Brian Barry-Murphy said Cardiff City's victory over Birmingham City was “very special” after the Bluebirds won 1 - 0 at CCS. Birmingham boss Chris Davies admitted the best team won after his side struggled to cope with Cardiff's intensity and pressing.
Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy praised his players after the Bluebirds secured an important victory over Birmingham City at Cardiff City Stadium.
The result meant a great deal to the Cardiff boss, who explained that his players had been made aware of the significance of the occasion and what it meant to the supporters as the stadium fell silent for a minute to respect the lives lost and affected at Aberfan in 1966
“We understood what the day meant to everybody, so to get the victory that was so badly wanted is very special for everyone,” Barry-Murphy said.
“It was very important for the players to watch the footage we saw, and to understand what the people there have been through.”
The manager was pleased with the way his side approached the game, with Cardiff looking to play on the front foot and put Birmingham under pressure.
Barry-Murphy has consistently spoken about wanting his team to play with intensity, and he believes that approach gives Cardiff the best chance of getting results.
“I think we're at our best when we're playing a very intense type of football,” he explained.
“Sometimes we're good enough to win and sometimes we're not, but that's what we're always striving for, to play that type of aggressive, front-footed performance.”
The Cardiff boss will be pleased that his players were able to put those words into practice, producing the performance needed to secure the three points.
Davies admits Cardiff were the better team
Birmingham manager Chris Davies was left disappointed with his side's display and admitted Cardiff deserved their victory.
“The best team won, in any game if you're second to the ball that much it's always going to be hard,” he said.
Davies felt his players struggled to deal with Cardiff's pressing, with the Bluebirds closing down their opponents and preventing them from building attacks.
“Every time we had possession of the ball there was a blue shirt on us,” he said.
“They are a side who do put the press on and we just couldn't get close to their box.”
The Birmingham manager was also unhappy with the defending for Cardiff's goal, admitting his side had made things difficult for themselves.
“We were very disorganised for the goal, how easy it came in to the box and the goal,” Davies added.
“That's unlike us. We gave ourselves a big job to recover from that and we expected more.”
