Omer Riza spoke to the press following our 2-1 win over Watford at Vicarage Road.
A brace from Callum Robinson ensured that the Bluebirds took all three points in a valiant display in Hertfordshire.
“It was an important win.” Omer began. “It doesn’t matter where it comes from, it’s good to get a result against Watford who haven’t lost at home in 17. It’s a tough place to come, a top six team.
“The boys had to put in a performance. They knew how important it was and I think they’ve done that today.
“It was difficult for us today. We had players playing out of position, Chambo [Calum Chambers] had to go into holding midfield, and did a great job. Then we had to bring Joel [Bagan] on in there, who in turn did what he needed to do.
“Young Ash [Cian Ashford] came on in the last game and has played today, and the boys took on the information. We knew we needed to be resilient and work hard and we got the win and I think we deserved it.”
Having opened the scoring in the first minute, Callum Robinson netted a double to give City the win, with Cian Ashford also playing an instrumental role.
On Robinson, Omer said: “In training he’s looked really sharp. I’ve taken him out for a couple of games, and I think it’s really done him well. He’s shown a real eagerness and want in training and he’s gone out there today and scored a great first goal. To go 1-1 and score the second goal and go on to win it, we deserved it.
“We’ve got a lot of belief in Ash. He’s a young lad, he needs to believe in himself a little bit more, because he can cause problems and he’s done that today. I had no hesitations in putting him in there.
“We gave the ownership to Ash and he held the ball up well, he was strong, he was aggressive, he worked hard and that’s what we need at this time.”
Omer expressed his delight with City’s away support ahead of our New Year’s Day clash against Coventry City.
“The fans were excellent today. They were our twelfth man, in the ten minutes of extra time they were superb - we’re always thankful for the support we get. Today they were exceptional.
“Everything’s about whether we can maintain the same intensity levels and aggression game in, game out. The boys are always going to fight and we’ll keep fighting.
“Coventry are a good side, in my opinion they’re a top six side, so we have to approach the game in the same way. We’ve got a team who wants to fight and wants to work hard and hopefully we can continue the form.”
Post-match reaction from Omer and Callum Robinson will be available to watch on Cardiff City TV shortly.