Cardiff City need to use Rubin Colwill - otherwise they will lose him

Rubin Colwill started Sunday’s Severnside derby on the bench. He began getting stripped off just after the hour, with Cardiff City a goal down. By the time he made it onto the pitch in the 66th minute, Bristol had doubled their lead.

In the 67th minute, Colwill received possession near halfway on the right and immediately chopped a pass between two Bristol players and around another, into the path of the onrushing Mark Harris. He attempted to round Wes Bentley, but the Bristol goalkeeper dived at his feet, stretching out a hand that just about pushed the ball away from danger.

It was the closest Cardiff came to reducing the deficit and finding a way back into the game and it was something out of nothing. All due to Colwill’s instinctive brilliance.

Cardiff look to be in pretty good shape, but they have developed certain inadequacies. The one most apparent and widely discussed is a lack of goals.

Max Watters is having a tough old time all on his own up top. Despite Cardiff’s increased appetite for the ball, it has yet to translate into more goals. Watters toils away, closing people down and making smart runs, but the ball is rarely forthcoming. When presented with the odd chance, he has thus far failed to make them count.

Watters was recalled from a fruitful loan spell at MK Dons last January and has a solitary goal to his name since. It was all hands on deck at the time, as Cardiff attempted to steer clear of the Championship relegation places, but in retrospect, maybe he would have benefitted from a longer spell in League One.

A lack of goals is actually a symptom rather than the underlying problem though. A lack of chances is the primary concern.

My personal opinion is that this is down to teething problems and may