Brian Barry-Murphy disappointed but thrilled for ‘record breaker’ Noah Anyadike

Cardiff City suffered their first defeat of the season losing 2-1 at home to Norwich City in the Carabao Cup.

Head coach Brian Barry-Murphy admitted to being “disappointed” with the final result having taken his side to the quarter-finals last season.

“I was disappointed to exit the competition,” said the manager. “We wanted to progress.

“I felt as if we had some good chances. The goal from Yousef probably came too late for us to mount the comeback we wanted.

“Irrespective of the competition or where we are in the game we want to keep playing until the end. I was very pleased Yousef got his goal. And even in the minutes that followed, and in the past we have scored goals close to the end, we went for it.”

One bright spot for the club was seeing City’s youngest ever player record broken on the evening by defender Noah Anyadike – aged just 15-years and 98 days old.

“It was an incredible evening for him and really well deserved,” said the Bluebirds’ boss.

“We’ve been lucky because while he’s still in school he’s spent so much time with us over the school holidays.

“He’s making exceptional strides. We were very clear he was the best option for this game based on how well he’s done.

“He came off with a touch of cramp. It’s tough when you play your first competitive game at that intensity.

“He was tired, but he’s happy though.”

As for the future the manager stressed the importance of the correct education to further the youngster’s prospects.

“He’s very big for his age. He can play at a very high level.

“We need to keep educating him on the parts of his game he can improve upon.

“Our job now is to make sure we protect him, educate him, but also push him to make sure he can have the experiences he needs to become a very important player for Cardiff City.”

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