Cardiff boss Brian Barry-Murphy says Aberfan tribute shaped win over Birmingham

Aberfan tribute inspires Cardiff

Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy has spoken of the emotions surrounding tributes to the Aberfan disaster of 1966, which he says played a part in inspiring his side to a 1-0 victory over Birmingham.

Cardiff's squad and management visited the memorial garden in the valleys village which, 60 years ago, saw 116 children and 28 adults die when a coal tip collapsed and engulfed Pantglas junior school. A minute's silence was held before kick-off, and was respected impeccably by both sets of fans.

'I never knew the depth of what went on'

Irishman Barry-Murphy said he had not fully appreciated the suffering and significance of the disaster, which took place just 20 miles from the Welsh capital.

"I had an awareness of what happened there, but I never knew the depth of what went on or what people experienced," Barry-Murphy said following the 1-0 victory.

He said it was important for the players to watch footage of the disaster to understand what the local community had been through.

"While you're there, it's naturally emotionally very difficult because you start to see the gravestones of the people who passed there. But also the stories of the different people there that day. It's very difficult to comprehend what they went through."

A performance that 'understood what we were playing for'

Barry-Murphy had stressed to his players the importance of delivering a performance that "understood what we were playing for".

"Football is football and we couldn't guarantee that we were going to win today, but we had to produce a performance that looked as if we understood what we were playing for. On such a poignant day, it's very important that we played the way we did."

In the matchday programme, Barry-Murphy wrote about the community's response to the disaster and said he wanted his side to show the same qualities. The programme's front cover displayed the clock found in the rubble that stopped at the time of the disaster.

Academy coach's personal link to the disaster

Barry-Murphy revealed that academy coach Dennis Moss also made the visit to Aberfan, 24 hours before the 60th anniversary commemorations. Moss was among the rescuers.

"He was one of the first responders as an 18-year-old from Cardiff who shot up there to start pulling bodies from the rubble. He was there with us and you see the effect it had on him to be back there."