By:
Mark Hendry
Brian Barry-Murphy won the battle of the Irish managers on Tuesday night as Cardiff saw off Conor Hourihane’s Barnsley.
The two clubs battled it out in their EFL League One clash in Wales for three vital points
Both sides are having wildly different seasons with the Bluebirds topping the division.
Meanwhile Hourihane’s Tykes are languishing in 15th spot and knew a result was necessary to bounce.
That did not transpire, though, and the visitors were well and truly disposed of.
The hosts ran out convincing 4-0 victors to take a four point lead at the summit of English football’s third tier.
Cardiff had been without top scorer Yousef Salech.
Brian Barry-Murphy’s Cardiff City beats Conor Hourihane’s Barnsley
However the league leaders still managed to seal a 12th victory from 15 matches at home this campaign.
They also secured their 10th clean sheet in the league so far to keep them pushing for the title.
Perry Ng who opened the scoring within just three minutes to settle the nerves down, and the crowd.
Chris Willock then added a double either side of a Omari Kellyman strike to seal the points.
It takes Barry-Murphy’s win percentage this term to 63 percent at Cardiff.
And the Cork native was chuffed to bits.
“I’m over the moon with the result and the performance,” he beamed.
“Because we did a lot of work on Barnsley and prepared in a very detailed manner.
“The players understood how big the challenge was and were very pleased to get the victory.”
It was a direct contrast between Barry-Murphy and his counterpart Hourihane at full-time.
His side have been in rough form with just one win in all competitions from their last eight.
And the nature of the defeat did not sit well.
“All in all, it was bit of a humbling night for everyone,” he said.
“We need to realise where we are in the league and what they are bringing to the table compared to us.
“We are at two completely different scales.”
Barry-Murphy’s Cardiff City future
Barry-Murphy has proven himself to be an excellent manager so far at Cardiff.
And that talent has not gone unnoticed.
Barry-Murphy was appointed at Cardiff in June of last year and has had a strong first season.
Big results and performances have taken them top as well as some big signings in the summer.
Tuesday goal scorer Kellyman arrived on loan from Chelsea while the club spent €1million on defender Gabriel Osho from Auxerre.
Speculation has been rife about Barry-Murphy’s future with clubs in higher divisions taking note.
Middlesbrough were interested after Rob Edwards departed for Wolves in the Premier League.
And before Celtic hired Wilfried Nancy – and sacked him 33 days later – Barry-Murphy was a name in the picture.
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