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Callum Robinson of Cardiff City celebrates with David Turnbull of Cardiff City after scoring goal(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)<\/p>\nHere’s how the Bluebirds players rated in the clash with BoroCallum Robinson of Cardiff City celebrates with David Turnbull of Cardiff City after scoring goal(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)<\/p>\n
Cardiff City ended 2025 on a high with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Stevenage, coming from behind to underline their credentials at the summit of League One.<\/p>\n
It was far from fluent for long spells, but late goals from Callum Robinson and Yousef Salech ensured Brian Barry-Murphy\u2019s side found a way, stretching their lead at the top and maintaining momentum heading into the new year.<\/p>\n
After dominating possession without cutting edge in the first half, Cardiff<\/a> were rocked by Phoenix Patterson\u2019s fine opener just before the hour mark. Sign up to our Cardiff City WhatsApp channel here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The response, though, was immediate and decisive. Robinson pounced on a loose ball to level before Salech produced a striker\u2019s instinctive finish late on, sparking celebrations inside the Cardiff City Stadium and rewarding the hosts\u2019 persistence against a deep-lying and stubborn Stevenage side.<\/p>\n Player ratings<\/p>\n Nathan Trott \u2013 6<\/p>\n Had very little to do for long periods and could do nothing about Patterson\u2019s excellent strike. Commanded his area well thereafter and was relieved to see an early Stevenage free-kick crash back off the bar.<\/p>\n Perry Ng \u2013 6<\/p>\n Energetic down the right and involved in some neat early combinations, though his final delivery was inconsistent. Replaced on the hour as Cardiff looked for a different angle.<\/p>\n Will Fish \u2013 6<\/p>\n Stepped out confidently and delivered several dangerous crosses. Defended solidly and showed real composure in possession.<\/p>\n Calum Chambers \u2013 7<\/p>\n A steady, composed presence at centre-back who read the game well. Rarely flustered and helped Cardiff stay on the front foot despite Stevenage\u2019s limited threat.<\/p>\n Joel Bagan \u2013 7<\/p>\n Got forward regularly and delivered a handful of inviting balls into the box. Defensively sound and part of Cardiff\u2019s sustained pressure, particularly before the break.<\/p>\n Ryan Wintle \u2013 7<\/p>\n Kept things ticking over nicely and produced some excellent delivery from wide areas. His cross for Salech\u2019s missed header summed up his influence, even if he didn\u2019t get an assist.<\/p>\n David Turnbull \u2013 8 (star man)<\/p>\n Linked play intelligently and arrived in good areas, going close with an effort that clipped the roof of the net. Ran the show for long periods alongside Wintle.<\/p>\n Isaak Davies \u2013 6<\/p>\n Lively early on, stretching Stevenage and winning set-pieces with direct running. Couldn\u2019t quite make the decisive breakthrough and was sacrificed as Cardiff chased the game. Sign up to our daily Bluebirds newsletter here<\/a><\/p>\n Callum Robinson \u2013 7<\/p>\n Worked tirelessly between the lines and got his reward with a scrappy but crucial equaliser. Always a nuisance and led the press well before being replaced late.<\/p>\n Chris Willock \u2013 7<\/p>\n One of Cardiff\u2019s main creative outlets, repeatedly testing Stevenage with crosses and shots. His fizzed delivery for Salech\u2019s winner was the decisive moment.<\/p>\n Yousef Salech \u2013 6<\/p>\n Should have scored earlier with a couple of gilt-edged chances but kept getting into the right positions. Showed real striker\u2019s instinct to steer home the late winner.<\/p>\n Subs<\/p>\n Omari Kellyman (for Davies 60) \u2013 8<\/p>\n Made a huge impact with direct running and creativity, playing a key role in the equaliser. Carried a real threat whenever he got on the ball.<\/p>\n Ronan Kpakio (for Ng 60) \u2013 8<\/p>\n Impressed with his energy and defensive awareness, making an important stop to deny Chem Campbell. Also supported well going forward. A bright cameo.<\/p>\n Ollie Tanner (for Willock 83) \u2013 6<\/p>\n A welcome sight back on the pitch, offering fresh legs and enthusiasm late on. Helped Cardiff see the game out.<\/p>\n Alex Robertson (for Turnbull 83) \u2013 6<\/p>\n Slotted in neatly and nearly capped his cameo with a late free-kick. Calm in possession during stoppage time.<\/p>\n Joel Colwill (for Robinson 86) \u2013 NA<\/p>\n Too little time to make an impact.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n *Sign up to our daily Bluebirds newsletter here<\/a> and our WhatsApp channel here<\/a>. Cardiff City correspondent Glen Williams is also on social media. He can be found on his X account here<\/a>, on Instagram<\/a>, on TikTok<\/a> and on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here’s how the Bluebirds players rated in the clash with BoroCallum Robinson of Cardiff City celebrates with David…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":342193,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[40156,218,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-342192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-cardiff-city-fc","tag-football","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/342193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}