U18 Preview: Cardiff City vs. Burnley
Cardiff City’s U18 side host Burnley at USW Sports Park on Saturday, April 13th – with the winners of the PDL2 South still yet to be decided, 11am kick-off.
Should results go their way, Cardiff City could be crowned PDL2 South champions early next week, with first-placed Ipswich Town still having to face Sheffield United this weekend and Crystal Palace on Tuesday.
The young Bluebirds are currently a point behind Ipswich, so only a win would be enough to keep City’s hopes of claiming the title alive.
Know Your Opponent
Saturday’s visitors are currently placed 4th in the PDL2 North, following their 4-3 defeat against Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday, April 9th, which ended their hopes of finishing in the top two, and confirmed Sheffield Wednesday’s place in the PDL2 playoffs.
The Clarets have accumulated forty-nine points from 27 games this campaign, recording fifteen wins and four draws. Burnley were knocked out of the FA Youth Cup in the third round of the competition, as they were defeated by Oxford United on Tuesday, November 11th at Turf Moor.
Tony Philliskirk’s side seemed set to progress into the next round after opening the scoring in the first-half through Michael Fowler. The O’s equalised in the 84th minute though to force extra-time, and eventually sealed their place in the fourth-round following a 3-2 victory on penalties.
Backroom Staff
Burnley’s U18 side are managed by head coach Tony Philliskirk, who joined the club in December 2018. Previously, Philliskirk spent 20 years at Oldham in which he held a number of roles ranging from youth coach to assistant manager at Boundary Park.
The ex-striker enjoyed a fifteen-year playing career between 1983-1998, making over 400 appearances and scoring 113 goals. In addition to this, he also played for the Bluebirds, appearing 61 times and scoring on five occasions during his time at Ninian Park between 1995-98.
He is assisted by Jon Townson, who was previously acting as Academy Manager at Accrington Stanley between 2014-15, following a three-year spell with Derby County Ladies as first-team manager.
Last Time Out
The last time City faced Burnley in league action was on Saturday, August 19th, 2017, when the young Bluebirds fell to a 2-1 defeat at USW Sports Park.
Isaak Davies scored following a surging run in the 33rd minute, reducing City’s deficit to a single goal. Although they continued to push in order to find a vital second goal to level the scorers, it wasn’t to be, despite going close on a number of occasions from Sam Bowen and Cai Williams.
Catch-Up: Highlights of the match will be available to subscribers of Cardiff City TV.
Social: Live Updates will come from via our official Academy Twitter account, @CF11Academy.
