Cardiff City 2-1 Stevenage: Robinson and Salech goals help Bluebirds secure comeback win

Cardiff City ended 2025 sitting three points clear at the top of League One after coming from behind to secure a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Stevenage at the Cardiff City Stadium.

In a contest that looked destined to become one of those frustrating nights for the league leaders, Brian Barry-Murphy’s side showed resilience, patience and attacking quality to overturn a second-half deficit and maintain their impressive grip on the summit.

The first half was one to forget for the majority of those inside the stadium. Cardiff dominated territory and possession but struggled to turn control into clear-cut chances against a Stevenage side content to sit deep and frustrate. Chris Willock fired wide on a couple of occasions, Isaak Davies glanced a header just past the post and David Turnbull clipped the roof of the net with an awkward effort, but Filip Marschall was largely untroubled.

Stevenage’s biggest moment of the opening 45 minutes arrived just three minutes in when Harvey White’s looping free-kick beat Nathan Trott but crashed back off the underside of the crossbar, serving as an early warning that the visitors were capable of punishing any lapse. Beyond that scare, Cardiff penned Alex Revell's side back, yet went into the break with little to show for their dominance.

The second half began in similarly subdued fashion, and the frustration around the ground grew when Stevenage struck with their first meaningful chance of the game. On 57 minutes, Phoenix Patterson collected loose ball on the edge of the area, cut inside and bent a superb strike beyond Trott and inside the far post to give the visitors a shock lead.

Barry-Murphy responded swiftly, introducing Omari Kellyman and Ronan Kpakio, and the changes immediately injected