ROCKING THE ROBINS
Bluebirds looking ever more likely to bag top-six finish:
AS Joe Ralls puts it, there wasn’t any other player Cardiff City supporters would want to see on the end of that 85th-minute Lee Tomlin pass than Danny Ward.
He has had to wait patiently for his chance after the restart, having suffered from a training-ground calf injury, but when he was given his chance, boy did he take it.
With the game locked at 0-0, Tomlin released the City marksman and, without taking a look at the goal, he rifled his chance into the bottom corner. Will that sight become a thing of the past, though?
Ward’s contract is up at the end of this campaign, after the player had agreed to sign a short-term extension until the end of the season.
He has seen fellow team-mates Matthew Connolly, Omar Bogle and Jazz Richards leave this week, but Ward’s future is one which stirs many a conversation among City fans.
LEE Johnson was sacked in the aftermath of Bristol City’s 1-0 loss to Cardiff City.
The Robins realistically needed to secure all three points against the Bluebirds to keep their faint play-off hopes alive.
But Danny Ward’s late strike saw Neil Harris’ men claim all three points at Ashton Gate, a result that leaves Cardiff three points clear of seventh-placed Derby while Bristol City are now nine points off the top six with five matches remaining.
And it has been confirmed that Johnson has been axed by the Ashton Gate club.
A club statement read: “Lee Johnson was this evening relieved of his role as Bristol City head coach.
And while football’s finances have, of course, been hit by the impact of coronavirus, Harris didn’t hide his desire to continue working with the
“Current assistant head coach Dean Holden will take over immediately in a caretaker capacity as the club look to appoint a successor.”
Bristol City chief executive Mark Ashton said: “We recognise the huge amount of work that Lee has put in over the last four-anda-half years to move this club forward and we thank him for all his efforts.
“There have been some special moments over those years and Lee has played a significant part in them.
“However, success in football is ultimately judged by results and league position and the Board believes that a change of management is needed now for Bristol City.” player. “Danny has been excellent for me,” Harris said after the 1-0 win over Bristol City. “He was a wonderful fella, a terrific character and a very good pro.
“I really like working with him. I do a lot of work with the centre forwards and he is a big part of that.
“We really missed him on Tuesday (against Charlton), not having him as an impact on the bench. I want to continue working with him.
“He is happy here, he likes it here. “Mehmet (Dalman, the chairman) has been very clear and honest that, at the moment, it’s sit-tight time for everybody, let’s see what unfolds.
“We have got two-and-a-half weeks, hopefully slightly longer, until the end of the season and things like out-of-contract players will be dealt with then.”
A lot has been spoken about City’s lack of cutting edge against Charlton in midweek and it looked as though the Welsh outfit would be blunted against Bristol City, despite dominating the match.
But having Danny Ward available just offered the Bluebirds another option, a no-nonsense poacher who feasts on those sorts of chances.
“He’s a goalscorer. If we feed him opportunities in the box, he will score,” he added.
“If we look at that goal, Robert Glatzel at home against Reading in the FA Cup, Callum Paterson against Barnsley, it’s about getting the players in the right positions to keep building opportunities up the pitch.
“A lot of it can be natural, though, and Danny Ward is a natural goalscorer.”
And Ralls, the man so often trying to architect those chances, was also singing Ward’s praises.
“In those sorts of positions, those sorts of chances, there’s no one I’d rather be on the end of it,” Ralls said after the win which put City three points clear of Derby County in seventh.
“He’s a great finisher, everyone at the club knows what he can do and it was a great finish.
“The two lads (Lee Tomlin and Danny Ward) came on, combined and won the game for us.”
One thing is for certain, if Ward is playing to convince the higher-ups that he deserves a new contract, he couldn’t have started post-lockdown in much better fashion: One appearance, one match-winning goal and three vital points.