Cardiff City

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Boss Brian Barry-Murphy had said ahead of the trip to Lincoln City that the encounter was "a daunting task" for his Cardiff City side and so it proved to be.

A back-and-forth encounter was eventually won 2-1 by the Imps courtesy of Sonny Bradley's header at a foggy LNER Stadium.

Despite the defeat - which ended a run of five successive wins - Cardiff remain top of the League One table, three points clear of Lincoln who climbed to second but with a game in hand.

Are Cardiff still looking good to make an immediate return to the Championship despite Saturday's defeat?

What areas of the squad would you like to see strengthened in January to continue the promotion push, or is the blending of talent from the academy ranks with the existing squad the blueprint for success this season?

As a hectic festive schedule begins, Cardiff host relegation-haunted Exeter City on 26 December (15:00 GMT) in a fixture that is far less tricky on paper, before another home game against promotion rivals Stevenage the following Monday (19:45 GMT).

What are your predictions and how should Barry-Murphy juggle his playing resources?

Have your say here

Ioan Griffiths

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Cardiff City travel to third place Lincoln City on Saturday (15:00 GMT) as they seek to extend their lead at the summit of the League One table.

The Bluebirds will be looking to make it six wins on the spin in the league, after beating Doncaster Rovers 4-3 last time out.

Brian Barry-Murphy's side also impressed midweek in their 3-1 defeat at home to Premier League opponents Chelsea in the League Cup quarter-finals.

The Club World Cup champions had to rely on late goals to progress after David Turnbull had equalised for the League One leaders.

Barry-Murphy insists his side are staying focused and are expecting a tough encounter at the LNER Stadium.

"I think they've been a brilliant club for a number of years in terms of how they've operated," said Barry-Murphy.

"It's a brilliant stadium to play at and a very daunting task, but one that we're looking forward to."

Lincoln come into the clash unbeaten in their last three games and could boost their automatic promotion hopes with a win on Saturday.

"I think they're one of the best teams in the league, I think it's been obvious for the past two seasons," Barry-Murphy said.

"We have to hope we that we're really competitive on Saturday and we try to win the game like we have done all season."

Luke Hemmings
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Before Brian Barry-Murphy's arrival as manager, David Turnbull's Cardiff City career had yet to ignite.

Signed from Celtic in February 2024 for around £2m, the midfielder endured a tumultuous start, hampered by injuries and unable to string together a consistent run of games.

The team itself was struggling, languishing at the bottom of the Championship, and Turnbull admitted: "The first year and a bit was pretty up and down. There wasn't really a structure or game plan."

Barry-Murphy's appointment has transformed the Bluebirds.

Now flying high at the top of League One, Cardiff look on course to make an immediate return to the Championship and Turnbull, finally injury-free and given regular opportunities, is eager to impress.

He delivered the moment which had Cardiff fans dreaming on Tuesday night - a bullet header to level against Chelsea, growing hopes of a Wembley run in the EFL Cup before the Premier League heavyweights pulled away with two late goals.

A delighted Turnbull reflected on the occasion as he described the night as a "great feeling" which carries a "different buzz" and one that left his friends and family "buzzing" for him.

The 26-year-old Scotland midfielder added: "You don't get that out of every game. That was nice, it was a great feeling and it was a good night."

Despite the result, Cardiff were far from overawed by Chelsea, with Turnbull quick to credit Bluebirds manager Barry-Murphy for instilling belief against elite opposition: "He didn't want to sit back and just let Chelsea run all over us.

"I think we performed well in the way that we wanted to, which was great. Just what we've been doing all season, just showing we can do it against the bigger teams. It was brilliant."

Turnbull is equally enthusiastic about life under Barry-Murphy off the pitch, praising the manager's impact on the club: "From the start, as soon as the manager came in, he changed the full way the club's run.

"Since he's come in, he's given us a style of football."

Barry-Murphy's influence has extended to Turnbull personally. Injury-free at last, he has become a regular, making 17 league appearances already this season, equalling his total from the season he joined the club.

"He's been great with me since I came in," Turnbull said.

"I'd say this season I've felt a lot more comfortable and getting to where I want to be and he's helped a lot.

"I used to be a goal-scorer in midfield and that's why I try to get it back in my game.

"Scoring goals and starting [against Chelsea] is a good start and hopefully I can get a few more out at the end of the season."

Injury-free and brimming with confidence, Turnbull is determined to make this campaign memorable: "I'm just looking forward to this year and the rest of this year now, try to kick on and make it a memorable time."

The league leaders travel to promotion-chasing Lincoln City on Saturday, 20 December (15:00 GMT) where the Bluebirds will hope to extend their winning run to six matches and put in another memorable display.

With results improving and momentum building, Turnbull is optimistic: "I think we're on a good run now.

"But I think it's an important period just to rack up the wins, get them under the belt, and try to push away from the pack."

Whether it is another thunderbolt from Turnbull or a collective team effort, the midfielder is finally making his mark in south Wales and relishing life under Barry-Murphy.

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Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy is confident there will be no hangover from Tuesday's EFL Cup quarter-final against Chelsea when his team return to League One action at Lincoln City on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The Bluebirds impressed against the Premier League titans despite losing 3-1 at a sold-out Cardiff City Stadium.

Now the Welsh club turn their attention back to League One, where they are four points clear at the top of the table and six points ahead of Lincoln in third.

"It's very easy [to focus on the league] if you look at who we're going to play on Saturday, how good they are and how good we're going to need to be," said Barry-Murphy.

"Once Tuesday subsides and you wake up on Wednesday – I would say for me, the cut-off point was Wednesday lunchtime – then you start to quickly refocus when you start to see who we're going to play on Saturday.

"It was an amazing evening for us all, and I'm sure we'll look back on it with fond memories, if not quite as fond as we would have liked it to have been. But it's in the past and we're looking to look to the future now."

Cardiff have no new injury concerns for the trip to Lincoln but striker Kion Etete, who is on loan at Rotherham United, is nearing a return after injuring his thigh in October.

The 24-year-old joined Rotherham on loan for the 2025-26 season in August, but has managed only five starts – plus four substitute appearances – for the Millers and is yet to score for the Yorkshire club.

"I think his rehab's going really well," said Barry-Murphy.

"I'm in constant dialogue with James Rowland [Cardiff's head of medical services] and he said he's making really good progress and they anticipate that he'll be back in action pretty soon."

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Robert Earnshaw reckons Cardiff City will do something special this season if they maintain the standards on display in their EFL Cup loss to Chelsea.

Cardiff were beaten 3-1 in Tuesday's quarter-final but emerged from the tie with significant credit having given the Premier League heavyweights a scare.

Brian Barry-Murphy's League One leaders were level at 1-1 and dreaming of a shock after David Turnbull's header cancelled out Alejandro Garnacho's goal, only for Pedro Neto and Garnacho to strike late on and seal Chelsea's place in the last four.

Former Cardiff and Wales striker Earnshaw reckoned his old club produced a "brilliant" performance which bodes well for the remainder of their bid to return to the Championship.

"Performances like that… what it does in the dressing room, it says 'yeah we are playing in League One, but I tell you what, we just went up against a Premier League team and competed for 80 minutes – let's try to do that again'," Earnshaw told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"They have played against one of the best and competed against them, so now you have to take that into the league.

"What a chance Cardiff City have now. I am excited… if they continue playing like that, it's going to be a big season."

Earnshaw picked out winger Isaak Davies and left-back Joel Bagan for special praise.

He also saluted Wales centre-back Dylan Lawlor for his performance despite the error which led to Chelsea's opening goal.

"Dylan Lawlor made one mistake for the goal, but I would always say continue, keep learning because later on, that will actually pay off for you because you'll get better and better if you keep learning from those performances," he added.

Luke Hemmings
BBC Sport Wales

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Enzo Maresca paid tribute to Cardiff City's organisation and intensity following Chelsea's 3-1 EFL Cup quarter-final victory over the Bluebirds on Tuesday.

Chelsea were made to work for their place in the last four, with the Premier League side scoring two late goals to overcome the League One leaders.

"Cardiff are very well organised," said Blues head coach Maresca.

"Off the ball they were very intense and we faced exactly the game that we expected."

Maresca acknowledged that Chelsea encountered "difficulty" in the first half, crediting Brian Barry-Murphy's team for their defensive discipline.

Despite Chelsea's eventual win, Maresca stressed that Cardiff had made the contest far from straightforward.

Cardiff held their own against the Club World Cup holders in a resilient display that offered encouragement as the Welsh side's focus returns to their promotion push.

Cardiff will aim to extend their winning run in the league to six matches at Lincoln City on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

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Danny Gabbidon has lauded Dylan Lawlor over the centre-back's response to gifting Chelsea a goal during Cardiff City's 3-1 EFL Cup loss to the Blues on Tuesday.

Wales international Lawlor handed the Premier League side possession cheaply, leading to Alejandro Garnacho striking the opener for the visitors at Cardiff City Stadium in the quarter-final contest.

David Turnbull equalised for Brian Barry-Murphy's men only for late goals from Pedro Neto and Garnacho saw Chelsea progress into the semi-finals.

But former Cardiff and Wales defender Gabbidon was full of praise for 19-year-old Lawlor.

"The young Cardiff players in particular can take a lot of confidence from the performance tonight," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"Dylan Lawlor is one of the players who has benefited from Cardiff getting relegated. If Cardiff stayed in the Championship, he probably wouldn't have had these opportunities.

"We've seen him perform so well and he's a Wales senior international already. [Against Chelsea] I thought he was magnificent."

Gabbidon added: "What impressed me most about him, that Chelsea goal, the first one, it comes from him trying to play out, he makes a mistake. He will learn a lot.

"He just shrugged it off, it didn't affect him at all. He will learn a lot from that."

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Cardiff impressed for long periods against Enzo Maresca's outfit and had hopes of securing a major upset when Turnbull headed into the net on 75 minutes.

And while their impressive run in the competition was ultimately ended, Gabbidon feels the Bluebirds can take a huge amount of positives from their showing against Chelsea.

"From a Cardiff City perspective, I thought they gave a great account of themselves," added Gabbidon.

"For them to be able to play against top level opposition and still play the way they want to and cause the opposition problems, to get themselves back into the game with a fantastic goal from David Turnbull, there'll be a lot of positives that the manager can take.

"It's back to the league which is the bread and butter for them, it's important for them to get promotion back into the Championship.

"But it's been a really good night. Even though they got beat 3-1, I think the fans will go home happy and the players will have enjoyed the occasion."

Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea will be without Cole Palmer and Marc Cucurella for Tuesday's Carabao Cup quarter-final trip to Cardiff City.

Palmer, who is managing a groin injury, is being rested and cannot play two matches in a week.

Cucurella is suspended after picking up two yellow cards in the competition. His absence ends a run of 11 consecutive starts and full 90-minute appearances for both club and country.

Defender Jorrel Hato, who has not played for six weeks after struggling against Qarabag in the Champions League, is likely to come in.

Midfielder Moises Caicedo is also in the squad after serving a three-match ban.

"He is available, can play and back finally and - if we decide to use him - he can play," said Maresca.

Academy trio Shim Mheuka, Reggie Walsh and Landon Emenalo trained with Chelsea's first team on Monday but are not expected to be in the squad, having prepared for an FA Youth Cup match at Brentford with the rest of the under-18s squad.

When asked if he will make changes, Maresca said: "We're going to make some changes. We'll see how many, but for sure we have players that in the past 12, 13 days have played five games. So they probably need to recover energy."

Meanwhile, Maresca still does not know when Romeo Lavia will return from injury, but Dario Essugo is believed to be close to a comeback. Liam Delap remains out until 2026.

At Cardiff City, Chelsea have not granted the required written permission for their opponents to use loanee attacker Omari Kellyman in the match.

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Cian Ashford says Cardiff City fans can be "happy Bluebirds at Christmas" after Saturday's last-gasp win against Doncaster Rovers.

The dramatic 4-3 win maintained Cardiff's four point lead at the top of League One and means they will be top at Christmas.

Ashford, 20, scored Cardiff's second and played a big part in the chaotic Joel Bagan winner in the ninth minute of added time.

He said: "It was a tough game, you can sense in the stadium they want that winner so to actually get it was so good.

"That's what football is for, them good memories and good moments."

The forward has two goals and one assist in his last four league games and highlighted the impact of Brian Barry-Murphy on his recent form.

"I just listen to the gaffer to see what sort of advice he can give me and try play with a happy face and a bit of confidence", he said.

The 20-year-old has struck up an impressive partnership down the right flank with fellow Welshman Ronan Kpakio and says they have worked hard to develop a good understanding.

"It's a real good connection now, we know how to move off each other and how we both want the ball off of each other,“ Ashford said.

Cardiff are next in action on Tuesday as they welcome Premier League powerhouses Chelsea to the Welsh capital in the quarter-final of the EFL Cup.

"I'm buzzing and I know the fans are buzzing for it too so we'll just have to see what happens on Tuesday", Ashford added.

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Cian Ashford "carried" Cardiff City in the League One leaders' pulsating 4-3 win over Doncaster Rovers, says head coach Brian Barry-Murphy.

Forward Ashford, 20, scored Cardiff's second and struck the shot that led to Joel Bagan's dramatic winning goal in the ninth minute of added time on Saturday.

The Bluebirds academy product has been in fine form lately, exemplified by his first-half goal, which he scored after a determined, 30-yard run past opposition defenders.

"When we looked as if we lost our composure and we were frantic in the way we played the game, Cian Ashford showed the type of composure that we want, and had the real quality action," said Barry-Murphy.

"I thought Cian carried us at times today where we were in need of real quality and when the game wasn't perfect he was the one who had real quality.

"So I'm very pleased with him and all those players who can contribute have to because it's important that we don't rely on one or two players too much."

Cardiff's fifth successive win maintained their four-point advantage at the top of League One.

"Our intention was to play a lot better and have more control in the game, but it didn't work out that way," Barry-Murphy added.

"The most pleasing thing is that we found a way to win and create enough chances to do that. I'm very pleased for the players and the supporters that we managed to win."

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Head coach Brian Barry-Murphy says Cardiff City must overcome a "highly technical" Doncaster Rovers to extend their four-match winning run on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Cardiff are four points clear at the top of League One and entertain a Doncaster side who have slipped to 19th in the table after picking up just one victory from their past 12 league games.

Rovers have been in decent form in other competitions during that time, with five wins in the FA Cup and EFL Trophy.

Manager Grant McCann (above) led the Yorkshire club to promotion from League Two last season, and the former Hull City boss has impressed Barry-Murphy.

"Grant McCann's been a great success there and the recent form has probably not been what he would have wanted, but a highly technical team who play really good football," said the Cardiff head coach.

"The challenge for our players again is to find consistency and not take anything for granted. If that remains the case, we'll be fine.

"You have to have an awareness of all these qualities that are in the league. It's the same in the Championship, a lot of different styles at the moment in these leagues.

"The challenges vary from week to week and so different that we have to be able to overcome all the types that we face.

"We're going to play Doncaster on Saturday, who are a highly technical team, who play really expansive football, and we have to be quickly able to adapt to that and try and overcome it."

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Callum Robinson served a reminder of his striking talent by coming off the bench to score a late winner at Stevenage on Tuesday night.

The 30-year-old Republic of Ireland forward has had to play second fiddle to Yousef Salech in the Bluebirds' attack for much of the campaign, but has still weighed in with six goals for the League One leaders in all competitions.

"I think it was my first touch, so I'll take it and it's always nice to help the team," Robinson said.

"That's what it's about, it's going to be a long season and when I come on to the pitch I just want to score goals and do what I do to get the win."

He added: "No player wants to be on the bench and I don't want to be on the bench, everyone wants to be out there, but everyone is going to play their part and hopefully I can do that."

Robinson's 80th-minute introduction, alongside Isaak Davies and David Turnbull, turned a tight contest Cardiff's way and moved Brian Barry-Murphy's team four points clear of second-placed Bradford City,

"That manager is like that, he wants to win every game," Robinson said.

"We're top of the league and we would have definitely taken a point after winning our game in hand on Saturday (a 3-2 victory against Huddersfield Town).

"But we're at the top and I think that's why, we go for the games, if it's there to be won we try and win the games - we don't try and hold out."

Kick-off at Stevenage was delayed for 15 minutes to give travelling fans, who had endured a long round-trip made worse by Storm Bram, time to make the game.

"They've been great all season, so it doesn't surprise me the numbers that came. Every away game they've been great and we just try and put a performance on for them," Robinson said after the game.

"It was a long journey, I heard the [Severn] bridge is closed... they've come a long way and they'll have a long journey back, but we've tried to make the journey back a little bit more enjoyable."

Cardiff fans will at least have to travel no further than Leckwith on Saturday, when the Bluebirds host struggling Doncaster Rovers on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The visitors are only three points above the League One drop zone and lost 2-0 at home to promotion-chasing Stockport County in midweek.