Brian Barry-Murphy lauds Cardiff ‘attitude’ after win at Northampton

Cardiff are a point clear of Bradford at the top of League One with a game in hand.

Sat, 22 Nov, 2025 - 17:59

Cardiff boss Brian Barry-Murphy was pleased his team showed a ‘different side’ to their game after they moved top of League One with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Northampton.

It was a wet and windy day at Sixfields and Cardiff had to withstand a lot of pressure but fine finishes from Joel Colwill and Chris Willock, in addition to Ethan Wheatley’s own goal, took them back to the summit.

Barry-Murphy said: “It’s really pleasing and I’m delighted for our supporters because they’ve travelled a lot over the last few weeks and they can enjoy a magnificent victory.

“We had to show we had the mentality and ability to come to a place like this and play against a very effective Northampton team and get a result and the lads showed a commendable attitude.

“The nature of the game and the tough conditions made it very difficult and we had to weather different storms at different times but we stood up to it.

“You have to defend your box in games like this and Nathan (Trott) made saves when we needed him and I’m really pleased we’ve bounced back after a couple of defeats and showed a different side to our game.”

Barry-Murphy was, however, concerned by the injury suffered by Rubin Colwill, adding: “It’s an ankle injury and it looks pretty serious on first glance. He was on crutches so I don’t think it will be a short-term injury.” Wheatley equalised early in the second half for Northampton only to score an own goal three minutes later.

“I’m disappointed,” said Cobblers manager Kevin Nolan. “It’s another defeat in a game we should have got something from.

“We need to be more clinical in front of goal because they showed how to finish with two clean strikes for the first and third goals and that’s won them the game.

“Ethan’s a bit gutted about his own goal but those things happen in football and I thought he was excellent all game.

“He took his goal fantastically and we asked them lots of questions but what we didn’t do was put the ball in the back of the net at those crucial moments.

“When you don’t do that, you leave yourself open with the quality they have and the players they have and the resources on their bench.

“They can make changes and bring on quality and they showed that with a fantastic finish in the 94th minute.

“The lads worked the game plan to a tee but we didn’t execute at the top end of the pitch in big moments and that was the difference.”