Cardiff | Home side wins Welsh derby in EFL Cup

Wrexham 1 - 2 Cardiff City

Will Fish struck his first goal for Cardiff City as the Bluebirds overcame Welsh rivals Wrexham to reach the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup.

Author | Steffan Ingram

Stadium | STōK Cae Ras

Corner-kick

Yousef Salech opened the scoring early on with a simple finish from close range, his sixth goal of the campaign in all competitions, and the visitors looked well worth their lead. Cardiff created further opportunities before the interval, with Omari Kellyman, Rubin Colwill and Cian Ashford all missing chances to add to the advantage.

Those wasted openings looked costly when former Cardiff striker Kieffer Moore levelled with a powerful header for Championship side Wrexham seven minutes after the restart.

Fish ensured that slip did not derail Cardiff’s progress, volleying inside Callum Burton’s near post in the 71st minute to secure victory and Welsh derby bragging rights at the Stok Cae Ras.

Closer analysis of what happened

View from the stands

Cardiff controlled possession from the first whistle, although it was Nathan Broadhead who squandered the opening clear chance by drilling wide. The hosts were punished for their sluggish start when George Thomason was caught in possession in the 13th minute. Rubin Colwill seized the moment and fed Omari Kellyman, whose effort was parried by Callum Burton, leaving Yousef Salech to steer home the rebound.

It was exactly the response manager Brian Barry-Murphy would have hoped for after his side dominated the ball at Bolton on Saturday but still slipped to a 1-0 defeat, failing to register a single shot on target. Burton was again called upon to prevent further damage, denying Kellyman at his near post and tipping a powerful strike from Cian Ashford on to the crossbar.

Cardiff continued to menace, with Colwill’s free-kick crashing against the woodwork, prompting early grumbles from the Wrexham support. The Red Dragons eventually roused themselves before the interval, although Sam Smith’s low drive trundled wide, leaving Phil Parkinson’s men with work to do.

Parkinson reacted with a triple change at the break, introducing Kieffer Moore, Josh Windass and Matty James. The move paid off swiftly. Seven minutes into the second half, Ryan Longman’s deflected cross was met by the incoming Moore, who headed past Nathan Trott for his sixth goal of the campaign.

The momentum briefly shifted as the contest evened out, and Colwill tested Burton once more. Barry-Murphy turned to his bench too, sending on Isaak Davies, Alex Robertson and David Turnbull to reassert control. Robertson almost made an immediate impact, drawing a vital block from Conor Coady, before Cardiff restored their advantage with a moment of real quality.

Joel Bagan’s deep cross located Will Fish free at the back post, and the defender volleyed inside Burton’s near upright to mark his first goal for the club in eye-catching fashion. The finish sparked jubilant celebrations among the travelling 1,249 supporters.

What a moment this was for Will Fish.pic.twitter.com/WZ9sCLla2c

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Parkinson made further changes as Issa Kabore and Ryan Hardie entered the fray, and Hardie twice threatened an equaliser, first heading straight at Trott, then seeing a shot blocked. At the opposite end, Burton thwarted Davies with a fingertip save to keep Wrexham in touch.

Despite their late rally, the hosts could not find a way through again. Cardiff held firm to book a place in the last eight for the first time since their run to the final in the 2011-12 season.