Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy is expecting his side to be more clinical infront of goal ahead of the visit of lowly Burton Albion tomorrow evening.
Dominance
The Bluebirds boss has enjoyed an excellent start to his first managerial job in four years, leading Cardiff towards the top of League One in the early season standings. They have also progressed to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, stunning Premier League Burnley last week.
That has set up a tie with Welsh rivals Wrexham, which has today been selected for live television coverage on Sky Sports and ITV. It was the first time three Welsh sides have made it to the last sixteen of the competition, with Cardiff also beating two League Two outfits to reach this stage of the competition.
But back to the third tier, and the Bluebirds manager, speaking following their victory over Wigan Athletic on Saturday, was left a little frustrated at their failure to put the game beyond doubt.
“You feel as if your dominance should be reflected on the scoreboard, and I suppose while the game was at one-nil, that wasn’t the case.
“It was a hard game in terms of turning our dominance into goals against a team who defended so deep. I’m sure we’ll improve as the season progresses.”
Instant Response
Relegation from the Championship was extremely tough, but it gave the Bluebirds a great chance to reset with a different gaffer and a new-look side. On the opening day against Peterborough United, Barry-Murphy fielded the youngest Cardiff side this century, with ten academy graduates in their squad.
But they are fourth in the League One standings, with the chance to go top with three points in South Wales tomorrow evening. On Saturday afternoon, Cardiff led Wigan for over eighty minutes before Yousef Salech finally put the result beyond doubt from the penalty spot in stoppage time. Last term, the side from South Wales had the second-worst defence in the second tier, but have conceded only twice from open play in the league this campaign.
Writer’s View
Pressure is always going to be on the Bluebirds to deliver in League One this season, as they will be seen as a major scalp, in the same way Birmingham City were last season.
Tomorrow’s fixture is exactly the banana skin they will be aiming to avoid, but Cardiff will be aware that the Brewers are likely to put ten men behind the ball. But Brian Barry-Murphy’s side have enjoyed an excellent start to the campaign, and will feel very confident of promotion this term.
