Will Fish chips in with vital goal for Cardiff after Wrexham fail to fire in derby

After more than 21 years without facing one another, Cardiff had to wait a little longer to reacquaint themselves with their Welsh rivals, as Wrexham completely failed to turn up for the first half. The Bluebirds’ victory came as little of a shock, if anything their progress to the quarter‑finals should have been far easier. Yousef Salech put the League One side into a 13th-minute lead, but Cardiff missed numerous chances to finish off the derby before it began in earnest. Wrexham joined the tie in the second half; substitute Kieffer Moore equalised, but it was Will Fish who settled the match for the visitors. Related: Wrexham v Cardiff City: Carabao Cup – live “Exhausting,” was the immediate reaction of Brian Barry-Murphy, the Cardiff head coach. “It was a tough game for us, but we played in the way we wanted to play from minute one and that’s what showed our character and our skill level throughout the course of the game. Very satisfying and immensely proud of the whole club.” Cardiff dominated from the start and every pass was booed by the home support, but it did not put them off. They had four shots on target in the opening 20 minutes, while the hosts floundered. “Our owner [Vincent Tan] is very demanding and he was really insistent on more shots and crosses – I hope we make him happy,” Barry-Murphy said. Wrexham were disjointed and being pushed back into their own defensive third for lengthy periods. Their spending means there is quality in this side and they almost took the lead on the counterattack, but Nathan Broadhead miscued his finish when in plenty of space in front of goal. It would not have been deserved. The opener came at the other end within a minute and it was certainly merited. Rubin Colwill had options on the edge of the penalty area, before deciding to pass to Omari Kellyman in space inside the area. The winger’s shot was superbly saved by Callum Burton, Wrexham’s third-choice goalkeeper, but Salech tapped in the rebound. The once lively atmosphere was limited to one small section of the ground, while the Wrexham supporters suffered and yawned. Burton produced a stunning save to keep out a thunderous Cian Ashford shot and Rubin Colwill rattled the bar with a free-kick. Placid Wrexham were not in the contest and lacked the ideas or desire to change the dynamic. The solitary positive for the home side being they were somehow only one goal behind at the break. Related: Collins caps five-star Brentford’s Carabao Cup cruise against Grimsby Phil Parkinson made a triple substitution at the start of the second half and it provided a cold bucket of water to the face of the team and fans to wake them from their slumber. Within seven minutes Ryan Longman swung in a dangerous cross and the former Cardiff striker Moore rose highest, reigniting the atmosphere in the crowd noise in the process. Finally, there was an intensity to Wrexham’s play and it was Cardiff who were on the back foot, creating something akin to a cup tie. Ronan Kpakio was feeling the pressure, missing a simple chance to intercept a pass, allowing Longman to gain control and start the long run for goal, only to be pulled back on the halfway line. The majority wanted a red card, but yellow was the correct decision thanks to a covering defender. Joel Bagan swung a cross over everyone in the area from the left, except Fish waiting at the back post. The connection was perfect, proving too powerful for Burton. The goalkeeper should have done better considering the angle, but the defence will also wonder how they failed to clear the danger. “We were off the pace first half, that’s probably an understatement,” Parkinson said. “We did not close down with enough pressure or intent and that made it easy for them.” The scenes among the 1,200 Cardiff supporters at the end tested the foundations of the stand, as they moved one step closer to Wembley. After so long away, no one in blue wanted to leave.