Cardiff honour Aberfan victims as Salech seals win over Birmingham

Cardiff City marked the 60th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster with tributes before their 1-0 victory over Birmingham City on Saturday. Head coach Brian Barry-Murphy said the experience of visiting the village's memorial garden had helped his players understand the significance of the occasion, according to BBC Sport's reporting after the match.

The squad and management had visited the community where 116 children and 28 adults died in 1966 when a coal tip collapsed onto Pantglas junior school. Barry-Murphy said players had watched footage to learn about the disaster. A minute's silence before kick-off was observed by supporters of both clubs, while the matchday programme featured the clock recovered from the rubble.

Academy coach Dennis Moss accompanied the visit, having helped with the rescue effort as an 18-year-old. Barry-Murphy described the emotional effect of returning with him. The Cardiff coach said a victory could never be guaranteed, but he wanted the team's performance to reflect an understanding of the people being remembered and what the community had endured.

On the pitch, Yousef Salech supplied the winning goal on his return from a five-week absence with a shoulder injury. BBC Sport's match report said the striker had an earlier penalty saved by James Beadle before converting around the half-hour. He met Ollie Tanner's low delivery, got past Phil Neumann and finished from close range for his third league goal of the season.

Cardiff had needed a late change after Krystian Bielik was withdrawn, bringing Salech into the side earlier than planned. Barry-Murphy watched from the stands while serving a one-match touchline ban. His team continued to create chances after taking the lead, with Salech going close again, but were unable to add a second goal in the wet conditions.

Nathan Trott preserved the advantage by saving from substitute Demarai Gray late on. The result ended Birmingham's five-match unbeaten sequence and their run of three consecutive victories. For Cardiff, it brought a third straight home win and a first clean sheet since April. Birmingham manager Chris Davies acknowledged afterwards that Cardiff had deserved the victory.