In coach Brian Barry-Murphy’s first official game, the team from the Welsh capital won at home to Peterborough. It was a fairly successful debut in terms of content, although Cardiffians made things a little more difficult for themselves.

Despite an excellent start from the bluebirds, it was the Peterborough players who opened the scoring. Bradley Ihionvien converted a 33rd-minute penalty that was deemed contentious. The scoreline was disappointing given the content of the game, and the Cardiff City players went into the break trailing by one goal.

After the break, the Cardiffians came back with even greater ambitions than in the first half. In the 48th minute, captain Rubin Colwill, having put in an excellent performance, equalised with a beautifully struck free-kick from the edge of the penalty area. A sumptuous goal, but Brian Barry-Murphy’s men had no intention of stopping there. Twelve minutes later, right-back Ronan Kpakio made his mark with a perfectly placed right-footed shot from Ollie Tanner’s back-pass. The scoreline remained unchanged despite numerous attempts by the bluebirds.

There is a lot to take away from this first match. This season’s revamped squad is much younger than last year’s, which may explain their hunger for the ball and for victory. And many of the game’s best young players have come through the club’s academy. This was particularly true of goalkeeper Matthew Turner, who was making his senior debut in this match, as well as the day’s two scorers, R. Colwill and R. Kpakio.

In short, Brian Barry-Murphy’s men are off to a good start to their season, and can look forward to a return to the Championship at the end of it.

Image Source : Cardiff City