Brian Barry-Murphy proud of Cardiff display as Exeter rout lifts promotion hopes

Manager Brian Barry-Murphy hailed a “brilliant performance” as Cardiff thrashed Exeter 4-0 to move 11 points ahead of the chasing pack in their quest for an immediate return to the Championship.

The second-placed Bluebirds were at their rampant best as they blew Exeter away with two Rubin Colwill goals in three minutes midway through the first half to put the game beyond the Grecians.

Alex Robertson added a third after 68 minutes with a delightful curled effort from 25 yards before substitute Callum Robinson rounded off the scoring three minutes from the end.

“It was a brilliant performance from the very start of the game,” Barry-Murphy said.

“We were clear in our intent, backed by a huge following. We wanted to give them the best possible Saturday, thankfully the players were able to do that.

“I think we worked hard throughout the course of the game. I think the performance, in a lot of ways, was similar to Tuesday (1-1 draw at Barnsley), but today we created the chances and converted them and Tuesday we didn’t.

“I’m really just so grateful for the players that they remained so focused on playing our way, the Cardiff City way, and I suppose not showing any signs of going away from that in spite of what can be disappointing.

“I’m so grateful for the players and the mentality and character that they show every single day. We trained brilliantly on Thursday after a long trip back from Barnsley. All the feelings were right and you can’t count how you’re going to come here and win.

“All these games are very difficult and Exeter has always been a tough ground for away teams. But today we were really worthy winners.”

Frustrated

Defeat for Exeter stretched their winless run to 11 games and they sit just four points above the relegation zone.

“I thought the start was OK. We were competitive and played a certain type of game to start off with and then, all of a sudden, it seemed to quickly go away from us,” boss Matt Taylor said.

“We changed shape to get through the end of the first half but it didn’t make much difference. We know we can perform a lot better than that. They managed us so well and we didn’t make three or four passes with any quality in that first hour.

“There were some quality finishes in there and we didn’t shift across the pitch quickly enough to close down the space. We can congratulate the opposition, but we are frustrated and disappointed because we know we can play so much better than what we did.

“Eleven games without a win is hard and some of those defeats have been painful, but we have to do more and show more of ourselves. We need to make something happen and not feel sorry for ourselves.”