Erol Bulut says ‘angry’ Cardiff City star was fired up by selection snub as ‘screaming’ assistant sparks touchline drama
The Bluebirds boss oversaw his side’s third win in a row with a triumph over Huddersfield Town
Erol Bulut said Cardiff City’s match-winner Famara Diedhiou was “angry” and fired up after he was left out of the starting line-up against his former side Bristol City – and responded with his first goal for the club in the win over Huddersfield Town.
Diedhiou scored the only goal of the night against the Terriers, but what a beauty it was. Josh Bowler plucked a great ball out of the sky from Ryan Wintle before zipping past his marker and drilling in a low cross, which was smartly finished by the Senegalese.
Bulut previously admitted he had spoken to the striker, who is on loan from Spanish club Granada, about what was expected of him and he hopes the strike against Huddersfield will spark a run of goals in the final throes of the campaign.
“It was good playing out from the back. From the left, switching it to the right, a good assist from Josh Bowler. With Famara, he was expecting to play the last game against his ex-team. We made the right decision, I think,” Bulut said.
“He was angry he didn’t play, but I can understand, everyone wants play against their ex-team. But we kept it for today and he gave it back with a goal.
“He played four years in the Championship and scored more than 50 goals. He has experience. Maybe the last one and a half years was not what he was expecting. It was a good start and I hope the rest of the games he continues like that.”
Bulut’s side have picked up 10 points from a possible 13 in the last four games and are looking upwards again, although he insists there is still no talk of play-offs, with the Bluebirds sitting seven points off the top six.
Speaking about the club’s form, he added: “The last four games I’ve been happy. How we’ve been performing. The four games before, we needed to get the confidence back, to think positively. The team is doing well, so congrats to the players, after the Bristol win.
“Sometimes after the derby games you feel a bit comfortable, but today we worked hard. We scored a good goal – not from a set piece! So I am happy.
“If you win games, you feel better and try more. If you lose games, you don’t try much and don’t ask for the ball. The last few games we have got our confidence back and it looks much better now. I hope the last 10 games we can show much more of this.” Sign up to our Cardiff City daily newsletter here.
There was a flashpoint in the game later on. Ryan Wintle went down after Jaheim Headley appeared to dive in the area before throwing an arm towards the Bluebirds midfielder. It was all a little theatrical, but it was enough to set off both technical areas.
Cardiff’s goalkeeping coach Mario Galinovic was given his marching orders by referee Matthew Donohue following a verbal altercation with the Terriers’ assistant.
