This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.

Birmingham City crashed to defeat in the Welsh capital on Saturday afternoon despite playing against ten men for the best part of 40 minutes.

Pep Clotet’s men were smashed 4-2 by Cardiff City thanks to a hat-trick from midfielder Joe Ralls.

But the caretaker manager may have cost his side any chance of a late comeback with a crucial decision he made with ten minutes to go.

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Snapshot

The home side went down to ten men in the 52nd minute with the game poised at 2-1, but Neil Warnock’s side still managed to bag a third before the Blues could even answer.

And despite chasing the match, Clotet decided to withdraw one of their most influential players with ten minutes to go, and that may have been a terrible move.

Odin Bailey replaced Dan Crowley before they went on to lose the game 4-2, with captain Harlee Dean also seeing red.

Off the Bench

In recent weeks, the 22-year-old midfielder has been singled out as one of Birmingham’s best players by sections of the St Andrews faithful, and this game was no different.

The former Arsenal man recorded a passing accuracy of 86%, registered two successful dribbles, one key pass, and had five shots at goal, per SofaScore.

So it is clear to see he had a significant impact on the match on the right flank – he even could have scored as one attempt cannoned off the woodwork in the second half.

By withdrawing his presence, the side struggled to create much, and it took a moment of magic from Ivan Sunjic to draw them close at 3-2 as he pelted in a trademark screamer, but aside from that, Clotet’s men looked lacklustre in Crowley’s absence.

Had the £700k man remained on the pitch, City may well have seen the promising midfielder create something or score a goal himself, he was very much trending towards that until he was hauled off ten minutes from time.