Neil Harris has urged Cardiff to maintain a clinical edge after Sheyi Ojo’s strike fired the visitors to a 1-0 win at Preston.
Ojo’s first goal in England in almost three years was enough for the Bluebirds to prevail at Deepdale, with the Liverpool loanee unleashing a thunderous strike just after the break.
The victory boosted Cardiff after an indifferent start to the season but maintained strong form on the road. Harris wants his side to take that form back to Wales.
“We now have to find a way of being more clinical at home, but we’ve got two games in three days and we’ll look forward to them,” he said.
“We’ve got a foothold in the division and need to build on that. I was really pleased with the way we saw the game out.
“You know what to expect from Preston, they have a distinct way of playing and it’s hard to play against them.
“But we stood firm and strong and we had the most important moment in the game. We had the ruthless moment to get the three points.
“It was a great finish from Ojo. We countered well and Kieffer [Moore] picked the right pass. We have pace in keys area, that was a great counter-attack from us.
“It’s been a really good week for us. We feel like we’re moving in the right direction, but it’s up to us to make sure that happens.”
Preston have had an equally mixed start, with this disappointing result following up a stunning showing at Brentford before the international break.
Sean Maguire forced Alex Smithies into a smart save while Brad Potts looked dangerous as the hosts searched for a breakthrough.
Jayden Stockley went close to levelling at the end but with no goals in their last four home games, manager Alex Neil is concerned.
“We’ve lost three games 1-0, so the most frustrating thing is that there’s not been much in the matches,” he said.
“When you get beat heavily it’s easier to take in some ways, but when you lose 1-0 it’s frustrating to take.
“We just need to find that bit of quality that unlocks defences.
“It’s always a concern when you’re not scoring goals, but we did score four against Brentford in our last game.
“I don’t think there was much in the game. It was always going to be a 0-0 or a 1-0. Our biggest disappointment was the lack of opportunities we created.
“We defended a transition poorly and they scored. I don’t think Cardiff were a lot better than us, there was nothing in it.
“It’s about finding that bit of quality. We had a chance to equalise late on, but unfortunately it didn’t go for us.”
