Brian Barry-Murphy conceded Cardiff City were “lucky” to take anything from their goalless draw at Port Vale, after the League One newcomers created the clearer openings but failed to land a decisive blow.
The Bluebirds, fresh from an opening-day win over Peterborough, saw goalkeeper Nathan Trott enjoy a memorable debut, preserving his clean sheet with a string of saves.
The 25-year-old also spared skipper Calum Chambers’ blushes in the first half by preventing an own goal, while Vale’s Mitch Clark had a second-half strike disallowed for offside.
“Overall, we have no complaints about the result,” said Barry-Murphy.
“We were lucky to get a point based on how well they played and elements of our performance that needed to be better.
“So, we will definitely take the clean sheet and the point.
“There was too much goalmouth action for my liking and we didn’t have enough control.”
Cardiff’s manager, who praised the “incredible” travelling support, admitted his team’s display lacked composure and organisation for long periods.
“Our positioning was wrong in the first half and as a result our play became quite rushed,” he said.
“We were efficient in our play last Saturday and we had success in getting behind the opponent’s last line.
“Tonight, we got to the back line but they played a back five so it made it more difficult.
“We had to be more patient. But it gives us lots of areas to improve.
“What pleased me though was the character of the boys to defend their goal, make good blocks and preserve Nathan’s clean sheet on his debut. That was important.”
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Barry-Murphy felt the point owed much to defensive resilience rather than attacking quality.
“We’ll definitely take the clean sheet and the point.
“There were parts of the performance we’d like to be better, especially in front of an incredible travelling support. We’ve got no complaints.”
The Irishman, still early in his Cardiff tenure, stressed that his squad’s commitment and humility give him a solid foundation to build on.
“The players have shown an amazing humility and a work rate in training since the first day I’ve come into the club, and it’s my responsibility to show them the way that we want to play and to reinforce those ideas when the game become more difficult.
“As long as the players will do that, then it’s my responsibility to show them the way we play, and we’ll get where we want to go.
“We have a young team, and we were really efficient in our play on Saturday – we had a lot of success in terms of getting behind the opponent’s last line.
“Tonight, we got the last line, but they were playing a back five, so it makes it a little bit more difficult.
“You have to be more patient in terms of how you switch play to isolate their wide defenders, and we sort of treated the game the same as Saturday where we tried to attack heavily on the one side, and as such our play became a little bit rushed, fed into the opponents’ game plan and took away from ours.”]
For Port Vale, the stalemate brought an end to a grim sequence of six successive league and cup defeats against Cardiff stretching back over three decades.
Darren Moore’s side, promoted from League Two last season, produced a display that delighted their manager.
“It was a good performance,” Moore said.
“I thought we set up properly and got it right. But I said to the players if there was one, small critique – and I mean small – it was in the final third.
“When we did get into those threatening areas, we just needed that extra bit of composure.
“But I always say if we are creating chances like that then I believe we will score goals. On another night we would have got a goal or two.”
Moore added: “We have stepped up a division and we know the qualities in this league.
“So, credit to the boys.After Saturday, conceding two goals and losing, to come here, get a clean sheet and produce a solid performance in front of our own fans… that’s more the Vale we want to see.”
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