By Gareth James
Erol Bulut claimed tiredness was a factor in Cardiff City losing their unbeaten streak with a 2-0 defeat at Middlesbrough.
The Bluebirds conceded two second-half goals to slide out of the Championship play-off places as their four-game winning sequence came to an abrupt end.
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Bulut insisted the first goal his team conceded was offside but also suggested recent away trips to Sunderland and Blackburn had taken their toll.
“For both teams in the first half it was a tactical game and in the second half we showed tiredness from the travelling from the last games,” said Bulut.
“Also, today we had to change a few positions because of injuries. This is not an excuse.
“But I can say tiredness was a little bit (apparent) second half. The first goal changed the game, and if you watch the first goal it was a clear offside.
“After the first goal we had to push more to score. We couldn’t manage to score. In the first half we had that Karlan Grant chance, if that goes in it would have been much different.
“We have to keep our feet on the ground regardless. This loss is not the end of the world. We will have a good rest and 100 per cent we have to be on the field again.”
Collins misses out. I make it Ralls at left-back.
Cardiff City XI: Alnwick; Ng, Goutas, McGuinness, Ralls; Adams, Siopis, Wintle; Tanner, Etete, Grant.
Subs: Runarsson, Panzo, Romeo, Sawyers, Rinomhota, R. Colwill, Evans, Robinson, Ugbo. https://t.co/aLIFYqWhbx
— Glen Williams (@GlenWilliams12) October 3, 2023
Isaiah Jones and Emmanuel Latte Lath struck second-half goals to earn Middlesbrough a third Sky Bet Championship triumph in a row and end Cardiff’s winning run.
The Bluebirds had won four in a row before this trip to Teesside but Jones’ first league goal of the season in the 56th minute did the damage before Latte Lath sealed victory with six minutes left.
It had been an otherwise largely uneventful evening at the Riverside Stadium with neither side really dominating proceedings in an attacking sense until those goals.
Cardiff have slipped to seventh in table, but have a chance to make amends with a final match before the international break when they host Watford on Saturday.
The Bluebirds also lost striker Kion Etete with a hamstring injury, to add to their growing list of injury concerns.
Championship'in 10. haftasında Erol Bulut'un takımı Cardiff City, deplasmanda Middlesbrough'u konuk etti.
Riverside Stadı'nda oynanan karşılaşmayı Middlesbrough 2-0 kazanarak Cardiff'in galibiyet serisine son verdi. pic.twitter.com/F6Bzf09LoH
— Merit King Giriş (@meritroyalking) October 4, 2023
But Bulut had better news on Wales captain Aaron Ramsey, who he claimed does not need surgery on a knee injury, despite having ruptured a tendon.
“From what I know, he will not get an operation,” said Bulut.
“He doesn’t need an operation. I hope he is out for as short a time as possible, but I am still waiting on when he will be available.”
Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick said: “I’m really pleased. Overall, there were a lot of good things in the game. We had to make changes for different reasons before the game and we improved as the game went on.
“We managed the game really well in the second half. The boys came off the bench and made an impact.
“We could sense the frustration in the stadium in the first half and that doesn’t really help the players, but they stuck to it, believed in what we were doing.
“Cardiff were always going to make it difficult and they were on a good run. We knew it would be a tough game. The boys were calm enough and I felt the improvement during the game.”
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