-Credit: (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)
Omer Riza was left disappointed after Cardiff City let in a 95th-minute Stoke City equaliser, but praised his players for bouncing back strongly following their “worst performance” under the manager in midweek.
Cardiff limped to a 2-0 defeat at home to Preston North End on Wednesday, a result which saw them remain in the relegation zone. They looked to have secured all three points on the road in the Potteries when they took a 2-1 lead into stoppage time thanks to a goal from Anwar El Ghazi and an own goal from Ben Gibson.
But Gibson latched on to a stoppage-time free-kick and benefitted from a rash Jak Alnwick, who ran out to clear the danger but was all at sea. That point most definitely will have felt like two lost rather than one gained for the manager, who has now overseen seven games without a win.
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“We’re disappointed to come away with only a point.” Riza said. “We needed a reaction from the Preston game; we’ve got that today, I feel.
“All the players, to a man, were excellent – from the players who started to the players who came on. We just didn’t quite do enough to secure that win.
“The Preston game was the worst performance we’ve had since I’ve been in charge – and I wasn’t happy with it at all. I made the players aware of that, and they knew that themselves.
“We went away to Coventry and we should have won that game, we’ve come away today and we should have won this game.
“The performance was better. There’s still work to do, of course, but we’re under pressure and we need points. That’s what I’m disappointed about more than anything today; we needed three points and we didn’t get it.”
Riza made five changes to the starting XI and it almost worked, however Perry Ng was one notable absentee. Riza explained why Ng missed the game and also revealed that midfielder David Turnbull will be out for the long term after going under the knife for a hamstring issue.
“Perry has got a problem with his hamstring. We will assess where he is at. Dave Turnbull has had an operation on his hamstring as well, so he’s a long-term injury now.
“We’ve got a few injuries now, and the squad is a little bit thin at the moment. But, the boys are doing a great job to maintain the levels that we need in order to try and get something in games.”