Cardiff City's Joe Ralls has told Wales Online how he was "lucky" to become his side's penalty taker after scoring his fifth penalty in five attempts to see off Middlesbrough 1-0 at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday. 

Neil Warnock's side stayed in second place in the Championship with the away win against the pre-season promotion favourites thanks to Ralls' effort six minutes from time, on his 150th appearance for the club.

Ralls said: “It’s five from five – I’m not sure if I’ve ever missed one before and I don’t want to even go there and think about that."

Talking about when he took his first spot-kick for the Bluebirds, he said: “It was at Reading and Whitts (Peter Whittingham) was missing and Pilks (Anthony Pilkington) wasn’t there either so I just grabbed the ball. No-one told me.

"Luckily I scored – and it was lucky too – and it’s just happened that I’ve taken them ever since. I’d been joking with Craig Noone at the beginning of the game about who would take them because it wasn’t obvious so I just thought I’d step up.

"I don’t think too much about them. Whitts took them for years for us and had great success, but it’s not something I studied with him. It’s simple really, you pick your spot when you walk up and try and score.

"It was a bit nervous at the end but I put it away – the manager tells me he never looks so at least I don’t have his eyes staring at the back of my head when I’m taking them."

The Verdict

It is my belief that every professional footballer is good enough to score a penalty. Their technique is not in question, it is just a case of confidence and, if you are a regular taker, having enough variation to keep the goalkeeper guessing.

It reflects well on Ralls' character that he was keen to step up and help the team when there was little evidence of anyone putting themselves forward and it is quite right that he has had the responsibility ever since.

Cardiff fans - what are your thoughts? Let us know below...

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