Cardiff City adopted a new-look set-up with Brian Barry-Murphy taking charge of the Bluebirds’ opening League One fixture. Peterborough United looked eager to cause an upset, handing an equally as youthful lineup an opportunity.
Matthew Turner, on his Cardiff debut, ensured the Welsh side won their opening game 2-1 with a reactionary save in the 88th minute. Goals from Ronan Kpakio and captain Rubin Colwill secured all three points on their League One outing.
Both sides’ average age of squad fell below 23. Cardiff handed chances to a young back line, but were initially punished for their inexperience at EFL level. Dylan Lawlor locked horns with Brad Ihionvien early on, clearly marking the striker with defensive intent. However, a yellow card followed by a challenge leading to a potential sending off – masked by a subsequent foul in the box from Will Fish – saw Peterborough able to break through the defence with a penalty converted by Ihionvien on the 33rd minute mark.
On a positive note for the Bluebirds, as favourites for promotion and a return to the Championship, Ollie Tanner looked threatening from the get-go down the right wing with four chances created. Yousef Salech and Ruben Colwill had several chances to draw level in the first half, with the latter attempting three shots and creating two assist-worthy opportunities in the opening 45. Salech missed several shots but looked an immense physical presence and a key target man. Possession-based football is the former Manchester City academy coach’s forte and was clearly satisfied with the general dictation from his side on that front.
Colwill scored a thunderous free kick with an outrageous technique (generating merely 0.04 xG), leading from the front as the new boss’ captain. This 48th-minute strike caught Nicholas Bilokapic out from a difficult position outside the right-hand side of the Peterborough box. The Cardiff number ten put in a man of the match performance, drifting through the Posh midfield as well as nullifying them on the counter during the early stages of the second half.
Kpakio then doubled the lead after Tanner cut back a perfectly-weighted ball to the right-back. The 18-year-old had only featured six times for Cardiff prior to today, with the number 44 scoring his first Bluebirds goal. A right-footed strike found the back of the net after hitting the underside of the crossbar. This further reinforced Barry-Murphy’s brave managerial approach, handing youngsters opportunity for team growth and experience.
Writer’s View
After an initial concern from Peterborough in the first half, the Bluebirds morphed into the imperious side they were expected to be this season. Colwill still looks like a phenomenal asset with Cardiff, a talismanic club captain and an exciting attacking-midfielder who can lead games offensively and defensively.
Salech’s off-the-ball work, combined with Ryan Wintle’s role in intercepting and building from the back, compliments Tanner’s ability to fly forward with intent down the wing. Already the Bluebirds look to have gelled under their new boss.
