Cardiff City’s interim boss Omer Riza gave goalkeeper Jak Alnwick plenty of plaudits for his starring role in the Bluebirds’ 0-0 Championship draw at West Bromwich Albion.
The South Welsh outfit held the Baggies at the Hawthorns and extended their unbeaten run to five consecutive matches. However, Cardiff had to hold firm against consistent West Brom’s pressure to see out the result. The Bluebirds faced 19 shots and allowed 64% possession during the match but managed to claim a point.
Riza Lauds Cardiff City’s Goalkeeper
Alnwick produced a man-of-the-match performance to help Cardiff notch an 11th Championship point from their last five matches. The 31-year-old goalkeeper made four saves against West Brom, including an acrobatic stop to prevent Grady Diangana’s goal-bound strike in the second period.
It was a display that Riza was particularly proud of when speaking to Wales Online post-match. While the former Leyton Orient manager praised the entire team’s defensive efforts, he was extremely complimentary of captain Alnwick’s contributions and praised his goalkeeper’s invaluable leadership qualities around the club.
We knew this would be tough – but we had to defend, it was relentless and nice to get a point.
But Jak’s been first class, he’s a leader on and off the pitch. He’s been given the captain’s armband while Joe Ralls is injured – and he’s led us really well.
Jak pulled off some magnificent saves and dealt with the ball in the box, credit to him, he deserves a lot of credit, he was superb
Improving form has lifted the Bluebirds from the bottom of the Championship table up to 20th recently. The Welsh team continues their search for a new manager after sacking Erol Bulut on September 22. The club notched just one point from their opening six games of the season, leading to Cardiff dismissing the Turkish coach.
Writer’s View
With regular captain Joe Ralls out injured, Alnwick has filled in seamlessly. The former Rangers goalkeeper was handed the captain’s armband last weekend for Cardiff’s 5-0 thrashing of Plymouth. Overall, Riza’s decision appears to be paying off with top-quality performances, which have helped the Welsh side continue their impressive unbeaten run.
