'We don't play rugby' - Cardiff City boss cuts frustrated figure after loss to Preston North End

Erol BulutErol Bulut
Erol Bulut | CameraSport - Rich Linley
PNE were 0-2 winners in South Wales on Saturday

Cardiff City manager Erol Bulut felt Preston North End's second goal shouldn't have stood on Saturday afternoon.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Lilywhites scored twice in the space of 10 first half minutes in South Wales. Those strikes, from Emil Riis and Ben Whiteman, proved enough for Ryan Lowe's side to secure back-to-back Championship victories - for the first time since early November.

It was North End's first win in Cardiff since late 2017, but a continuation of the Bluebirds' struggles on home soil this season. Bulut's side have not won on their own patch for two months now. The Turkish boss outlined his frustration at several aspects of Saturday's contest.

"We started really well in the first 30 minutes, until we conceded from their first shot," said Bulut post-match. "Then our confidence went a bit down. For their second goal, I thought there was a foul on Kion (Etete). The referee allowed a lot of fouls. We don’t play rugby... we play football.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"There were more faults from us – we can’t say this is why we lost the game – but these are key details. Generally, the game was under control but three shots from the opponent, two goals. I could have had a red card if I had continued (protesting) but it would not have changed the referee’s decision.

"They also only gave six minutes added time, which was not enough because the opponent was wasting time. It should have been at least nine minutes. The game? They made it slow after it was 2-0. You can understand that. But it was too much, so you have to add time."

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.