EFL: Cardiff City get late winner
Cardiff City 1 - 0 Reading
Cardiff City's recent mini-revival under new boss Sabri Lamouchi continued thanks to a later winner against Reading.
Romaine Sawyers fired in from the edge of the box in the 91st minute to claim a deserved win. This was the club's second in a week under their new manager.
A first home win since October lifts the Bluebirds five points clear of the Championship relegation zone. Reading will stay 15th in the table but could have no complaint over the loss despite the timing of the goal.
A closer look at the match
The closest Reading came was a blunder by Cardiff goalkeeper Ryan Allsop, who kicked thin air as Yakou Meite closed in.
Cardiff must have thought their luck was out when they hit the crossbar twice in the space of three minutes midway through the second half.
But Sawyers capped an impressive display with his first goal since August to claim three vital points in his side's fight for survival.
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Both sides claimed their first victories of 2023 on Tuesday night. Cardiff's ended a 14-game winless run as Lamouchi claimed his first with the Welsh club.
We very much agree, Rocky! 💙#CityAsOne pic.twitter.com/2ATTrEblio
— Cardiff City FC (@CardiffCityFC) February 17, 2023
The Frenchman was an animated figure on the sidelines against Reading, coaching his new team through every pass. That was in stark contrast to Reading boss Paul Ince. That mood was not surprising given the lack of positive performances from his side.
Cardiff enjoyed plenty of success down both wings. Jaden Philogene's delivery deserved better than Sory Kaba's tame effort before the striker headed a Callum O'Dowda cross straight at the goalkeeper.
The Guinea international is on loan from Danish club Midtjylland. He saw plenty of the ball as the home side dominated but struggled to find the finishing touch.
His strike partner Kion Etete fared a little better, even when handed a chance by Reading defender Amadou Mbengue's stray pass.
Instead, it was defender Perry Ng who came closest, rippling the side-netting with a free-kick after 28 minutes.
HIGHLIGHTS | CARDIFF CITY vs READING - YouTube
One Cardiff fan commented on the video: "It was brilliant for 90 minutes today. Having our wingbacks play along the front line to create a front 4 in attack is so refreshing to see compared to tactics seen under Hudson. Should see us scoring more goals with this formation going forward. We look like we had great balance of attack and defence today.
"It will be interesting to see how it will work against sides that are better on the ball than Reading were tonight though. Everyone put in a shift, onwards and upwards now. We just need five more wins, and we will be safe from the drop."
𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 | Cardiff City 1-0 Reading
— Reading FC (@ReadingFC) February 17, 2023
Defeat in South Wales for the Royals 😔#CARREA pic.twitter.com/ft6aGCfr9O
It was promising nevertheless for Cardiff who showed a fresh enthusiasm that belied their precarious league position.
Femi Azeez was the lynchpin for Reading but they were one-dimensional in their efforts to provide Andy Carroll ammunition and managed just one effort in the first half.
More from the Reading fans
One Reading fan commented on their official highlights: "We didn’t play well, only seemed to have one game plan which was to pass it to the big man up front. However, the ref was shocking. There was a blatant red card not shown on the highlights. There was great support from us, but it didn’t inspire the players. The manager should have changed tactics at 60 mins when it was clear ours weren’t working."
