Cardiff beat Birmingham 1-0 after Aberfan anniversary tribute

Cardiff City marked a day of remembrance for the Aberfan disaster with a 1-0 Championship victory over Birmingham City on Saturday. Yousef Salech scored the only goal at Cardiff City Stadium, ending the visitors' five-match unbeaten run. BBC Sport Wales reported that the result also gave Cardiff a third consecutive home victory.

Watch the highlights:

Before kick-off, supporters of both clubs observed a minute's silence for the 116 children and 28 adults killed in the 1966 disaster. Cardiff's players and management had visited the memorial garden ahead of the 60th anniversary commemorations. Head coach Brian Barry-Murphy said the visit had deepened his understanding of what the community experienced.

In Chris Wathan's BBC Sport Wales report on the tribute, Barry-Murphy explained that players had watched footage to learn more about the tragedy. He said a win could never be promised, but he wanted the team's performance to reflect an appreciation of the occasion. The match programme's cover featured the clock recovered from the rubble, stopped at the time of the disaster.

Academy coach Dennis Moss joined the visit, bringing a personal connection to the commemorations. Barry-Murphy said Moss had been among the rescuers, travelling from Cardiff as an 18-year-old. The head coach described the emotional effect of returning with him and hearing accounts of the disaster, in which a collapsed coal tip engulfed Pantglas junior school.

On the pitch, Salech recovered from having a penalty saved by James Beadle to score in the 31st minute. He met Ollie Tanner's low cross, turned past Phil Neumann and finished from close range. It was his third league goal of the season on his return from a five-week absence with a shoulder injury, according to BBC Sport Wales' match report.

Nathan Trott preserved the lead by denying substitute Demarai Gray late on. Cardiff secured their first clean sheet since April, while Birmingham's sequence of three straight wins ended with their second defeat of the season. Visiting manager Chris Davies accepted that Cardiff deserved the result, saying his side had struggled to overcome the hosts' pressing until the closing stages.