Bobby Reid scored twice as Cardiff City beat Bournemouth 2-0 on Saturday in an English Premier League (EPL) game that turned into a celebration of Cardiff player Emiliano Sala.
Sala, who never played a game for the club, is missing and presumed dead following a suspected plane crash.
The Cardiff players held up a T-shirt bearing the image of the 28-year-old, after Reid rifled home an early penalty kick in the fifth minute.
Argentinian Sala was aboard a small plane that disappeared on Jan. 21, and he and the pilot are believed to have died as it crashed into the sea.
He had agreed to join Cardiff for a club record fee of 15 million pounds ($19.63 million) from French Ligue 1 club Nantes.
Fans were handed daffodils as they entered the Cardiff City Stadium.
The players’ tribute following Reid’s 5th minute penalty kick was followed in the 28th minute by a round of applause that swelled around the ground.
Reid added a second goal 15 seconds after the break to put his side two up and seal three valuable points in their battle to avoid relegation.
But in spite of an outstanding performance, they remain third from bottom on 22 points, two behind Burnley.
Bournemouth were a shadow of the side that hammered Chelsea 4-0 in their midweek league clash, and they remain in 10th position in the table on 33 points.(Reuters/NAN)