PROMOTION:
CARDIFF BACK IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Cardiff won promotion back to the Championship at the first time of asking this past Saturday, after a dominant afternoon performance away to Reading. They won 3-1.
Reading 1–3 Cardiff City | April 18th, 2026
Head coach Brian Barry-Murphy made a single change to the side that drew at Huddersfield midweek. Gabriel Osho came in for Will Fish.
Reading’s Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan, Daniel Kyerewaa, and Jeriel Dorsett all threatened Cardiff early in the opening half hour, while at the other end, Rubin Colwill and Alex Robertson saw shots saved by Joel Pereira. matchreport.
The goal that broke the game open came just before halftime, when Ryan Wintle floated a ball into the box, and Rubin Colwill met it with a powerful header into the far corner. Cardiff took the lead into the break.
The second half belonged to the Bluebirds from the start. Wintle got his second assist of the afternoon 10 minutes in, when he fizzed a ball into the middle of the park around the Reading defenders to meet Omari Kellyman, who timed his run to perfection in order to beat the offside trap. He still had a lot to do, but picked his spot, one-on-one with the keeper, to make it 2-0 Cardiff.
The 86th minute saw Perry Ng take a rip from 20 yards out with his left foot, putting the game out of reach for Reading.
The away side came and did their job.
Fans had one eye on the Exeter-Stockport match pretty much the whole time, and when Exeter equalized 3-3, it sealed promotion for the Bluebirds. matchreport.
"It means the world, I've been blessed to work with a group of players who have incredible ambition." - Brian Barry-Murphy. skysports
All season, Cardiff have arguably been the best team in the league, with just a poor run of form coming at the wrong time to keep them in 2nd place. Regardless, the Bluebirds’ brief stay in League One comes to an end, with plenty of positives to take back to the Championship.
This marks the first time since 1980/81 that we’ve had 3 Welsh clubs in the 2nd tier. I’ll be looking forward to the next South Wales derby!
Next up for Cardiff
What League One gave the Bluebirds was the time and space necessary to implement the manager’s ideas without the Championship's grueling, unforgiving nature.
It gave them back a sense of identity and prowess. The fanbase has had some faith restored in the project and the team they love. Cardiff return in better shape, mentally and structurally, than I think anyone had hoped for when they went down.
Relegation isn’t always a good thing, in fact, it can ruin clubs, and has in the past. The fact that Cardiff made the best possible use of a disappointing situation just about a year ago is why they can feel confident enough now to face the Championship head-on. ⚔️ 🏴
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Now that Leicester City are officially relegated, shows how fine the margins are, even for a former Premier League champion. Also highlights how tough the levels below comprising the likes of Bolton and Wigan, Premier League heritage. That’s why Cardiff City making the most of a reset matters so much.