I hope Rob Page was watching – Mark Harris delighted with Cardiff winner

Harris also carried on a message to goalkeeper Ryan Allsop on which way to dive when Blackburn had a 91st-minute penalty.

Harris told Allsop to dive to his left, he did and comfortably saved George Hirst’s shot that could have salvaged a point for Rovers at the death.

“That’s one of the sweetest strikes I’ve ever had,” said Harris about his goal. “I hope Rob Page was watching.

“As soon as I saw Callum Robinson with the ball I knew I had some space and I just wanted him to get it to me. When it came to me I just hit it straight away and it hit the target.

“I’m a team player and so I understood what the manager said to me before the game. If he wants me to come on after an hour and make an impact then that’s fine with me.

“Obviously I want to start in every game, but if that’s what the manager wants then I’m happy to help.

“From the bench we felt we should have been one or two goals up in the first half. We just need to keep this going at Wigan on Saturday.”

Message

Having scored one vital goal, Harris played his part in the penalty save by Allsop in the first minute of added time as he passed on a message from the dugout.

“They were screaming at me from the sidelines and I went over and was told to tell Ryan to go to his left if George Hirst took the kick. He did just that and made a great save,” added Harris.

Blackburn boss Jon Dahl Tomasson was disappointed with his side’s performance as they missed out on a chance of going into the play-off places.

“Cardiff were better than us in the second half, but we had a few good chances in the second half. We’re improving slowly,” he said.

“It was a step in the right direction for us and the second half was very equal – it could have gone either way.

“The referee could have waited a bit longer when we had the penalty. It was definitely a penalty, but had he played on we would have scored.

“It was a frustrating night for the players and the fans. This is a brilliant league because so many teams are equal – everyone is winning and then losing.”