CITY RETURN TO THE TOP

Cardiff City have returned to the top of the table after a 2-1 win over Reading this afternoon.

Yousef Salech celebrating.

The Royals saw the big chances in the first half go their way. Lewis Wing's free-kick struck the crossbar via a Joel Colwill deflection. Paddy Lane was next to try his luck, a poor pass back from Gabriel Osho landed at the feet of the winger who couldn't beat Nathan Trott from close range. Wing would however get on the scoresheet with an effort from distance.

Omari Kellyman equalised for City five minutes into the second half. Ronan Kpakio found the Chelsea loanee who cut inside onto his left foot, and struck his effort into the back of the net.

Yousef Salech put City in front fifteen minutes later. Kpakio involved again, cutting the ball back to an unmarked Salech who guided home his fifth of the season to put Cardiff in front.

Reading threw everything at Cardiff for the remainder of the game. Will Fish produced a world-class goal line clearance to deny Lane. Nathan Trott also made two key saves denying Kelvin Ehibatiomhan and Charlie Savage.

City saw it out to secure all three points and return to the top of the table.

Player Ratings:

Nathan Trott (9) MOTM - Superb again! Some excellent saves, and ultimately wins the game for Cardiff with so many vital saves. Distribution was varied, but caused some troubles for Reading at times.

Ronan Kpakio (8.5) - Crucial in both goals. Carried the ball really well and defensively did his job. Really encouraging and positive showing.

Gabriel Osho (5) - Started off fairly solid, won some duels in the air and solid on the floor. Just that one moment kills any confidence built. There's a player there for sure, just needs to build his confidence back up. Lack of concentration at times is seriously concerning. That being said, some nice passes.

Calum Chambers (8.5) - Made easy work of the lively Marriott. Carried and distributed the ball really well. A no-nonsense and seriously impressive performance. Looked like a proper captain's performance.

Joel Bagan (7.5) - Another tidy showing. Defensively did his job to a good standard and was decent offensively. Working well with Willock.

David Turnbull (7.5) - Shadowed the back four very nicely. Made some really key blocks and read the game very well. Good progressive showing.

Joel Colwill (5) - Struggled to get into the game at all. Just couldn't assert himself on a game as he usually does, and it looked to have knocked some confidence out of Colwill. Some sloppy pieces.

Rubin Colwill (6) - Another who struggled to get involved in the game. Did grow into it slightly in the second half, with some nice line-breaking passes and tidy pieces on the ball, but largely quiet afternoon.

Omari Kellyman (7.5) - A hugely important goal at an important time, well-taken as well. Working well with Kpakio, still loads to come from Kellyman. Carried the ball fairly well.

Chris Willock (6.5) - Out of possession did really well. Some nice pieces offensively, with some nice crosses. Did spend large parts of the game out of it.

Yousef Salech (8) - Right place at the right time. Goal deserved for Salech's hard work throughout the game. A strong and battling performance.

Subs:

Will Fish (8) - Not sure there's an adjective that can describe just how good that goal line clearance was. A dominant performance on top of that. Calm and assured on the ball.

Callum Robinson (5.5) - Struggled to get involved, and fluffed his lines when he got in some decent positions. Fairly tidy though.

Isaak Davies (7) - Came on with a bang and plays a part in the second goal. Pace seemed to cause all kinds of problem in behind. Fizzled out slightly, but a refreshing cameo nonetheless.

Cian Ashford (5) - Devoid of any confidence at the moment, and that's blatant to see. Fairly poor showing.

Perry Ng (N/A)

Summary:

Not pretty but a huge three points, and the type of wins that are crucial for any side keen to challenge at the top!

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