Ade's delight for Roberto

Emmanuel Adebayor knows better than most just how much Roberto Soldado's winner against Cardiff would have meant to his strike partner.

The pair combined perfectly for the only goal of the game and a precious three points in the Premier League on Sunday.

Andros Townsend broke from deep, Ade then found Roberto darting between a gap in Cardiff’s defence and the Spanish striker took the ball in his stride before dispatching past David Marshall.

It was Roberto’s first goal since December 29 and his relief was palpable.

“Strikers always go through difficult moments and he has been through that,” said Ade, who has 11 goals in 16 games this term.

“You start doubting yourself and you think ‘when am I going to score again?’ A striker playing with confidence and without confidence is a very different thing, believe me.

“He’s one of the best strikers in the business and hopefully this goal will be key for him. I’m delighted for him.”

Ade admitted it was a tough test against the  Bluebirds. “Cardiff came here to survive, we had two or three chances, took one and that gave us the three points we needed.

“Perhaps next time we’ll find the second goal and that will make it easier for us. The most important thing was to win the game for the team, the club and the fans and we did that.”