Jack Alnwick 6

He left his goal quickly to block dangerous balls. Couldn’t make much of a difference in any of the goals.

Ronan Kpakio 6

Looked pretty solid in defence against a really tricky attack and they often ran down his side. Was OK going forward too once he gained some confidence.

Dimitrios Goutas 5

Cardiff needed his experience at the back as he was flanked by young defenders. Solid enough but perhaps Cameron Archer got the better of him a little too easily.

REPORT: Saints score two goals in injury time to beat Bluebirds in eight-goal cup thriller

Malachi Fagan-Walcott 6

Another one who can’t really be blamed for much that went wrong and who looked relatively safe given the dominance and constant attacks from the Saints. Excellent in the air in the second half.

Joel Bagan 7

The loan last year did him a lot of good. He had a decent preseason and is very reliable, rarely lets you down. The best of all in defence.

Andy Rinomhota 6

He was sent into the middle to get a job done. Against a team with quick passing and inexperience around him, it was not an easy task, but he held on well.

Adeteye Gbadehan 4

He seemed a little surprised by the increase in performance and speed of the U21 team. He had trouble keeping up. He will learn from that.

Raheem Conte 6

A little too inconspicuous at the start. Couldn’t win the ball and didn’t cause any problems for his full-back. After the break, however, it was his sharp cross that caused the own goal and he had more influence.

Rubin Colwill 8 (Star Player)

Was miles ahead of all of Cardiff’s other attackers. Hit a world-class shot from 27 yards. Helped set up the third goal too. Should never play here – should be in the starting XI on Saturday.

Cian Ashford 6

Mixed bag. Showed some effort with promising runs but was also pushed off the ball a little too easily. Saved a huge one-on-one chance after running through in space. Had an improvement later on.

Michael Reindorf 6

Made a bright start to his Cardiff career but was swallowed up by the Saints’ huge defence at the start. But as Cardiff improved he became more involved and performed better as a result.

Submarines

Alex Robertson (Gbadehan 46) 7 – He was really needed to bolster the midfield and when he came on he controlled proceedings for Cardiff. He also scored his first goal for City and it was well done. Another positive performance.

Cody Twose (Colwill 63) 6 – A debut appearance for the youngster and he almost became a hero when he fired a piledriver just wide from 20 yards.

Isaac Jefferies (Kpakio 78) NA – Didn’t have much of an impact on the game after coming on as a substitute.