By Gareth James
Rubin Colwill has finally wised up and is delivering on his rich promise, according to his Cardiff City manager Erol Bulut.
The Bluebirds boss praised his midfielder for taking on board advice after Colwill scored the second goal in his team’s 2-0 win at home to Bristol City.
The victory in the Severnside derby has lifted Cardiff up to fifth in the Championship table after back-to-back victories.
Colwill’s goal was the 21-year-old Wales international’s first in the league since March 2022 and comes after Bulut he needed to see more defensive strength from the midfielder as well as from striker Callum Robinson.
“I was clear what I wanted from those two players,” Bulut said.
“Offensively they are good. Today we saw again from Colwill a great goal, last game Robinson scored and also today he worked a lot.
“Defensively they are doing much better than before. I am expecting this because we are 11 on the field and I need 11 players, not 10.
“They understand what I want. I am honest with my players. I don’t tell them anything else. I tell them exactly what I want.
“The good thing is that they try to give me back what I want from them. This makes me happy.”
Erol Bulut’s Cardiff City so far in the Championship this season:
7 Wins ✅
2 Draws 🤝
5 Losses ❌
23 Scored ⚽️
16 Conceded ⛔️
5th in the Championship 📈Going under the radar. 😎#CardiffCity #EFL pic.twitter.com/eJepOKEPjO
— eflpublished (@eflpublished) October 28, 2023
Colwill has still not started a Championship match since Bulut took charge in the summer, but he came on in the 57th minute and clinched the win after Perry Ng’s opener – his third goal in six games.
“Rubin is doing well for a long time,” added Bulut.
“When we put him on, we get this performance that we want to see.
“He played well. Also in the games before he did well. I can give him my advice, to not stop, to continue.”
Ng has scored only 12 goals in a league career spanning eight years, but three of them have come in the last six games.
The full-back’s first-half header put Cardiff in front and substitute Colwill sealed matters in stoppage time with a thumping shot into the roof of the net.
Darren England took charge of his first match since he was at fault for wrongly disallowing Luis Diaz’s goal for offside when working as Video Assistant Referee during Liverpool’s defeat at Tottenham last month.
The Robins were heavily depleted with several regulars missing and had only eight substitutes on the bench, including two goalkeepers and four players who have never played a minute of league football. Joseph James made his first senior start at the age of 17.
Sublime from @RubinColwill! 🙌#EFL | @CardiffCityFC pic.twitter.com/dnKIyVyxbZ
— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) October 29, 2023
The visitors didn’t create or threaten a great deal, but their manager Nigel Pearson appeared oddly grudging in the credit he gave to Cardiff.
“It was two sides who weren’t really playing with a great deal of creativity,” said Pearson.
“Cardiff might be doing okay, but I wouldn’t put them up there with the best sides. At all. I wouldn’t say that at all.
“In our recent games we’ve played against Leeds, Ipswich who are going well, Leicester. They’re all games we’ve lost by the odd goal.”
“It’s a competitive league,” he added.
“What it shows you is that if you don’t make enough good decisions on the pitch, then sides will turn you over. It’s a very tough league to be successful in. When you’ve got a very young inexperienced team and bench then it’s going to be difficult.
“But it was a game that was there to be won. Unfortunately we didn’t win it. They won it with a set-play where we’ve given away possession in our own half, which is the result of them getting the corner. They’ve scored lots of goals from corners. It’s a poor goal to give away.
🎙️ “We’ve got a depleted squad but it’s a game that’s there to be won…”
Nigel Pearson talks to @alidurdenBBC after City’s 2-0 defeat at Cardiff. pic.twitter.com/Mz4EUdpLV3
— BBC Sport Bristol (@bbcbristolsport) October 28, 2023
“The second one again, we’ve got decent possession and we get caught in possession. Regardless of whether it’s a good finish or not. It’s irrelevant to me in terms of where it’s come from.
On hearing about Pearson’s comments, Bulut said: “This is his opinion.
“Football we play on the field and who gives a better performance, scores and doesn’t concede goals is going to win the game, and right now we are doing this really well.
“Of course we cannot say we have the best team in the league but our players are giving everything, every game to be in this position. We will continue to work like that.
“It was not an easy game. After the last game where we won 4-0 against Huddersfield, I said to my team we cannot celebrate, we have to continue to work.
“Today again, hard and good work and a good result for my team. I am glad to see this performance from the players today.”
