Wrexham reaction | Brian Barry-Murphy

Brian Barry-Murphy
Rubin Colwill's late free-kick earned City a deserved point on opening weekend, with Bluebirds boss Brian Barry-Murphy delivering his verdict to the press after the match.

"It was a tough game." Brian began. "Wrexham got off to a great start, and it definitely knocked the wind out of our sails for a little bit. We found it hard to get into the game, but as the first half wore on we started to establish our way of playing. 

"We created some chances, and I was confident second half that we would create more chances. I was always concerned about them on the break, and I’m just glad that Rubin gave us something from the game in the end.

"They scored pretty early, and we didn't quite find our rhythm after that. We managed to do it towards the end of the first half, and I was very pleased with the players' mentality and attitude throughout the course of the game. I'm pleased that we managed to find one last chance at the end of the game."

图像
Brian Barry-Murphy
Tap the image above to watch Brian's post-match press conference.

Facing opponents who finished seventh in the Sky Bet Championship last season, Brian spoke about the patience and tenacity shown by his side in order to eventually break down the visitors' defence.

He said: "From Wrexham's point of view, they defended their box really well. We found it hard to break them down and create clear chances. We didn't quite get into the areas that we wanted to in the second half, but when we did, we looked dangerous. They're a good team; they're able to defend deep really well and look dangerous on the break.

"We found it hard to get quality balls into the box, and when we did cross it, Wrexham were very dominant aerially. They knew Yousef [Salech] was a major threat for us, and we tried to get Callum Robinson close to him. When Rubin had the free-kick, I thought their wall looked pretty big, and thought it would be difficult! It was a pretty expertly-taken free-kick."

Brian Barry-Murphy

With injuries limiting availability at centre back, the boss commented on the performance of Joel Bagan, who filled in at the heart of defence, plus the returning Rubin Colwill.

"I thought Joel was brilliant. Playing against Kieffer Moore is a difficult task for anybody, but he played the game exactly how we wanted to play, and gave us real control and composure in the heat of battle. That really helped us.

"We are quite stretched at the moment, especially in that position, because the players are all from the same area of the team - Dylan [Lawlor], Will [Fish], Calum Chambers.

"Rubin has only trained for two days, so I probably shouldn't have put him on as early as I did, but the way the game was going I felt we needed a bit of something different. We'll just take it day by day with him, and see how he is. We all want to see him play, but we have to be patient with him."

Watch more from Brian and Rubin on Cardiff City TV.

Read Time: 3 mins