Steve Morison hails match-winning debutant Uche Ikpeazu as Cardiff beat Barnsley

Cardiff manager Steve Morison hailed the power of match-winning debutant Uche Ikpeazu after the on-loan Middlesbrough striker secured a 1-0 Championship triumph at bottom side Barnsley.

Ikpeazu struck eight minutes after being introduced from the bench just past the hour mark with the Bluebirds’ only on-target effort of the evening after he had muscled his way past home defenders Michal Helik and Mads Andersen.

A delighted Morison said: “We’ve brought him in to help the team and he did that.

“The game wasn’t a great spectacle – it was a horrible game and wasn’t our finest performance, but he had that one moment and he got to show how strong and powerful he is.

“He’s hard to stop when he gets going and is a great kid who has come into the club with a smile on his face.

“He’s brought a nice energy to the squad and the lads have told him he’s got to go to the gym because he’s not strong enough.”

Morison was less pleased with Andersen’s cynical challenge on Alfie Doughty which saw the Cardiff midfielder go off injured and could mean he misses Sunday’s FA Cup tie against Liverpool and possibly a big chunk of the remainder of the season.

“The tackle on Alfie was an absolute disgrace and it’s beyond me how it was only a yellow card,” Morison added.

Morison was also involved with an altercation with Tykes assistant coach Joe Laumann as both teams left the pitch, which also antagonised the nearby visiting fans.

Explaining those ugly scenes, he added: “They didn’t like the fact that we beat them and I don’t think they covered themselves in glory all night by hiding the towels on the side of the pitch and putting them up ballboys’ jumpers when we were taking throw-ins.

“But karma came back and bit them on the backside.

“One member