Cardiff Earns Championship Promotion with Victory Over Reading

Cardiff City has secured a promotion back to the Championship following a 3-1 victory over Reading. The win was made possible after Exeter's goalkeeper, Jack Bycroft, scored an equalizing goal in the 96th minute against Stockport, resulting in Cardiff's promotion rivals failing to win. Head coach Brian Barry-Murphy expressed his joy, stating, 'It means everything to us.' He praised his players, saying, 'I've had the privilege of working with a group of players with incredible ambition. Sometimes they played exceptionally well, and I'm truly grateful.' Barry-Murphy added, 'Because of what the players have achieved and how well they've played, we tend to forget where we started. It's a very special club, and I always believed these players could do it. I think the best part is that we've only seen the beginning.' The game saw Cardiff's skipper, Rubin Colwill, give his team a 1-0 lead at halftime with a back-post header in the 40th minute. Omari Kellyman then doubled their advantage 10 minutes into the second half. Although Daniel Kyerewaa reduced the deficit in the 73rd minute, defender Perry Ng sealed the win four minutes from the end. The confirmation of their promotion came after Exeter's dramatic equalizer, marking their return to the Championship at the first attempt following last season's relegation to League One. The match began with Reading starting well, but Colwill broke the deadlock with a well-directed header past the home goalkeeper, Joel Pereira, from Ryan Wintle's cross. The Bluebirds added a second when Kellyman broke the offside trap and calmly slotted home his ninth goal of the campaign. The hosts reduced the deficit when Kyerewaa netted on the follow-up after Cardiff keeper Nathan Trott could only parry Lewis Wing's powerful free-kick. However, Ng's superb angled effort from 20 yards settled the issue, leading to wild celebrations among Cardiff's 2,935 fans.