[(Rot-Weiss Essen) Strength]: 1. Rot-Weiss Essen are playing in the 3. Liga this season. Despite their inferior strength to their rivals, the team will still go all out to secure a qualification spot in this home game.2. Tobias Kraulich scored a goal in the last game, showing his outstanding form.3. Rot-Weiss Essen scored 2 goals and conceded 2 in the last 2 competitive games, boasting decent offe...
[(IFK Varnamo) Strength]: 1. IFK Varnamo are at the bottom of the table this season. If they want to avoid relegation, they have to go all out for points in every game, indicating strong motivation in this match.2. Kai Meriluoto scored a goal and made an assist in the last game, helping the team tie with IF Elfsborg.3. IFK Varnamo won the last 2 games in AH, demonstrating recent performances in li...
[(Le Mans) Strength]: 1. Le Mans drew with En Avant Guingamp in the last league game, failing to start with a win. In this home match, they are motivated to secure their first win of the new season.2. William Harhouz scored an equalizer before the end of the last game, helping the team tie with En Avant Guingamp.3. Le Mans secured a 3-game winning streak in recent warm-up games at home, showing de...
[(Mirassol FC) Strength]: 1. Mirassol FC midfielder Gabriel Santana scored a goal in the last league game, performing actively.2. Mirassol FC scored 10 goals in the last 5 league games, averaging 2 goals per game, showing full offense.3. Mirassol FC conceded 5 goals in the last 5 league games, with an average of only 1 goal per game.4. Mirassol FC boast reliable home strength, remaining unbeaten w...
[(Leeds United) Strength]: 1. After relegation, Leeds United returned to the Premier League this season as the EFL Championship winners. The team significantly strengthened their squad during the summer transfer window, with the goal of staying in the Premier League this season. For their opening home game against Everton, they are determined to secure a winning start to the league, showing strong...
[(Elche) Strength]: 1. As the newly promoted team this season, Elche are motivated to start with a home win in their debut.2. In the summer window, Elche signed midfielder Federico Redondo, Real Madrid loan forward Alvaro Rodriguez, and Valencia CF striker German Valera.3. Elche finished 22 wins, 11 draws, and 9 losses in the Segunda Division last season, smoothly being promoted as the 2nd-placed ...
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