Cardiff City salvaged a valuable draw in dramatic fashion on Saturday, with substitute Josh Colwill scoring a crucial equalizer that head coach Barry-Murphy described as being almost as satisfying as a win.
Colwill, who had spent much of pre-season sidelined by an ankle injury, was not in the starting lineup but was thrown into the action shortly after the hour mark as part of a series of changes made by Barry-Murphy in a bid to shift the momentum of the match. The gamble paid off almost immediately, as the attacking midfielder found the net to level the score and spark wild celebrations on the touchline.
Speaking after the match, Barry-Murphy admitted that bringing Colwill on so soon in his recovery was something of a risk given his limited training. "He's only trained for two days really, so I probably shouldn't have put him on as early as I did," the Cardiff boss said. "But the way the game was going, I felt as if we needed a bit of something different and he can do that from deep, so we just take it day by day with him and see how he is."
Despite the concerns over his fitness, Barry-Murphy was full of praise for Colwill's professionalism and importance to the squad, both on and off the pitch. "He's an impeccable professional, loves the game, loves the club, so he's a huge figure for us here, I can't deny that," he added. The head coach was quick to stress, however, that the club would not rush the midfielder's return to full fitness. "He just needs to find some rhythm and volume in his training because he hasn't done a lot, so we can't rush him back because that would just put him at risk for no reason."
The goal proved pivotal for Cardiff, who had found themselves under pressure for large parts of the contest before Colwill's introduction changed the complexion of the game. The result means the Bluebirds have picked up their first point of the new Championship campaign, a result that felt like something of a triumph given the circumstances of the match.
The celebrations that followed Colwill's leveller were not without consequence for Barry-Murphy himself. Caught up in the euphoria of the moment, the Cardiff head coach was shown a yellow card by the referee for straying outside his technical area as he reacted to the goal. Asked afterward whether the booking had been a price worth paying given the significance of the equalizer, Barry-Murphy responded with a wry smile. "No, no, no. I don't want to be paying any fines," he said. "I was a bit embarrassed."
The draw represents a solid, if unspectacular, start to the season for Cardiff, who will now look to build on the spirit shown in fighting back from a losing position. Colwill's return to action, even in a substitute role, will be seen as a boost for the squad as the club looks to manage his workload carefully in the coming weeks. With the midfielder still working his way back to full sharpness, Barry-Murphy and his coaching staff face the delicate task of balancing his undoubted quality against the need to protect him from further injury setbacks as the campaign progresses.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport Football.