Late Sawyers goal sees Cardiff beat Reading

Romaine Sawyers celebrates his third goal of the season

Cardiff City's mini-revival under new boss Sabri Lamouchi continued thanks to an injury-time winner against Reading.

Victory at the Cardiff City Stadium lifts the Bluebirds five points clear of the Championship relegation zone.

Reading remain 15th in the table but could have little complaint over the loss despite the timing of the winner.

The closest Reading came to a goal was a blunder by Cardiff goalkeeper Ryan Allsop who kicked thin air as Yakou Meite closed in.

Cardiff must have thought their luck was out when they hit the crossbar twice in the space of three minutes midway through the second half.

But Sawyers capped an impressive display with his first goal since August to claim three vital points in the Bluebirds' fight for survival.

Cardiff leapfrogged Rotherham into 20th place but - crucially - have played two more games than all four teams below them.

Lamouchi luck

Both sides had claimed their first wins of 2023 on Tuesday night, with Cardiff's ending a 14-game winless run as Lamouchi claimed his first victory at the Welsh club.

The Frenchman cut an animated figure on the sidelines against Reading, coaching his new team through every pass, in stark contrast to his brooding opposite number Paul Ince. His mood was not surprising given the Reading boss had little to be cheerful about.

Cardiff enjoyed plenty of success down both wings but Jaden Philogene's delivery deserved better than Sory Kaba's tame effort, before the striker headed Callum O'Dowda's cross straight at the goalkeeper.

The Guinea international, on loan from Danish club Midtjylland, saw plenty of the ball as the home side dominated but struggled for the finishing touch.

His strike partner Kion Etete fared little better, even when handed a chance by Reading defender Amadou Mbengue's stray pass.

Instead it was defender Perry Ng who came closest to the opening the scoring, rippling the side-netting with a free-kick on 28 minutes.

But it was promising nevertheless for Cardiff who showed a new enthusiasm that belied their precarious league position.

Femi Azeez was the lynchpin for Reading but they were one-dimensional in their efforts to provide Andy Carroll ammunition and managed just one effort in the first half.

As the stalemate wore on both managers looked to players on the bench, Cardiff turning to new signing Conor Wickham and Reading to top scorer Tom Ince as well as Meite.

Cardiff's goalkeeper will be grateful Meite was not a yard quicker after a horrible blunder almost gifted the opener.

Sory Kaba rises high to win a header for Cardiff City

Allsop collected a back pass with his first touch and then missed the ball completely with an attempted second before nudging the ball away as the Royals striker closed in.

Cardiff then hit the woodwork twice in search of a winner.

Robinson exchanged passes with Ryan Wintle before unleashing a curling effort that left Joe Lumley rooted to the spot but rebounded off the crossbar.

Lumley was again beaten moments later when Sheyi Ojo's effort deflected off Mbengue and over the keeper only to hit the bar once more.

Cardiff knew a point would do little to aid their cause and threw bodies forward as the clock ticked past 90 minutes and were rewarded for their bravery.