Cardiff City

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Michael Duff savoured his return to south Wales having lost on his previous visit to the Cardiff City Stadium when in charge at Swansea City.

Duff's Swansea side were jeered by the travelling fans after a 2-0 loss in the Welsh capital in September 2023.

The visitors' miserable display that day was one of the lowest points during Duff's disappointing spell as Swans boss.

But it was a different story for the former Burnley defender on Tuesday as his Wycombe Wanderers team beat the Bluebirds 2-0.

"It's fair to say I enjoyed this one a little bit more than the last time I was here," Duff said.

"I got stuck in the car park last time as well… Cardiff is a big football club and I have a lot of respect for them."

Wycombe's victory saw second-placed Cardiff lose ground on League One leaders Lincoln City.

The Chairboys, meanwhile, are two points outside the play-off places in ninth after late goals from Andre Vidigal and Cauley Woodrow sealed victory over a Cardiff side who had Gabriel Osho sent off before half-time.

"They are a good team and even with 10 men they hurt you," Duff added.

"The wingers are very good and the runs they make from midfield - I think Ryan Wintle is the best midfielder in the league – they can hurt you in lots of different ways.

"If it had ended up at 0-0 playing against 10 men I would still have respected that point because they are so good at what they do.

"The encouraging thing is [Wycombe] have come to one of the best two teams in the league, a huge football club, and competed really well and overall deserved to win."

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Brian Barry-Murphy reckons Cardiff City could benefit from defeat to Wycombe Wanderers as they prepare to host Blackpool on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

Cardiff lost further ground on League One leaders Lincoln City after two late goals saw Wycombe triumph in the Welsh capital on Tuesday.

The Bluebirds are enduring their trickiest run of the season having lost three of their past six league games, but an upbeat Barry-Murphy insists his team are in good shape.

"Over the course of the season we have been amazingly consistent," said the Cardiff boss.

"There will be spells over any season where it's not perfect and our results at the moment are not perfect.

"But it's really beneficial for the players to have a feeling of what it's like to feel like you deserve to win and don't. How you bounce back and play in the following game is the most important thing."

Cardiff have lost back-to-back league games only once all season – at Bolton Wanderers and Blackpool in October – with Barry-Murphy believing his team have shown "great signs" in consistently responding to setbacks.

Their cause against Wycombe was not helped by defender Gabriel Osho's contentious sending off late in the first half.

A second successive home loss means Cardiff are five points adrift of Lincoln City, though the gap to third-placed Bolton is a healthy 10 points with eight games of the season remaining.

Barry-Murphy says his players must now focus on their meeting with relegation-threatened Blackpool rather than the league table.

"We know what parts of our performance need to improve," he said.

"We just have to try our best to play the way we want to play and win the game."

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Gabriel Osho's red card during Cardiff City's 2-0 home defeat by Wycombe Wanderers should only have been a yellow, according to Bluebirds head coach Brian Barry-Murphy.

Cardiff were dominating Tuesday's League One encounter when centre-back Osho was sent off for a wild lunge on Ewan Henderson shortly before half-time.

The home side were still on top despite that dismissal, before succumbing to two late goals from the visitors.

"I felt as if we were in good control of the game. The sending off naturally changes a lot of the game, but the players' efforts were incredible," said Barry-Murphy.

"I thought Gabriel tackled with one foot, his studs were close to the ground. It was a yellow card."

Barry-Murphy was booked during the second half and explained: "I think it was a misunderstanding. I think the referee thought I was looking for a yellow card [for a Wycombe player], but I wasn't.

"He informed me that waving your hand looking for a yellow card is a yellow card offence in itself, but I wasn't."

A second successive home defeat saw Cardiff fall further behind League One leaders Lincoln City, who scored an injury-time equaliser at Huddersfield Town to extend their lead at the top of the table to five points.

The Bluebirds also saw their advantage over third-place Bolton Wanderers cut by one point to 10 following the Trotters' goalless draw at home to Doncaster Rovers.

Despite a third defeat from six league games, Barry-Murphy is not concerned about his team's form.

"I think we're in pretty good form performance-wise," he added.

"We have eight remaining games. Our intention is to try and win every single one like it was on Saturday at Exeter [when Cardiff won 4-0] and today.

"The players are in great form and I'm very confident moving to Saturday [Blackpool at home]. I'm very pleased with the players and very happy where we are."

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Cardiff City midfielder Rubin Colwill insists they are still aiming to win the League One title despite falling behind leaders Lincoln City.

The Bluebirds' long reign at the top of the League One table ended when they suffered a 2-0 defeat at home to Lincoln a few games ago, and they now find themselves four points behind the Imps.

Following a 1-1 draw with Barnsley last week, Cardiff, inspired by Colwill's double, returned to winning ways on Saturday as they eased past Exeter City 4-0 to maintain pressure on Lincoln.

The Welsh international said: "They [Lincoln] have had a really good season but it is on us to chase them and hunt them down.

"We are looking up, we want to win the league and our main focus is on that."

Having only won once in four games, there was some pressure on Brian Barry-Murphy's side going into Saturday's game at St James Park, but the Bluebirds cruised to victory as they bid for automatic promotion to the Championship.

"We have high expectations of ourselves," said Colwill, who recently returned from a three-month injury.

"We haven't got the results we wanted but I wouldn't say there's any extra pressure there."

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Cardiff City striker Yousef Salech is aiming to return to action in April after receiving "positive updates" on his neck and chest injury.

Cardiff's top scorer has been absent since being carried off during the 1-1 draw with Stockport County in January.

The Dane has missed nine League One matches and will sit out at least three more, with boss Brian Barry-Murphy hoping Salech will be back in full training later this month.

"Yousef has had really positive updates from the specialist on Monday so he's back in more advanced running," said Cardiff boss Brian Barry-Murphy.

"We anticipate he'll be back in training I would say maybe at some stage during the international break, which would mean he could be available to play at some stage after the international break.

"The areas of his neck and chest that were causing concern are really improving and he's feeling great so I'm really pleased for him that he's making good progress."

Salech, who has scored 12 league goals this season from 24 starts and three substitute appearances, returned to light training last week.

Cardiff travel to Exeter on Saturday before home fixtures against Wycombe on Tuesday, March 17 and Blackpool four days later.

They were due to go to Huddersfield Town on 28 March but that game has been postponed because of international call-ups.

The Bluebirds will return to action with a trip to Peterborough on April 6, with their home fixture against Port Vale three days earlier postponed due to the Valiants' progress in the FA Cup.

Barry-Murphy, meanwhile, says Isaak Davies is "making good progress" after a hamstring injury but will not feature at Exeter.

Defender Gabriel Osho missed Tuesday's 1-1 draw at Barnsley because of illness but is expected to be available at St James Park.

Back-up goalkeeper Harry Tryer has missed the past two matches after suffering a back spasm and will again be absent this weekend.

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Cardiff City's League One trip to Huddersfield Town has been rearranged due to international call-ups.

The Bluebirds had been set to face the Terriers on Saturday, 28 March, but the fixture will now take place on Tuesday, 14 April (19:45 BST).

Wales name their squad for World Cup play-offs next week, with the likes of Ronan Kpakio, Dylan Lawlor and Joel and Rubin Colwill in contention to feature.

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Brian Barry-Murphy says Cardiff City's players relish long coach journeys as they prepare for their second away game in four days.

The Bluebirds get back on the road for a trip to Exeter City this Saturday after a 1-1 draw at Barnsley on Tuesday which left them four points behind League One leaders Lincoln City.

And while Exeter is one of Cardiff's shorter away journeys, head coach Barry-Murphy says the hours spent travelling will be well used by both players and staff.

"I think you have time to study as much as you can on the coach and the Cardiff players in general have given me a whole new perspective on travel," he said.

"They love travelling together and it creates a really tight-knit bond. We're blessed with the quality of travel that we have and all in all it's a pretty enjoyable experience.

"It's like the Cardiff lads love being on the coach, they stay on there forever. There's many different days we get to the end of our journeys which can take up to six, seven hours and they'll remain on the coach doing all sorts of extra-curricular activities."

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Barry-Murphy's previous jobs at Rochdale, Manchester City and Leicester City tended to involve fewer long journeys, with players and staff often travelling to matches by air or rail.

"It's a whole new experience for me," he added. "It's something that I didn't even think about if I'm being honest when I joined the club.

"In previous seasons [at Cardiff], I was told there was a lot of flying and stuff and different forms of travel, which was the same when I was at Manchester City - everything was a train journey or a flight.

"But what I've seen is the real positives and benefits of it are that the lads genuinely are really close and a lot of friendships have been formed over a long period of time.

"I suppose it is one of the things that is truly unique to playing for and being part of this club, but it's been a great experience for me."

Luke Hemmings
BBC Sport Wales

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Cardiff City's title push faltered again with a 1-1 draw at Barnsley on Tuesday night, a result head coach Brian Barry-Murphy called "very frustrating."

He insisted, however, that the setback will not distract the Bluebirds from focusing on themselves.

Rubin Colwill fired City into an early lead with his first goal since returning from injury, and Ollie Tanner twice went close to doubling the advantage, only to be denied by Barnsley goalkeeper Owen Goodman.

"We started the game pretty much exactly how we wanted to. We attacked from the first minute, were hugely dominant, very aggressive, in front of our own supporters, scored a great goal," said Barry-Murphy.

"And then really Ollie Tanner's chance was a great chance for us to extend our lead and dominate the game completely, but we didn't."

Barnsley hit back 11 minutes later through Scott Banks, which in Barry-Murphy's opinion gave the home side "momentum" and "complicated" first-half proceedings.

Despite David McGoldrick threatening for the hosts, Cardiff controlled possession with 73% of the ball and Barry-Murphy felt a winner was always possible even if clear chances were limited. Colwill's second half effort was the Bluebird's best opportunity after the break.

"I always believe. I believed we will on Saturday [against Lincoln] but it wasn't to be," said Barry-Murphy.

"I thought later in the game [against Barnsley] we were very dominant. Again, we were very conscious of getting more balls in the box, but in a certain way and making sure that we can create chances.

"It wasn't quite to be. We didn't create enough chances to stand here and say we should have won the game clearly."

Cardiff have now won just once in four games, slipping four points behind League One leaders Lincoln City after sitting top for 105 days prior to Saturday's defeat.

Still, they remain nine points clear of the chasing pack in the promotion race, though Bolton could close that gap to six on Saturday lunchtime before Cardiff's trip to Exeter.

Barry-Murphy insists the challenge is maintaining consistency: "I'm looking at our own team, making sure we're improving all the time. The league campaign is never meant to be straightforward.

"The ambition of the dressing room is clear for me to see. I can feel it every single day. The players tried to do everything asked of them tonight and we could have won the game quite easily but we didn't.

"It's the best time of the season. There's great excitement from the whole club and real ambition in the dressing room.

"We don't need help from anyone else, we have to focus on ourselves, try to improve all the time and have an insatiable appetite to be hungry and try and win for this club."

Ioan Griffiths

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Cardiff City will once again be without their top goal scorer at Barnsley on Tuesday, as Yousef Salech is still recovering from a neck injury.

The Danish striker was injured after landing awkwardly during City's 1-1 draw with Stockport County in January.

The Bluebirds missed their striker on Saturday as they slipped to second In League One after what boss Brian Barry-Murphy described as a "very disappointing" 2-0 home defeat by title rivals Lincoln.

"The narrative is whatever it is, I think always when you lose you naturally think about what you don't have," said Barry-Murphy.

"But obviously our focus is on what we do have because it's all we can control."

After Saturday's disappointment in front of more than 27,000 at Cardiff City Stadium, the Welsh club will be looking to bounce back as they travel north to face Barnsley on Tuesday (19:45 GMT).

Barry-Murphy insists his side can manage without 13-goal Salech, having gone five games unbeaten after his injury prior to the weekend's setback.

"We've scored a bucket full of goals when Yousef's been missing, but we want him to be available as we do with all of our players," added Barry-Murphy.

"He's not going to be available for the Tuesday night game, so we have to try and find a solution with the players we have and I'm very confident we can do that."

Philip Marsh
BBC Sport Wales

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Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy says it is important his players "feel the disappointment" of their defeat by Lincoln City.

The Bluebirds' 105-day run at the top of League One was ended on Saturday, as they were beaten 2-0 by the Imps - who leapfrogged them into first place in the table.

It was a first home defeat in the league for Cardiff since September 2025, and has allowed the chasing pack to close the gap later on Saturday.

But Barry-Murphy insisted he "never panics", with the Bluebirds still holding an 11-point cushion over third-place Bolton Wanderers.

"When you suffer a defeat at home against a team so close to you it is very disappointing," said Barry-Murphy.

"You have to feel that disappointment and accept it and bounce back from it.

"The players here are in a very good place, and every time we've had a set back we've bounced back."

Despite dominating possession the Bluebirds were unable to create any clear-cut opportunities against a physical and well-drilled Lincoln team.

Long-distance efforts always looked the most likely source of a goal for Cardiff, with Ollie Tanner and Rubin Colwill both coming close in the first half.

But in front of a crowd of 27,280 - the highest figure for a league game at the Cardiff City Stadium since September 2023 - the Bluebirds could not give the fans the "perfect day" their head coach wanted.

"In a stadium with so many of our supporters present, we wanted to give them the perfect day but today that wasn't possible and was not meant to be," said Barry-Murphy.

"Their keeper made a couple of great saves in the first half, I thought if we scored we'd have been in a great situation but we couldn't find it.

"Lincoln did a good job of protecting their goal and then scoring on the breakaway like they did.

"It's a very disappointing result."

Cardiff City's next game against title rivals Lincoln City will see two of League One's meanest defences go up against each other.

The Bluebirds got back to winning ways last Saturday by hitting four past Doncaster Rovers.

In doing so they kept a 13th clean sheet of the campaign and the only other team in the division to have kept as many as that are the Imps.

But despite Cardiff's defensive prowess, manager Brian Barry-Murphy has rarely chosen the same centre-back pairing in successive games.

So what do you believe is City's strongest centre-back partnership?

Do you prefer the Premier League experience of Gabriel Osho and Callum Chambers?

Or are Cardiff stronger with the younger Dylan Lawlor and Will Fish? Is it a mixture of both?

Let us know your thoughts here.

Ioan Griffiths

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Cardiff boss Brian Barry-Murphy says he was pleased with how his players executed their game plan perfectly as they dismantled Doncaster Rovers 4-0 on Saturday.

The Bluebirds quickly got back to winning ways at the Eco Power Stadium after suffering a disappointing 5-2 loss away at Plymouth Argyle, which brought an end to their 12 game unbeaten run previously.

"It was a very positive performance," Barry-Murphy said.

"We really wanted to play the game in an aggressive manner and show the best version of ourselves. I think the players did exactly what we planned from the first minute."

"We were aware of how good a team, in terms of technical ability, Doncaster are, they wouldn't have enjoyed playing on that pitch either.

"But we have to show over the course of the season how adaptable we are, how we overcome different tests and that was part of the challenge today."

The standout performer for the Bluebirds on his first start since January was Wales international Dylan Lawlor.

Just a minute into the second half, the central defender picked up the ball from just outside his own penalty box, ran the length of the pitch before slotting one in the bottom corner.

He also set up Cardiff's opener, playing a sumptuous ball in behind for Alex Robertson to finish.

And Barry-Murphy was full of praise for the 20 year-old defender.

"He's had a knee injury since January which has been complicated for him, but we felt he was in a good place to start and that the game would suit him," said Barry-Murphy.

"It was great day for him to play and he's a very important member of our squad. He's a brilliant player, and a brilliant lad and we're very pleased to have him."

Worryingly for the Bluebirds, Barry-Murphy said that Lawlor was replaced due to an issue with his calf and could be unavailable for their top of the table clash with Lincoln City on Saturday.

"He's picked up an issue with his calf, he was struggling at half time," Barry-Murphy added.

"We'll just have to see how he is in the week and see how he progresses."