Football League World
·7 October 2024
Football League World
·7 October 2024
The midfielder's strike was enough to earn his side a point in their hotly-contested clash at Ashton Gate
Ollie Tanner was once again the toast of the town in Cardiff on Sunday, as his stunner ended up earning his side a point in a well-fought encounter with local rivals Bristol City.
The midfielder rifled an effort home ten minutes after the break at Ashton Gate to open the scoring for the Bluebirds, with the unstoppable strike his first goal of the season.
Luke McNally went on to equalise for the hosts 17 minutes from time, which leaves the Welsh outfit still rooted to the bottom of the table, although they managed to avoid defeat in back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Having kept his cool on the grandest of stages, Tanner has rightly been lauded by his teammates in the hours since, with Callum Robinson among those to add his congratulations after the midfielder posted on Instagram.
Tanner took to social media himself after the stalemate at Ashton Gate, with the midfielder ruing the fact that his side couldn’t come away with all three points, although he was keen to take the positives out of the draw.
Posting on Instagram, the 22-year-old said: "Didn’t come away with what we wanted but lots we can build on. Always nice to get on the scoresheet."
As you can expect when the tensions have been so high for 90 minutes, there were plenty that were keen to offer the point-earner their congratulations from Sunday’s affair, including a number of players also on the pitch in the West Country.
While fellow Bluebirds Alex Robertson. Ryan Wintle and Joel Bagan were keen to big up the man who had won them a point with a piece of magic, it was Robinson who summer it up perfectly with just four words.
The Republic of Ireland international wrote: “Oliver, take a bow”
That sums up exactly how good Tanner’s strike when his side needed it the most, as the travelling fans were sent into raptures by an absolute thunderbolt to give them the advantage.
In a season that has yet to catch fire for City, which leaves them still without a full-time manager after the departure of Erol Bulut, moments like that from Tanner are exactly what you need to bring a team and a fanbase together, and they will be hoping to build on that after the international break.
Sunday isn’t the first time that Tanner has had a match-defining impact in a local derby for Cardiff, with his strike at the weekend adding to his reputation as a player who can decide big games.
It was just over 12 months ago that the wide man cut inside to break the deadlock against Swansea City in the battle between the two Welsh sides, with the Bluebirds going on to secure all three points with a 2-0 victory over their fiercest rivals that day.
A year on, and the midfielder was at it again, with his penchant for pile-drivers continuing to impress and excite the City faithful, who will be heading into the weekend’s hiatus in the highest spirits they have had all season.