Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Sunday, April 21.

Ashford: I’ve dreamed of that moment since I was five

Anyone who read Cardiff's matchday programme before the Southampton game will have seen that Cian Ashford was desperate to top off a marvellous season with his first senior goal.

Well, how about that for manifesting your dreams?

Credit to the Wales under-21s international, because he has been an exciting talent in the academy for a long, long time. Expectation has risen throughout the season, with supporters calling for him to play earlier in the campaign. But patience was urged and Ashford didn't disappoint when he was finally unleashed. Sign up to our Cardiff City newsletter here.

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"To score in front of the Canton End, it’s just something I’ve only ever dreamed of," the 19-year-old said after netting the winner against Southampton in dramatic circumstances.

"Coming into today, I was really happy to play. I didn’t how to celebrate, I’ve never had a feeling like that.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game coming into it. We knew we were going to have to dig deep and take our chances when they came.

"Quite a lot of friends and family were watching so there was a bit of pressure on, but I’ve given them a goal, so they can all go home happy now. I’ve dreamed of that since I was five or six. I grew up watching and to have all the fans on their feet and cheering, to achieve that, it’s special."

Fellow goalscorer Famara Diedhiou, who arguably put in his best performance in a City shirt against Saints, believes the youngster has a bright future.

"I am happy for him and he got to celebrate in front of the Canton Stand as well. The coach has tried to give him his chance and he has taken it.

"He is a very good player – a dominant player – and he’s been showing that in training. He’s the future of the club. The same with Raheem Conte, as well. You can see they have talent.

"They are young, so we try to give them confidence and push them. They just need to keep going."

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Giles shirt scramble revealed

A full debut and two actual league debuts made yesterday's win over Southampton all the more sweeter for Cardiff and their academy.

Cian Ashford was the hero, while Raheem Conte impressed and Luey Giles set up the winning goal. Erol Bulut admitted he could sense nerves in all three of them, but you wouldn't have been able to tell after watching them play.

Ely-boy Giles became the 10th-youngest player to play for Cardiff in the Championship, knocking Joe Ledley out of the top 10, at 17 years and eight months old.

In fact, his age caught the dressing room off guard. After the kits were dished out, it was noticed that Giles had the SkyBet logo on the sleeve of his shirt. Because he is under the age of 18, a scramble ensued to get a new shirt without a betting logo on it hours before the match. Cardiff found a new shirt for him to wear, with the Watches of Bath logo replacing SkyBet on the sleeve.

On the other flank was Conte, the 21-year-old who joined the Bluebirds after leaving QPR in the summer of 2022. He made his Championship debut out of position at right-back, but the youngster took to senior football like a duck to water on his first outing.

"I think Raheem did a great job," Bulut said. "He's usually a winger! But because he is quick, the winger of Southampton was quick, so I thought it was better to use him and Raheem can use both feet. I think it was a good choice."

Injury update

Manager Erol Bulut provided a brief injury update at the end of the match, too.

Having been without 11 first-team players for the game with Saints - it was 12 but Ryan Wintle appeared to pass a late fitness test - it looks like he now has a couple of other worries to contend with. Although there is a full week until the Middlesbrough clash.

Yakou Meite hobbled for the final few minutes, while Ollie Tanner, who did an admirable job filling in at left-back, and Mahlon Romeo also came off late on in the piece.

Speaking after the match, Bulut said: "From Yak, it can be a strain, how he said to us. Ollie Tanner got a cramp and Mahlon was also tired and also had cramp.

"They haven't played for a long time and it's not easy to push for 90 minutes, but I was satisfied today with the performance."