Aron Sasu hit four goals as a full-strength Wimbledon bullied the League One leaders’ academy-heavy line-up, who had plenty of possession but struggled to turn it into chances.
Barry-Murphy said many of his players had never encountered a senior side of Wimbledon’s profile.
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“A lot of the players will have never experienced playing against players of this nature, in terms of playing senior football before,” he said.
“Until they’re exposed to that, you can never learn from it. So, the players will have had what they feel is a difficult experience, but in the long term will be beneficial for them.
“We know that Wimbledon have no game on Saturday so that was a full-strength team from league action, so the level of challenge was very high for the young players, who struggled to compete with the physicality the opponent showed through the course of the game.
“In terms of our players, I couldn’t be happier with their attitude, their spirit, because it’s not easy when you lose by such a heavy scoreline.”
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Sasu set the tone by outmuscling Dylan Lawlor before finishing at the near post, then struck again 40 seconds after the interval with a driven effort from distance.
Omar Bugiel headed in a corner for Wimbledon’s third before Sasu completed his hat-trick with another low shot from range.
His fourth, meeting Steve Seddon’s cross at the back post, rounded off a career-best outing for the winger.
Cardiff’s only reward came when 19-year-old Luey Giles curled in a late free-kick for his first senior goal.
But Barry-Murphy insisted the night still underlined the club’s faith in its academy.
“You saw all of the different players we have from our academy, and it’ll be an invaluable experience for all of those young players moving forward.
“We believe fully in our academy, we’ve seen the fruits of what that’s done for us this season in terms of the players that have played at a first team level.
“I think it’s clear that you can see the traits that we want these young players to be associated with, in terms of how they play the game.
“The important qualities are to try to be as aggressive as possible and display the skill that we see from those at first team level who have gone before them.
“Tonight was my first real sight of Noah [Williams] who made his debut, who came on and looked very assured.
“Axel [Donczew] came on and you saw the style of play that he displayed, so it’s an exciting time for the future, and when the time comes for them, they’ll possess the ability that’s there for all to see.”
