Rubin Colwill's Impact on Cardiff City: A Cautious Return

Rubin Colwill reminded Cardiff City exactly what they’ve been missing. His manager’s message afterwards was just as clear: don’t rush him.

The 23-year-old stepped off the bench to curl in a superb late free-kick and salvage a 1-1 draw against Wrexham on Monday, a derby that was slipping away from Cardiff until Colwill intervened.

He did it on almost no preparation.

Colwill delivers, but caution from the dugout

Brian Barry-Murphy revealed after the game that Colwill had only two training sessions under his belt before being thrown into the heat of a Welsh clash.

“Rubin has only trained for two days, so I probably shouldn't have put him on as early as I did, but the way the game was going I felt we needed a bit of something different,” the Cardiff boss said.

He got exactly that. Colwill’s introduction shifted the mood, his late set-piece strike denying Wrexham and sparking celebrations in the away end. It was a reminder of his talent and his ability to change a game with one moment.

Barry-Murphy, though, is refusing to be swept along by the emotion of the equaliser.

“We'll just take it day by day with him, and see how he is,” he added. “We all want to see him play, but we have to be patient with him.”

Cardiff will now assess the Wales international ahead of their next fixture against Derby, with the manager clearly determined to manage his workload carefully after such a limited build-up.

Transfer push as squad stretched

While Colwill’s cameo lit up the night, it also underlined another theme Barry-Murphy was keen to stress: Cardiff need help in the market.

“I think it's obvious we're looking to add to the squad,” he said, making no attempt to disguise his desire for reinforcements before the transfer window closes.

“We are quite stretched at the moment in terms of that position. We're so stretched because the players are all from the same area of the team — Dylan (Lawlor), Will Fish, Callum Chambers.

“That doesn't change our recruitment strategy, but it means that we probably look more stretched than we probably are.”

A late goal from a returning talent has bought Cardiff a point and a little breathing space. Whether the club can now give Barry-Murphy the extra bodies he wants before the window shuts may decide how often Colwill has to be the one dragging them out of trouble.