Erol Bulut stunned by deafening Cardiff City fans’ support and praises Ollie Tanner after ‘special’ South Wales derby win
The Bluebirds recorded a 2-0 win over South Wales derby rivals Swansea City on Saturday night
Erol Bulut described his first South Wales derby win as Cardiff City manager as “special” and reserved special praise for game-changer Ollie Tanner.
Cardiff ran out 2-0 winners over Swansea but in truth the scoreline could have been much greater. Tanner struck in the 71st minute with one of his first touches of the game, while he went on to win the penalty that Aaron Ramsey would score to make sure of the win.
It’s Bulut’s first taste of derby success, with fans yearning for a win after four successive defeats by their rivals in the past two seasons, and he was delighted by his team’s display.
A derby is something else,” he said. “But to have a win today was very important to us. It was special because it was a derby. It was a very important win for us.
“We didn’t want to give points away today. It was a must and we did it. We now have seven points and I hope on Tuesday we can continue like that.
“I played a lot of derbies in my career, as a player and as a coach, but today I told the players how important this game is. Because I don’t think we have won at home in 10 years? Well, today you can delete the 10 years. It’s finished.
“This derby is much different. For 10 years you didn’t get many wins against Swansea. So today was special, for me it was special because a few days ago I was at dinner and I spoke with fans and they made it clear what today means. And I said not to worry and that I would tell my players to fix it on the field, so I am happy!”
Tanner was undoubtedly the spark that changed the game, providing that real moment of quality for his own goal before bamboozling Kristian Pedersen and winning that penalty.
The 21-year-old’s rise has been magnificent to witness this season. He was in the seventh tier of English football with Lewes FC just over a year ago and just a few months back endured a rotten loan spell at York City in the National League.
Bulut saw something in him in pre-season, though, and, boy, has he reaped the rewards.
“”I am also really happy that Ollie Tanner scored and got the penalty. He is a good young player. At the moment, if he comes from the bench he is better than if he comes on from the start,” Bulut said.
“I said in pre-season, when we played games, that he was good and I was not going to give him away. I said that at the start and I was right
“I hear things about him that he was not professional, coming from nothing. Last season he was not here, they didn’t want to keep him, we have to respect every manager has a different opinion.
“But when I had a pre-season I gave everybody their chance to play in pre-season and I saw that he had something in him. I am also left-footed and he has a good left foot. He has a good shot and he can dribble. He is strong.
“So we gave him a chance and every game he puts a bit extra on his game. I hope for his career that he continues like that. He has to stay with his feet on the floor.”
