Cardiff City maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a dominant 4-0 victory at home against Plymouth Argyle.
Brian Barry-Murphy elected to make two changes from the last Sky Bet League One game against Luton Town. Joel Colwill and Yousef Salech returned to the starting XI.
It was the returning Salech who was making the most impact early in the game. His physicality was causing problems for the Plymouth defence, and the striker almost opened the scoring, but he couldn’t stretch far enough to turn in Joel Bagan’s cross.
Half chances then came and went for both sides throughout the half. For the Pilgrims, Lorent Tolaj couldn’t control a ball in the area, while for City, Cian Ashford’s effort went into the clutches of Luca Ashby-Hammond.
But four minutes before the break, the Bluebirds broke the deadlock in style. After a scrappy bit of play in and around the area, Rubin Colwill laid the ball off to Ryan Wintle, who proceeded to hit a thunderbolt into the top left corner.
Minutes later the lead was doubled. Chris Willock cut inside and saw his shot take a deflection, enough to deceive Ashby-Hammond and nestle into the back of the net, as City went into the lead two-up.
Nathan Trott had to be alert at the start of the second half to deny Caleb Watts, but it wasn’t long before City were able to add a third to their tally. Willock played the ball out to captain Colwill, who jinked his way past defenders before his strike deflected past the 'keeper.
Despite not being called upon much during the 90 minutes, Trott was once again on hand to preserve the league leaders’ three-goal advantage, this time thwarting Bradley Ibrahim. At the other end, Willock almost added his second of the game, but he saw the ball flash past the post.
Barry-Murphy’s side had a number of opportunities to score during the second half. Twice Rubin Colwill was denied by Ashby-Hammond while Dylan Lawlor headed wide from a corner. But in stoppage time, City put the cherry on top of the cake by adding a deserved fourth goal. Isaak Davies was given the freedom to charge into the Plymouth area, and he ended his run by firing into the far corner to complete the rout.
With the Bluebirds’ clash against Burton Albion postponed next week due to international call-ups, the next game will be on Saturday, September 13th when they take on Stockport County away from home.
FINAL SCORE: CARDIFF CITY 4-0 PLYMOUTH ARGYLE
Cardiff City: Trott, Kpakio, Fish, Lawlor, Bagan, Wintle, J. Colwill (Ng 87’), R. Colwill ©, Ashford (Nyakuhwa 67’), Willock (Davies 67’), Salech (Robinson 67’). Subs not used: Turner, Chambers, Mafico.
Plymouth Argyle: Ashby-Hammond, Szűcs, Mitchell (Edwards 72’), Wiredu, Sorinola (Issaka 64’), Boateng ©, Ibrahim, Benarous (Pepple 52’), Watts (Hatch 72’), Mumba, Tolaj. Subs not used: Baker, Galloway, Roberts.