MY SPANIELS HELPED ME TO CALLUM DOWN

CARDIFF 2 IPSWICH 1

Championship

CALLUM O’DOWDA has credited his life coach and cocker spaniels with helping him come through his mood swings during this season’s six-month injury lay-off.

His two dogs, Poppy and Murphy, helped keep him sane during his injury, while Jamie Edwards made sure his mental health was strong.

After surgery on his groin, he spent four months recovering before a second setback. But now he is back... and back with a bang.

Off the bench for the third time since returning to fitness, he made one and scored another to topple high-flying Ipswich in the most dramatic added-time show at the Cardiff City Stadium. “That’s the best moment I’ve had in a Cardiff City shirt. It’s even more special given that I’ve been out for six months,” said O’Dowda (above), who headed down to skipper Ryan Wintle for a 95th-minute equaliser before scoring the his last-gasp 100th-minute winner.

“I couldn’t have written it any better. Ipswich had an off day so we can’t get too carried away but the signs are good and we’ve a lot of players who are in good form.

“We have to maintain standards we’ve set in the last four games.

“We’re on 53 points and have a massive game. I know how much it means to the city and the club. Win that and who knows?”

The next match is away to archrivals Swansea for a game that would make it five wins in a row for the first time under Erol Bulut.

They were able to hit back when the game appeared dead after Kieffer Moore’s sixth in nine games, on loan with the Tractor Boys, in the 79th minute. Then in an 11-minute added time drama O’Dowda took centre stage.

But Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna questioned the time added by referee Oliver Bowden.

“If it ended at 90 minutes we’d have been talking about a strong away performance. It didn’t and in the last 10 minutes we couldn’t do what we needed to do,” he said.

“Timings have been a bit erratic here. Over the course of a season you are going to taste both sides of it and it evens itself out.”