Smiles back with Fam at the double

Tuesday, February 23rd 2021

Famara Diédhiou flashed his trademark beaming smile as he helped fire City to a 3-1 victory over Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.

His first took him to 50 goals for the club, before Nahki Wells set him up for a cool finish to put City 2-0 ahead.

Diédhiou would return the favour with the front two in top form, as Wells put City 3-0 ahead before half-time.

Watch: Diédhiou post-Middlesbrough (A)

The Senegal striker said the team found their confidence as they secured a first win in eight games in front of watching new Manager Nigel Pearson.

Diédhiou hit a milestone 50th goal for the club

A delighted Diédhiou told Robins TV: “I think we’ve worked hard, we just needed to stop the bad run and tonight we worked hard to get the points. It’s a big three points tonight.

“We wanted to start the game very quickly, with high pressing and play with freedom. We got our time to play, to try to win every battle and make the runs to score some goals.

“It’s about confidence. We tried to work very hard but the confidence wasn’t there [in previous games] but tonight as a group and as a team we worked brilliantly, stayed together strong and that’s a massive three points.”

Wells and Diédhiou linked up at the Riverside

Diédhiou added it was important the team kept their unity and togetherness to try and halt their recent bad form, which ultimately they did thanks to a first-half at the Riverside where they blew their opposition away.

“We need to stay together and try to work hard. If you start on the bench you have to be ready because you never know in football. We worked hard tonight to get the points,” he said.

Not only were City at their attacking best in the first 45 minutes, but they showed resilience to prevent Boro from completing a second-half comeback, despite Dael Fry grabbing a consolation goal with ten minutes remaining.

But they did hold on to secure the three points in front of newly appointed Pearson, who had met the team at the hotel pre-match and offered some words of encouragement at half-time alongside Keith Downing and Paul Simpson.

Nigel Pearson watched on from the stands

“He’s a really positive manager,” said Diédhiou, who met Pearson alongside his teammates ahead of kick-off on Tuesday night. “He’s said his words to push every player and we wanted to respond tonight.

“Every player has to [look forward to working with him] because he’s a great manager and we’re ready to work with him.”

Diédhiou added the players will “continue working hard on doing what we do well” as they prepare for a fresh challenge away at Swansea City on Saturday.

The match will be streamed live on Robins TV, with the Matchday Show starting at 2.30pm.