Sheyi Ojo believes Cardiff City have no reason to fear Leeds United in their FA Cup replay after putting in an encouraging performance in the clash in the Welsh capital.
Ojo was on the scoresheet along with Jaden Philogene in the first half as City took a commanding 2-0 lead into the interval. Indeed, the hosts were so impressive, Match of the Day pundits Leon Osman and Nedum Onuoha were glowing in their praise for the Bluebirds. You can read more about that here.
Goals from Rodrigo and Sonny Perkins forced a third round replay up at Elland Road next week, though, leaving Cardiff City Stadium slightly deflated when the full-time whistle sounded.
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Nevertheless, there were far more positives than negatives to take from the match, most notably, according to Ojo, a confidence that Cardiff can go up to Yorkshire and get a result in the replay.
"To be honest mixed emotions," he said after he match. "I mean, obviously I think as a team we played very well. We were solid. We stuck to our game plan, we know Leeds, obviously are a good team. We showed them respect but not too much.
"I feel like we deserved to win the game. So, there's no reason to fear Leeds. Obviously, they are a big club and they've got good players, but you know, if we put that tough performance in again, there's no reason why we can’t win.”
Ojo's excellent performance was one of the many reasons Cardiff looked so threatening going forward. Mark Hudson selected an attacking line up and placed trust in his forward players to create and they duly obliged.
Ojo and Philogene's link-up play, Isaak Davies speed in behind Pascal Struijk and the careful manoeuvring of the ball by midfield duo Andy Rinomhota and Romaine Sawyers shook up a lovely cocktail of attacking thrust and positivity.
It's no secret that Ojo has not had the start to the season that he would have liked. His form has been inconsistent and he also endured some injury struggles.
But Cardiff fans know what he is capable of, especially if he embarks on a positive run of form, thanks to his first spell at the club on loan from Liverpool.
Against Leeds, he put in his performance of the season so far. His outing away at West Brom early in the campaign is up there, too, but for different reasons. Against Leeds he got into dangerous areas, made clever runs in behind and, of course, showed a poise and clinical edge to double City's lead.
"Funny enough, we worked on that type of movement this week," he said of his goal. "Going forward, we can do better as a team and individuals. We need to be more on the same page.
"We have been working really hard in training, forward runs, passes and that was a great example of what we've been working.
"I played in midfield. A lot of games this season I've played on the left or right. I'm just happy to be playing. I've had a niggle in my quad, so that was my first start in four or five games. It's just nice for me to be back out there enjoying my football.
"I can play in different positions. As long as I'm playing I'm happy. Every game is an opportunity. I had a niggle after the World Cup break, so I was very eager to get back on the pitch from the start and show everyone what I can do."
With Cardiff now under a transfer embargo and unable to sign players, the Bluebirds need those already in the building to start scoring the goals which will get City up the Championship table in the months to come.
Ojo should be crucial to that and on Sunday's evidence, should be contributing more. But if we take the Leeds game as a jumping-off point, there is certainly some encouragement there.
"We've been unlucky, at times, to not score when we've been dominating games. Sometimes we haven't been ruthless enough," Ojo admitted.
"But [against Leeds] we showed what was possible with this group of players and the manager behind us. It's a proud performance but one we look to build on now.
"Understandably, the fans expect more, we expect more from ourselves as well. We had a very important meeting in training this week, what we need to improve on, what we are good at, the fine margins. Today showed what's capable of this squad.
"And we still have a couple of players who missed out through illness. But I think we have come so far and fell short a little bit in certain moments. Hopefully we can start to pick up on this performance and kick on."
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