Cardiff head coach Brian Barry-Murphy praised his team’s relentless spirit after they brushed aside AFC Wimbledon 4-1 at the Cardiff City Stadium.
The Bluebirds stretched their unbeaten run to 12 matches and maintained a four-point lead over Lincoln, while also extending the gap to 12 points between themselves and the play-off places.
Joel Colwill gave Cardiff the lead and although Matty Stevens drew Wimbledon level, second-half goals for Perry Ng, Ollie Tanner and Omari Kellyman underlined Cardiff’s superiority.
“I knew the game wouldn’t be straightforward and so I am very pleased to get the performance and result in the end,” said Barry-Murphy.
“I’ve had an uneasy feeling for the last couple of games and I knew how dangerous Wimbledon were and had seen how many goals they had scored recently.
“Our technique, in terms of how we crossed and passed the ball, needed to be improved and in the second half we did that and got the rewards we needed.
“We have depth and I think the players on the pitch, they feel the pressure of who’s on the bench.”
Cardiff’s opening goal arrived in the 22nd minute when Colwill met Alex Robertson’s corner with a rising first-time strike inside the near post.
Wimbledon’s threat had been limited to a couple of early half-chances, but they managed to draw level in first-half stoppage time.
A free-kick by Steve Seddon found substitute Stevens, who slotted his volley neatly past Cardiff goalkeeper Nathan Trott.
Cardiff’s control was re-asserted after the interval and they regained the lead after 58 minutes when Tanner’s delivery reached an unmarked Ng, whose header was too powerful for goalkeeper Nathan Bishop.
Wimbledon were in disarray defensively and went 3-1 behind three minutes later when Ng set up Tanner, who was allowed time to turn inside the box and fire home.
Kellyman buried his chance – and Wimbledon – when he was played in by substitute Callum Robinson in the 87th minute.
It was a first league defeat in four games for Wimbledon, who dropped one place to 16th in the table.
Boss Johnnie Jackson felt his team had matched Cardiff in some areas, but could not compete with their firepower.
“It’s strange. We’ve got beat 4-1 and I think there’s loads to like from the team tonight,” said Jackson.
“I think we’ve caused them some problems, but obviously not enough. They’re a top team, with top players and in the end, that was the difference.
“I think we’ve had 16 shots at goal, with six or seven to target, and we caused them problems at times.
“But they have got the quality to pick you off. We kept going for it, kept trying to commit bodies to the attack, and it left us a bit open and they had the quality on the night to take the margin up.”
