Joel Colwill marked his first Championship start with a goal, prompting manager Brian Barry-Murphy to reveal the youngster's cheeky response. The 21-year-old's superb header rescued a point for Cardiff City in Tuesday night's 1-1 draw against Stoke City at Cardiff City Stadium.
Colwill had a relatively quiet first half but came alive after the break, getting into dangerous positions and eventually beating Stoke goalkeeper Viktor Johansson with an excellent header to level the contest.
Barry-Murphy Reveals Colwill's Message
Barry-Murphy disclosed that Colwill was quick to make sure his manager knew exactly what the goal meant to him.
“It was about time, he told me!” Barry-Murphy said with a smile. “He showed me.”
“But it was a great finish and very important for us that he carries a big goal through, and you saw he got close to another goal,” he added. “His movement in the box in the second half particularly was very good.”
The manager explained the tactical plan behind Colwill's performance: “We planned that, playing very close to Yousef with Jack Moylan, and we felt as if we could get a lot of joy against Stoke in that position.”
“He played a little bit too deep in the first half, but in the second half he was very close to Yousef and a lot of our best moments in the box he was kind of on the premises, which is a big part of his role for the team.”
Rubin Colwill Sidelined With Ankle Problem
There was no place in the squad for Rubin Colwill, meanwhile, with the Wales international continuing to manage an ankle problem. Barry-Murphy confirmed Colwill had been unable to train on Monday and was not considered fit enough to risk from the bench.
“Rubin's ankle wasn't OK yesterday, he didn't train yesterday,” he said. “There was talk of putting him on the bench, but I wasn't sure if he was to come on he'd be fully fit.”
“That was also kind of the case on Saturday and I didn't want to risk it because of what he's been through with the ankle. So I'll try and give him some more time to train, hopefully on maybe Thursday, maybe Friday, and then be available for Saturday.”
Winless Run Continues Despite Dominant Display
The draw extended Cardiff's winless Championship run to six games, but Barry-Murphy was encouraged by the response after a difficult spell which included defeats by QPR and Portsmouth. The Bluebirds dominated large periods of the game, creating numerous opportunities, but had to settle for a point after falling behind to Ben Johnson's first-half goal.
Barry-Murphy admitted the lack of a victory remains a concern, but believes the performance showed the mentality within his squad. “We want to win. We're aware we haven't won this season, we're aware in many of the games we've played really well, created chances and haven't taken them,” he said.
“So we just have to keep improving and, like I said, the goals will come if we keep getting in the same situations. We just need to be a bit more ruthless in terms of how we don't give the opponents a head start.”
He was particularly pleased with how his players responded after going behind. “The way the players responded was incredible, really, and in the second half it felt as if it was only a matter of time,” Barry-Murphy said.
“I was pretty sure we would get the winner, but we just couldn't find a finish. We have to remain calm. We have an incredible support and that support is very powerful.”
“The players are in a great place, really focused, really together. The dressing room is a very tight place where there's a great sense of unity and that's the most important thing for me at the moment.”
