‘Not good enough’: Cardiff City boss’ damning verdict after Preston North End draw
Cardiff boss Omer Riza admitted his side were ‘not good enough’ in their draw against PNE on Tuesday.
But the Bluebirds head coach praised his players after they salvaged a 94th-minute equaliser at Deepdale.
Although Milutin Osmajic opened the scoring 17 minutes into the game, the visitors responded through Will Alves seven minutes after the break. Paul Heckingbottom’s men retook the lead with 18 minutes to go through Stefan Thordarson and thought they’d claimed the victory before Cardiff snatched a late, late draw as Yakou Meite tapped home the leveller.
The point proved vital for Riza’s side, who remain level on points with Derby in 21st in their quest for Championship safety.
While, the Bluebirds boss praised his side for their reaction in the second period, his troops’ first-half display left Riza far from impressed.
He told WalesOnline: ‘We were not good enough first half. Nowhere near it. First, second balls, off the pace, didn't press, didn't cover space - we didn't do anything, really. Everything we spoke about, we didn't do, which was disappointing.
I think the boys found it difficult. We wanted to try and match them up because we knew their pace and their aerial threats - but we didn't deal with that at all. Our three centre-halves were open, didn't talk, mark, track, cover. Same from the mid and forward lines.
‘Second half we addressed it and made the changes to just liven it up a little bit. I thought my players showed fight, we fought really hard today, the players that finished the game, we managed to get a point and we have to take the point with results around us today.
‘When you are fighting for your lives, sometimes the opposition can cause you more problems than they normally would. We tried to stay in the game and with the subs we could bring on, we could change it.
‘But when you let in weak goals like we did, the same problem we've had all season, it becomes difficult. I want my teams to attack, I want my team to control the game, but we are not in that moment.
‘We are trying our hardest and we are continuing to try our hardest as a group of players. Yakou Meite, Alex Robertson and Will Alves were all impactful.’
How Riza reacted to Cardiff City boos
There were boos from the travelling Cardiff contingent as the relegation-scrapping outfit went into the break 1-0 down.
And after the game, Riza made it clear he understood the frustrations from supporters after a disappointing start to the contest at Deepdale.
‘We can't control how the fans feel. The only way we can do that is by picking up three points. The first-half performance wasn't good enough.
‘At the minute I'm not sure what we are going to start with and end with, in terms of performance. That's where we are. We have taken a point. I know it's not good enough, but we are fighting and we will keep fighting.
‘We are working our hardest to make sure we survive. It is very important to this club, to the fans, to us. We don't want to be remembered here for being relegated. If we keep fighting together with the group and with our fans, we will achieve [safety].’