Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
NO ORDINARY OJO
Sheyi swoops to conquer as Bluebirds punish Preston
SHEYI OJO produced a thunderous winner to announce himself on his loan spell from Liverpool.
The winger scored in the 5 2 n d mi n u t e to leave manager Neil Harris saluting his “ruthless” Cardiff side as they snatched an away win.
Ojo’s (right) strike came from a counter-attack which caught misfiring Preston cold.
Harris said: “We had the ruthless moment to get the three points. We’ve got a foothold in the division and need to build on that now.
“It was a great finish from Ojo. We countered well and
Kieffer Moore picked out the right pass.
“I’m really pleased for Sheyi, but I was also really pleased with the way we saw the game out. You know what to expect from Preston. They have a distinct way of playing and it’s hard to play against them, but we stood firm and strong.
“We feel like we are moving in the right direction, but it’s up to us to make sure that continues to happen.”
It was the Bluebirds’ first win for a month, but t h e We l s h m e n remain unbeaten away in the league this season and have only lost once in nin e
Championship fixtures on the road dating back to l a st term.
Ojo joined Cardiff just six weeks ago, having had loan sp el l s at Wigan , Wolves, Fulham, Reims and Rangers over the past five years, and this was his first English league goal for 34 months.
The Lilywhites, meanwhile, have won just one of their last nine league clashes at Deepdale and have still not scored at home this season after a frustrating start.
“Our biggest disappointment was the lack of opportunities,” said Preston manager Alex Neil (below, right, with Cardiff boss Harris).
“It’s about finding that bit of quality. We had a chance to equalise late on but unfortunately it didn’t go for us. We just need to find that bit of quality that unlocks defences.
“It’s always a concern when you’re not scoring goals but we did score four against Brentford in our last game.
“When you get beat heavily it’s easier to take in some way, but when you lose 1-0 it’s frustrating.
“I don’t think there was much in the game. It was always going to be a 0-0 or a 1 - 0 . But we d efen d e d a transition poorly and they scored.”
Midfielder Brad Potts tested Bluebirds goalkeeper Alex
Smithies with a stinging drive and moments later Sean Maguire had a shot saved at the near post.
But Junior Hoilett saw his powerful drive charged down by defender Ryan Ledson as the Bluebirds sprung into life.
Wales international striker Moore powered a header narrowly over for the visitors but it was Ojo who made the breakthrough shortly after the break.
Moore played his part to tee-up the 23-year-old and he duly smashed a right-footed shot into the roof of the net.
Scott Sinclair and Potts had chances late on and substitute Jayden Stockley headed wide at the back post as Preston came within a whisker of snatching a point.
PRESTON: Rudd 6, Rafferty 6, Bauer 7, Davies 7, Hughes 7, Pearson 6, Ledson 6 (Stockley 76, 4), Potts 6 (Barkhuizen 60, 5) Browne 6, Sinclair 6, Maguire 6 (Riis 69, 5)
CARDIFF: Smithies 6, Osei-tutu 6 (Bamba 77, 4), Morrison 6, Nelson 7, Cunningham 5 (Wilson 29, 6), Bacuna 6, Pack 7, Ralls 6, Ojo 8 (Vaulks 78, 4), Hoilett 7, Moore 7