Furious Erol Bulut expressed his frustration with Cardiff City’s substitutes following their capitulation in the defeat to Norwich City.

Cardiff controlled the game 2-1 before Bulut created chances, with the likes of Ryan Wintle, Ollie Tanner, Rubin Colville and Kion Etete present late in the match. However, they failed to make any impact and Bulut believes an element of complacency, as well as the impending international break, may have influenced Cardiff to finish the game 3-2 behind.

“Today we saw two different 45 minutes,” said Bulut. “In the first half we dominated. We received a corner and came back with two goals, we could have scored three or even four. But the game lasts 90 minutes. In the second half I was waiting for how we would end the first. We couldn’t show a game like that on the field.

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Furthermore, the substitutes didn’t help us much today. In previous weeks it was different, when we made substitutions they gave us points. It wasn’t like that tonight and it was also the key to us losing the game 3-2. You can lose a game, but not the one we showed in the last 25 minutes.

“We didn’t fight. We weren’t focused. We lost the ball too quickly and gave the opponent some opportunities. We knew exactly what they were going to do with the long balls behind us. Some players weren’t focused enough.”

Asked why he thought the substitutes struggled, he added: “Maybe it was the international break? I don’t know.

“I don’t know. You have a few days off. You’re winning 2-1, maybe you’re more relaxed? I don’t know. I think so. So maybe the players are different. You can lose a “game, but not like us , was lost in the last 25 minutes. It disgusts me.”

The manager was clearly disappointed with the way the defeat came about, having played a similar game away to Ipswich Town earlier in the season. But conceding two goals from set pieces, something they have prided themselves on this season, is a particularly tough pill to swallow for Bulut.

“We train for this,” he said. “We showed the team how Norwich take corners at the near post and today they scored the first goal at the near post. I don’t want to say who the player was against, but my player knows he made a mistake. It was not so. “It wasn’t close. And we missed the far post. The second goal was the same. Two easy goals. If you miss two goals from set pieces and don’t score, when you have the third or fourth chance to knock out the opponent, the opponent becomes stronger and stronger.

“It was important that our substitutes, who have changed the game so far, went in a completely different direction. Our substitutions today didn’t help us much.”

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The Bluebirds manager put in a particularly nasty touchline performance throughout the match, with several refereeing decisions sparking wild reactions from the 21,000 fans at Cardiff City Stadium. Josh Bowler’s penalty was disallowed in the first half, while other decisions and yellow cards also left some scratching their heads.

Although Bulut is generally a pleasant customer, even he admitted that he sometimes lost control when gesturing against some of Rebecca Welch’s calls during the game.

“I was clear about that,” he said of Bowler’s penalty. “I don’t want to talk about the referee. I spoke a lot with the fourth referee on the touchline. But nothing changed. It wasn’t just a penalty, there were a few more fouls, so can we change it?

“For me it was a clear penalty, because the same foul that Rallsi made in the center, they gave him a yellow card. The penalty was more difficult.

“One decision? Good. Two is good, but when there are so many against us, I lose control. I can’t always stay silent and just watch what happens. We’ve lost points before, in previous games, and we don’t want to get into that, but I didn’t talk about it. But something has to change. Why always against us?