Cardiff boss Omer Riza says Yousef Salech is “knocking down the door” for a first Sky Bet Championship start after the striker maintained his fine scoring form with a late equaliser against Bristol City.
Salech struck for the third time following his January move from Swedish club Sirius and, despite scoring after starting an FA Cup win at Stoke, the 23-year-old has yet to begin a league game.
“He’s putting pressure on Callum Robinson, 100 per cent,” Riza said after Salech’s 90th-minute close-range finish had secured a 1-1 Severnside derby draw for the relegation-threatened Bluebirds.
“The predicament I’ve got is we’re playing with one down the middle, and to play with two you’ve either got to play 4-4-2 or 3-5-2.
“He’ll get his chance. Callum and him have got a good relationship and they both understand that nine position is up for grabs.
“It’s pushing Callum, and Yousef is knocking down the door. I’m really happy for him and it’s a good problem that I’ve got.”
Jason Knight had headed Bristol City in front after an hour as a drab affair suddenly came to life.
Both sides had several chances before Aaron Ramsey, making his first league appearance since August 31 after hamstring trouble, found fellow substitute Cian Ashford and Salech turned in his cross.
Riza said: “It was a sublime pass. We know that’s the quality Aaron’s got.
“Aaron’s ready to play. He can’t go Saturday to Tuesday, ever. But playing Saturday to Saturday will happen.
“I thought we played quite well. We just need to be a little more threatening at times, and we made life hard for ourselves with the goal we conceded.
“To go 1-0 down and show the character to take a point is really important.
“Every point is valuable whether you’re top or bottom of the league.”
Robins boss Liam Manning was critical of having a 12.30pm kick-off time after playing fixtures last Sunday and on Wednesday night.
Manning said: “We’re hugely frustrated. I feel for the lads a little bit because they left it all out there.
“The schedule has been ridiculous. It becomes neglectful on the players when you cram in so many games.
“I’m frustrated, disappointed to concede so late. The lads were quite honest as to why, the difference away from home in the way we manage the game.
“We were relatively comfortable but the one time we switched off we got punished.”
