By Gareth James
Cardiff City’s interim manager Omer Riza admitted to an overriding sense of relief after ending the worst league start in the club’s 125-year history.
Championship basement boys Cardiff won their first league game of the season at the eighth attempt with a 1-0 win over Millwall at the Cardiff City Stadium.
It was the club’s first league win since April 20, a winless streak of almost six months.
https://twitter.com/CardiffCityFC/status/1841216371042238690
Perry Ng scored only the third league goal of the season for the Bluebirds, who are now bottom of the table only on goal difference behind Portsmouth.
“The main feeling is relief. When you haven’t won a game in seven, it’s frustrating, it’s disappointing for the fans, the club, players, staff,” said Riza.
“To get that win today against a team that’s so hard to play against, we had to match that. The boys were solid and dealt with a lot of problems.
“We managed to get that goal, hold on and come away with the three points so I’m really happy.
“We haven’t had much time to work on things because we’ve got three games in seven days.
“Attacking-wise, we got bodies forward and got in good positions and, defensively, we were more robust. We had to be that against this team and we got the result.”
The wait is over!
Cardiff City secure their first league win of the season with a 1-0 victory over Millwall⚽
Can this be the turning point for the Bluebirds?#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/AA4LCLLMMD
— BBC Sport Wales (@BBCSportWales) October 1, 2024
This was Riza’s second game in charge since taking over following the sacking of Erol Bulut last month and the first-team coach says he wants the job on a permanent basis.
“I’ve said I want to be a head coach and this is a great club and a great opportunity with a great fan base. And I think there’s more to come.
“It’s great to get my first three points in the Championship but I haven’t heard anything about the job, only what you hear and read, which can be difficult at times.
“But it’s about remaining positive, making sure the boys are ready and the team is ready and we approach every game like we want to win it. That’s a professional way of acting.”
It was a bitterly disappointing night for Millwall, who had lost just one of their previous five games.
In a game of few chances, Romain Esse had a header cleared off the line in the first half before Duncan Watmore was denied by Jak Alnwick in injury time.
“I’m disappointed because that was our worst league performance of the season. It was poor,” said Neil Harris, a former Cardiff manager.
“We’ve got a small squad with a lot of young lads and we’ve asked a lot of them because we can’t make wholesale changes but that’s the first time we haven’t hit the level needed.
“Cardiff were the lowest-performing and lowest-scoring team in the division but we massively helped them. If you’re not going to be fluid enough to break them down and win the game, then at least don’t lose it by conceding from a set-piece.”
Defeat at the Cardiff City Stadium.#Millwall pic.twitter.com/npsQdqGeA6
— Millwall FC (@MillwallFC) October 1, 2024
Callum Robinson’s first-half effort was almost spilled by Millwall keeper Lukas Jensen and the striker’s later effort earned the corner that led to the game’s opening goal.
Ng had just been warned by referee Gavin Ward for tussling with Joe Bryan when he shrugged off his marker to head Joe Ralls’ corner past Jensen in the 39th minute.
Robinson then ensured Cardiff took that lead into half-time when he cleared Esse’s header off the line, with Alnwick beaten at a corner.
It was the first time Cardiff had led at half-time in the Championship this season.
https://twitter.com/CardiffCityFC/status/1841242451560055215
Ollie Tanner set up Rubin Colwill who brought a double save from Jensen just two minutes into the second half before Alex Robertson fired the rebound clear of the crossbar.
Colwill was again denied by Jensen 20 minutes later when the goalkeeper scrambled across to push wide the Wales international’s audacious chipped free-kick.
Millwall offered little in attack and Yakou Meite should have settled the match for Cardiff after 74 minutes.
Robertson launched a counter-attack with a cross-field pass to Tanner who teed up Meite, unmarked close to the penalty spot, but the replacement striker could not untangle his feet and missed the ball completely.
Millwall had a handful of late half-chances but their frustration threatened to boil over when team-mates Esse and Ryan Leonard squared up to each other in injury time to round off a disappointing night for manager Harris.
https://twitter.com/MillwallFC/status/1841197433944228356
