Barry-Murphy Hails Joel Colwill as Cardiff's Goal Threat

Joel Colwill walked off the pitch with just a point to show for his first Championship start, but Brian Barry-Murphy left Stoke convinced he has a goalscorer on his hands.

The 21-year-old’s smart second-half header rescued a 1-1 draw for Cardiff City, halting a run of two straight defeats and injecting some badly needed belief into a side still chasing their first league win of the season.

He might easily have had more. Colwill struck the post late on as Cardiff, transformed after the interval, pushed hard for a winner that never quite came.

“It was a great finish and very important for us – he carries a big goal threat,” said Barry-Murphy, who was quick to highlight how often Colwill found dangerous pockets of space. “You saw he got close to another goal. His movement in the box in the second half, particularly, was very good.”

The change didn’t happen by accident. Barry-Murphy admitted he altered Colwill’s role at the break, pushing him higher and closer to Yousef Salech to give Stoke’s defence a different problem.

“Joel played a little bit too deep in the first half, but in the second half he was very good, very close to Yousef,” the Irishman explained. “A lot of our best moments in the box, he was on the premises, which is a big part of his role for the team.”

Colwill, who scored seven times last season, looked comfortable with the extra responsibility. Where Cardiff had been flat before the break, his movement and willingness to attack the area helped tilt the contest back towards the Bluebirds.

They did it without his older brother. Rubin Colwill was missing from the squad, his ongoing ankle issue forcing Barry-Murphy into a late rethink.

“Rubin’s ankle wasn’t OK yesterday. He didn’t train,” the Cardiff boss said. “There was talk of putting him on the bench, but I wasn’t sure he would be fully fit if he was to come on.

“That was also the case on Saturday, and I didn’t want to risk it because of what he’s been through with the ankle.”

Cardiff now turn to Saturday’s trip to Bolton, still hunting that elusive first Championship victory. Barry-Murphy is hopeful Rubin Colwill will be available. If he is, and Joel continues to grow into this advanced role, the Colwill brothers could soon be driving Cardiff’s season rather than simply rescuing it.