Erol Bulut Confessed  How He Threw Any Chance Of Progress In The Carabao Cup 

Erol Bulut has acknowledged that he threw away any opportunity of moving on in the Carabao Cup in order to maintain Cardiff City’s attention on the Championship.

Wednesday’s 5-2 defeat at Blackburn Rovers came after Bulut, the Turkish manager, chose to alter his whole starting lineup.

The result was an expected elimination from the tournament, but Bulut emphasized that it was a cost he was willing to pay in order to try to beat Rotherham this weekend in order to make this team’s winning league streak to four games.

Andrew Moran scored two and set up two as Blackburn overpowered Cardiff in the third round tie.

“For the club, the priority is the league,” argued Bulut.

“That’s why we didn’t bring many players with us. Also, our system today, we made defenders from full-backs, wingers to full-backs.

“At least we saw today that in the future, which players we can use in our main team that can help us. Today there were only a few, not as many as I was expecting. But there were a few players who can also help us in the league.

“Even in training games I want to win. But sometimes the opponent is better than you and you have to accept it, like today, the opponent was better.

“But the priority is the Championship and the league and we will give everything on the weekend.”

Jake Garrett’s composed finish set Rovers on their way in the 13th minute before Cardiff’s Callum Robinson marked his first start of the season with a thunderous equaliser.

The 19-year-old Brighton loanee Moran’s first assist came in the 36th minute when his cutback was turned home by Arnor Sigurdsson on his home debut, but the much-changed Bluebirds hit back again through Kion Etete’s brilliant, improvised equaliser in first-half stoppage time.

A second-half Rovers blitz put the game beyond doubt. Moran profited from woeful defending to score his first goal in English football just after the break, before inducing a foul that led to a Sigurdsson spot kick that was well saved.

He doubled his tally and Blackburn’s lead in the 54th minute with a spectacular long-range effort, before feeding Dilan Markanday to register a fifth 15 minutes later.

Bulut added: “I said in the Cup we will try to go as far as we can. Today was the end for us against a good Blackburn team.

At least we saw the difference between the young players and the team. They have good players and played today much, much better than us.

“In the first half we didn’t make a lot of chances, but made it 2-2. In the second half the opponent continued to play good but we didn’t continue. We were not focussed enough. The opponent was better. The two key things in football, focus and concentration, and for us it was not enough.”

For the second year in a row, Rovers have advanced to the fourth round and will travel to face Chelsea. In their three games so far this season in the competition, they have scored 17 goals.

Leopold Wahlstedt, making his home debut, made a quick low stop to deny Etete early on, but Blackburn quickly took the lead when James Hill’s long pass found Garrett, who controlled well and slid the ball beneath Runar Alex Runarsson.

When Robinson found space from 25 yards out and fired an unstoppable shot into the bottom left corner, Cardiff equalized in the 18th minute.

Soon after, Harry Pickering shot narrowly wide of the goal, but Rovers regained control in the 36th minute when Moran made a superb cutback for Sigurdsson to score.