Turnbull hails Cardiff ‘statement’ win at Bradford

David Turnbull believes Cardiff City made a “big statement” with their victory over League One promotion rivals Bradford City.

Midfielder Turnbull scored the Bluebirds’ first goal – a fine curling effort from 20 yards – as the leaders triumphed 2-1 at Valley Parade on Saturday.

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It was only a second home league defeat since March for third-placed Bradford, who are now nine points behind Cardiff.

“It’s a big statement. Coming here we knew how difficult it was going to be. They’ve been flying high, especially at home this season,” Turnbull told BBC Sport Wales.

“It says a lot about the mentality. Everyone was in this together. It shows how much we are all in this together. We like to fight for each other.”

Bradford were the first team to beat Cardiff this season, winning 3-1 in the Welsh capital in September.

By avenging that defeat in Yorkshire on Saturday, Turnbull believes his side underlined their promotion credentials.

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“It’s a huge victory,” he said. “We knew coming here they delivered to us, so we wanted to show them we were a better team than what we showed that day.

“We had to fight back at the end. We played great football in the first half, we opened them up at times. It’s a huge result.”

Turnbull is a technically gifted player, capable of scoring spectacular goals, but his long-range effort against Bradford was his first league goal since November 2024.

He also scored with a superb diving header against Chelsea in the EFL Cup in December, and the Scotland international will be hoping to add to his tally.

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“I was going to hit it with my left, I saw the defenders coming so I cut it and the rest is history,” Turnbull said of his goal at Valley Parade.

“I feel like I’m performing better every week. It’s about consistency now and doing it consistently. I feel like this is the best I’ve played, and as a team, since I’ve been here.”