Cardiff City

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Cardiff City hopeful Michael Reindorf has thanked Omer Riza after making his Football League breakthrough at Coventry City.

Striker Reindorf, 19, came on as a second-half substitute in the Bluebirds’ 2-2 draw at Frank Lampard’s Sky Blues on Saturday.

It marked the former Norwich City frontman’s senior league debut, five months after arriving in south Wales.

Reindorf has caught the eye of fans after prolific form for the club’s Under-21 side, including seven goals in the young Bluebirds’ run to the Welsh League Cup semi-finals.

But the rookie forward missed the youngsters' penalty shoot-out defeat at Aberystwyth Town having been drafted into Riza’s first-team squad the previous week.

And now Reindorf has gone public with his gratitude for the opportunity, posting on X, external: "Really unlucky to not get all three points this afternoon, however I'm over the moon (bit of an understatement) to have made my league debut. Massive thank you to the gaffer, my team-mates and all of the staff behind closed doors."

Born in London and a former West Ham scholar before signing for Norwich, Reindorf has scored eight times for Cardiff's Under-21s, the side led by former captain Darren Purse.

He had set himself a target of 15 goals this season at age-grade, as well as getting a taste of first-team involvement.

That came earlier in the season when he made his senior football bow in the League Cup first-round win over Bristol Rovers, followed up by a start against Premier League Southampton in the following round.

But - having been on the bench twice previously this term - he was given the nod for the matchday squad for the home defeat by Queens Park Rangers with Wilfried Kanga dropped, with Riza saying Reindorf deserved his opportunity.

That came in full at the CBS Arena as Reindorf replaced Callum Robinson on 62 minutes for his landmark outing.

Reindorf will now hope to be involved against Watford in Saturday's Championship fixture, having been absent from the squad as the Under-21s drew 0-0 with Bournemouth in Leckwith on Tuesday.

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Under fire Cardiff City striker Yakou Meite has been backed by interim boss Omer Riza after delivering an answer to critics at Coventry.

The Ivory Coast frontman scored his first goal of the season in the 2-2 draw with the Sky Blues – and his first in almost eight months.

The 28-year-old celebrated his early stooping header by putting his fingers to his lips, in what was perceived to be a silencing of the social media stick he has received during his goal drought.

With only three goals since signing last summer, the former Reading forward later posted himself, referencing the criticism, writing on X, external: "Some of you can still try to make me responsible for everything when it’s not going well, but I will always give 100% till the end with the smile on my face. Thanks for the support always."

And Bluebirds acting boss Riza threw his support behind Meite, saying he seized his chance with his performance in the stalemate against Frank Lampard’s side.

"I’m really happy for Yak," Riza said. "Sometimes things haven’t gone right for him, but he hasn’t once shirked responsibility or attitude or not shown character at any stage.

“Hopefully the fans can see what energies he’s put into the game because I thought he was one of our best players."

On the social media issue, Riza added: "I’m sure he’ll have read it, but for me what’s important is that we know our players, we know how hard they work, how hard they try.

“I think it was important for him to get the opportunity and I think he took it."

After a controversial late penalty denied Cardiff victory at the CBS Arena, Meite will hope for the chance to build on his goal – and seek his first at Cardiff City Stadium – when the Bluebirds host Watford on Saturday.

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Cardiff City head coach Iain Darbyshire hailed another “huge three points” as his side ran out 4-1 winners against Wrexham on Sunday.

The champions are two points clear at the top of the Adran Premier having only lost once this season, that coming in the south Wales derby against Swansea City.

A goal from Laura Curnock and a Ffion Price penalty gave the Bluebirds a first-half lead in Leckwith, before Mikayla Cook and Lily Billingham struck after the break.

“I still think our team is growing. We’re still learning about each other and there’s so much that we’re still figuring out,” said Darbyshire.

“We’re ticking off the games one by one and improving every week. There are going to be ups and downs, but you can see that we’re going in the right direction.”

Next up for the Bluebirds is a top of the table clash against The New Saints at Park Hall on Saturday, 8 December (14:00 GMT).

Saints will be looking to avenge their only defeat so far this season, when they lost 1-0 to Cardiff on 29 September.

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It is one of the most eagerly anticipated dates in the football calendar as Premier League and Championship clubs join the FA Cup action from round three.

The draw will take place on Monday, 2 December from 19:00 GMT and can be watched live on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

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Cardiff City midfielder Alex Robertson described the decision to award Coventry City a late penalty in their 2-2 draw as "terrible".

With only two minutes left and Cardiff 2-1 up, referee James Bell penalised Bluebirds defender Calum Chambers for handball and Victor Torp scored from the spot.

Bell hesitated before awarding the penalty, and Robertson - whose goal had put Cardiff 2-1 up - was booked for his protestations.

“It was a good strike, very happy to get the goal, but to draw the game like that, it was a terrible decision from the referee,” said Robertson.

“We’ve got to move on from that, but to draw like that is devastating.

“The ref and the linesman didn’t really know what was happening, they said the comms went down or something. It all just happened in the moment and it’s disappointing.”

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Cardiff City are waiting to discover the severity of midfielder David Turnbull's hamstring injury.

Turnbull had to be taken off during Saturday's 2-2 Championship draw at Coventry City.

“We think he might have tweaked his hamstring. Hopefully it’s not too serious, but we have to get it checked," said Cardiff interim manager Omer Riza.

“He’ll have a scan, but it didn’t look too good."

Losing Turnbull would be a blow for Cardiff.

The 25-year-old Scot has played regularly under Riza, having previously struggled for game-time under previous boss Erol Bulut.

"He’s been brilliant," Riza said of Turnbull.

"I’ve been really happy with his performances."

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Iwan Roberts expects Coventry City to enjoy a new manager bounce under Frank Lampard when they host Cardiff City on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Former Chelsea and England midfielder Lampard was named Sky Blues boss this week following the club's decision to part company with Mark Robins.

And ex-Wales forward Roberts believes Coventry can extend Cardiff's wretched run of results away from home.

"I remember speaking to [former Wales assistant coach] Osian Roberts years ago and he'd looked at the stats from managers in their first games, and it's around 50% of managers who win their first game," he told Dros Frecwast.

"Cardiff's away record is woeful. They're on a terrible run, one point in four games, and they haven't won in their last 10 away games.

"Their goalscoring record away from home is the second worst in the Championship.

"With it being Frank Lampard's first game at Coventry, I'd expect Coventry to win."

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Cardiff City interim manager Omer Riza says the example of Pep Guardiola is proof that even the best in the world can suffer a dip in form.

Riza's Cardiff have dropped to one point and one place above the Championship relegation zone after a four-game winless run.

Guardiola, meanwhile, is in the midst of one of his toughest periods of his long reign at Manchester City, with the Premier League champions without a victory in six matches.

Guardiola's side looked like ending their winless sequence against Feyenoord in the Champions League game on Tuesday, but surrendered a three-goal lead in the final 15 minutes to draw 3-3.

"Look at Pep Guardiola, the guy was scratching his head to pieces the other day because he is stressed out," said Riza.

"His team had lost five games on the spin [before Tuesday], but his players are all worth £100m - he's not down here in the trenches.

"That's no disrespect to Guardiola, he's a master of the game, but it can happen to the best of us. So we have to move forward."

Cardiff next's chance of victory comes on Saturday against Coventry City, who appointed Frank Lampard as their new head coach on Thursday.

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Jason Perry says Cardiff City cannot keep putting off a decision on their managerial situation amid "worrying times" for his former club.

Cardiff are just a point clear of the Championship relegation places after they were beaten at home by fellow strugglers Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday.

Interim boss Omer Riza likened the club to "a pressure cooker ready to explode" after defeat by a Rangers side who had won only one game all season before their trip to Wales.

Riza has been in charge since Cardiff sacked Erol Bulut in September – but said after the QPR loss that he did not know whether he would still be at the helm for Saturday's trip to Coventry City.

Former Bluebirds skipper Perry says that while Riza and his squad must face scrutiny, the key issue at Cardiff is in the boardroom.

"There's a reason why Cardiff are in this position... the biggest problem is above the manager," Perry told BBC Radio Wales.

"If that's not resolved, it will always be a boom-and-bust club.

"We have seen that [before], but the bust could be bigger this year than we have seen for a quite a while."

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Perry felt Cardiff failed to cope with QPR's "basic way of playing" after Marti Cifuentes' side triumphed thanks to two Zan Celar goals.

"It's a 4-5-1 and Cardiff have not realised what they need to do to get around them," he added.

"QPR have stuck to a basic plan that was too good for Cardiff. I am looking at the body language of the staff and they look defeated.

"If you are going to wait until January for somebody [to be appointed manager], there are a lot of points to be won between now and January. You can’t wait."

Perry, who spent a decade as a Cardiff player, says the current side have "regressed" after an upturn in form following Bulut's exit.

"Everybody said it was a good squad. It isn’t," he added.

"We have seen it played out in front of us again - they miss certain players in certain areas.

"You look at the bench. Individually they have their strengths and they would get into other sides, but it's hard to get a tune out of this group and they are losing games. These are worrying times."

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Frank Lampard's first test as Coventry City boss will be a home match against Cardiff City on Saturday.

The former England midfielder has been appointed head coach of the Sky Blues on a two-and-a-half year deal.

Coventry and Cardiff are both winless in four games, and Lampard's side will begin the day one point better off than the Bluebirds in the bottom half of the Championship.

Speaking after Wednesday's home defeat against Queens Park Rangers and before Lampard's appointment, Cardiff interim boss Omer Riza said he had been preparing to face the former Chelsea star.

"Coventry are an attacking side, they like to go forward," Riza said.

"Whether they play a back three or back four remains to be seen because of who may be coming in.

"If Lampard is in charge he may go to a back four because has never played with a back three.

"There has to be an element of cautiousness away from home which is something I'm looking at, but without taking away our attacking threat."

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QPR ended a wait of almost three months for a win at Cardiff as summer signing Zan Celar scored his first goals for the club.

The Slovenia international has struggled to adapt to English football since moving from Swiss side Lugano and missed a penalty in a 1-1 draw with Stoke at Loftus Road on Saturday.

But last night the 25-year-old was clinical in front of goal to open his account with a swivel and shot into the top corner to finally break his duck.

And with the confidence of the first goal, he calmly dinked the ball over onrushing Bluebirds keeper Jak Alnwick when through on goal to seal the points in a 2-0 victory at Cardiff City Stadium.

Goalkeeper Paul Nardi made several big saves to preserve the clean sheet and he said it was important for the team to build on the performance at Watford this weekend.

"We have a very tough week," he told BBC Radio London.

"We don't have the little luck sometimes, not just about luck but this night we feel good vibes, good things, the team fought for every ball.

"I'm very happy for Zan Celar, he's a big fighter. It was very difficult last week for him to miss the penalty but we can see the confidence of the group, of the teammates, when he scored.

"We are a very close group and the second one - what a finish from Zan!"

The three points moves QPR off the foot of the table above Portsmouth, whose match against Millwall last night was postponed due to a power failure at Fratton Park.

And head coach Marti Cifuentes was pleased for Celar to get off the mark, having defended him after his penalty miss against Stoke.

"It was an important win for us as a team, especially for the players as they have been working hard in a difficult period," he said.

"The fact it was Zan Celar, the whole group have been very supportive and protective of him. It was very important, it's a goal all of us have scored.

"He's a good guy, been working hard, and unfortunately until today he had not got the reward of the goals. Hopefully it will increase his confidence and be the first two of many."

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Cardiff City interim manager Omer Riza says he "needs to see more" from striker Wilfried Kanga.

The 26-year-old was left out of the Cardiff squad for the first time in the Championship on Wednesday evening, as youngster Michael Reindorf was given a spot on the bench.

Kanga, a summer loan signing from Hertha Berlin, has failed to score for the Bluebirds in 13 appearances so far this season.

"I need to see more," said Riza.

"He has failed to score and create and it has been tough for him, but at the same time when you come on you have to make an impact.

"I know it is difficult, but there has to be hard work and endeavour.

"I'm sure he will come back with the same positive attitude and character he has to get back in the squad."

Cardiff were beaten 2-0 at home by Queen's Park Rangers on Wednesday night, as they dropped even closer to the Championship's bottom three.

QPR striker Zan Celar - who had also not scored all season - fired in a wonder strike in the first half, before a deft chip after 91 minutes sealed the game.

"Wilfried started the first five or six games, and I think there is an element that players are frustrated to have not played in the system we play now," added Riza.

"There have been conversations about trying improve. Today was purely about giving someone else [Reindorf] an opportunity."

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Former Wales striker Malcolm Allen believes Cardiff City should consider appointing Steve Cooper as their new manager.

The former Swansea boss has just been sacked by Premier League side Leicester City after less than five months in charge.

The Bluebirds currently have Omar Riza in interim charge following Erol Bulut's dismissal two months ago, but Riza's future remains unclear.

"He's got a point to prove," Allen told the Coridor Ansicrwydd podcast when asked about Cooper.

"He comes from the area, his family all live in the area.

"He needs to find a club where he's got more power than what he had at Leicester, and I think Cardiff would be perfect for him.

"The only problem he has is that Leicester City will continue paying him until he finds another club."

Cooper was in charge of Swansea City for two years between 2019 and 2021 where he led them to the Championship play-offs twice.

And former Wales midfielder Owain Tudur Jones believes his time in charge of Swansea would make it difficult for him to take over at Cardiff.

"I can't see Cooper going to Cardiff," said Jones.

"After being manager of Swansea would you go to Cardiff? I don't think so."

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Omer Riza's record as Cardiff City's interim boss remains impressive, but more of the same is required if the Bluebirds are to pull clear of the Championship relegation scrap.

Riza has secured 15 points from his 10 games since Erol Bulut was sacked in September.

Nevertheless, Cardiff have lost momentum heading into what may prove to be a key run of fixtures, starting with Wednesday night's home game against Queens Park Rangers.

Riza won four and drew two of his first seven matches at the helm, which represented a spectacular upturn in fortunes after Cardiff banked just one point from the first 18 available this season under Bulut.

Since that impressive sequence, however, Riza's side have taken only a point from three games, with defeats against Luton Town and Blackburn Rovers before last weekend's draw at Sheffield Wednesday.

Bottom-club QPR head to Wales having registered just one win all season, at Luton all the way back on 30 August.

Since then there have been six draws and six defeats for Marti Cifuentes' team, who have not managed so much as a goal in their last four away games – the club's longest such sequence in 16 years.

After Rangers' visit, Cardiff go to Coventry City before two more home fixtures, against Watford and Preston, then a trip to Stoke City in mid-December.

There are opportunities ahead, therefore, for Cardiff to haul themselves towards mid-table – and for Riza to stake a renewed claim for a permanent contract.

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QPR will have to at least match the level of their performance against Stoke at the weekend to claim a result in Cardiff on Wednesday, says boss Marti Cifuentes.

The R's had 23 shots to Stoke's nine in the 1-1 draw at Loftus Road, with Zan Celar missing a penalty for the home side.

The Bluebirds had just one point at the end of September but went on a six-game unbeaten run and are currently one point above the relegation places, though they are without a win in their last three.

The Hoops are bottom of the table with just one victory from their first 16 league games.

"It's a talented team, I was a bit surprised how they started the season," Cifuentes told BBC Radio London.

"But that shows how tough and how ruthless is this league. They've got a group with many experienced players in this division, with some other additions who are talented players.

"I'm sure they have the level to improve in this table and it's true that with a change of manager, they got a good reaction and they're a difficult team. The way they play attacking-wise they've got talent and quality players.

"They're a team that's competing really well at the moment and we need to be ready to at least play the same level as we did against Stoke to get something from the game."

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Queens Park Rangers were sorry to see Chris Willock depart when, with his contract up, the winger signed for Cardiff City in the summer.

Willock looks set to face his former employers for the first time when QPR travel to the Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday night.

Assuming he features, Willock may hope a Rangers reunion can spark an upturn in form.

The ex-Arsenal youngster scored 20 goals in 144 appearances across four seasons at Loftus Road, with the seven strikes he managed in 2021-22 his best return in one campaign.

Yet Willock has scored only once to date in a Cardiff shirt, in the 5-0 victory over Plymouth in October.

He has played 14 times for the Bluebirds - though there have only been six league starts to date - but was left on the bench in last weekend's draw at Sheffield Wednesday.

In July, shortly before Willock signed a three-year deal at Cardiff, QPR chief executive Christian Nourry issued a statement saying that after "several months" of contract talks, the former Benfica player had decided to move on.

Nourry added that it was "no secret" that Rangers "would have liked to have found a way to continue the adventure" with Willock.

Five months on, Rangers are bottom of the Championship while Cardiff, who are only five points better off, are hoping Willock will have a greater impact as the season unfolds.