Mark Hudson backs Cardiff match-winner Mark Harris for Wales World Cup call

Mark Hudson would love to see Cardiff’s match-winner Mark Harris named in Wales’ World Cup squad next week.

The Bluebirds moved four points clear of the relegation zone in the Sky Bet Championship after Harris’ 49th minute strike sealed a 1-0 win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

Harris’ third goal of the season, ending a run of six without a breakthrough, was perfectly timed considering Robert Page is due to name Wales’ squad on Wednesday.

It also secured a second win in three matches to boost the chances of interim boss Hudson being handed the Cardiff job on a full-time basis.

The 40-year-old, who has been in charge since mid-September, said: “You want your strikers to score goals. He works so hard on and off the pitch.

“He missed one (in the) first half, but I said it will come. He got his moment and I am delighted for him.

“His energy and work ethic is brilliant. Sparky (Harris) has got a dead leg, nothing else, we wanted to protect him and we got him off – we trusted the squad.

“The only thing missing in the first half was the goal. Second half we knew they were a good side, we knew we would suffer in moments. We had to defend together and we did that.

“I felt we could create with our players and we did that. The fans have come all this way, what a trek, spending money to get here, so it was nice to show our appreciation to them at the end.”

Disappointed

Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray was disappointed with the manner in which his team lost a second successive home match.

Cardiff captain Joe Ralls had already seen a penalty saved by goalkeeper Anthony Patterson, before Harris’ winning goal shortly after half-time.

The spot-kick came about as a result of a number of misplaced first half passes and Mowbray said: “Aspects of our performance were poor.

“Cardiff had control in the first 20 minutes but we broke away and still had some good chances.

“Playing at home we have some bigger expectations to deal with.

“We also made a few changes to try to freshen it up (from the midweek win at Huddersfield).

“We are all disappointed. We were trying to get back-to-back wins after a good win away from home.”

The Black Cats have won just two of their nine home games this season and Mowbray added: “I thought Cardiff played well today, yet we lacked the intensity to stop their passing and movement in the first half.

“Sometimes it is difficult to communicate what needs to be done to stem it and we had to persevere until half-time.

“We have some talented young footballers who we are trying integrate into our squad. We just couldn’t find a way to get the goal we needed.

“We are striving for consistency. There are issues with our level of consistency. We are having a very good 45 minutes, either at the beginning or the end. We need to strive to get those performances for the full game.”