U18 Match Centre | Bristol City vs. Cardiff City

Our U18s are back in PDL action on Saturday, facing Bristol City. 

PRE-MATCH | TOM HUTTON

Ahead of the fixture, head coach Tom Hutton said: “Training has been really good this week. The boys are working hard, and they know how important this game is on the weekend to train well in order to perform well. We’ve had some boys involved with the U21s game on Monday, and we’ve got some more boys involved against Everton, but it’s been a good week and we’re continuing to challenge our boys in the right way.

“Your identity and how you work out of possession is hugely important, and it’s something we put a lot of work into. When you’re a young defender, U18s football is a massive step up from U16s football, so your defensive awareness and positioning is so important. The lads who are playing in that back line at the moment who came in as first year scholars last year found it difficult. However, to see where they are now and how they’ve improved not only as individual defenders but also as a unit is impressive.

“We know the game against Bristol City is going to be a challenge and we know it’ll be a really competitive fixture. We have to make sure we’re going into the game with a competitive mindset, but as always, the performance has to come first and foremost. If we can stick to the game model positively, I’m confident the result will come off the back of that.”

PRE-MATCH | ALYAS DEBONO

Defender Alyas Debono added: “I thought it was a very strong team performance against Brentford. They were a very good team, and we did well to get the three points, especially with ten men. We showed really good discipline when we defended, and to score a goal after going a man down shows how clever we were when we attacked. As a team we are very happy with the result, especially keeping a clean sheet in the second half.

“We are playing a lot of football, and we’ve had a lot of clean sheets this season. I think that’s more to the fact that we’ve taken more pride in defending this year. We all know how important it is, and us as a back four have a really good connection. We know if we can keep a clean sheet that the forwards will do their job, and we’ll win the game.

“We want to treat every game in the same manner, but derby games are always a little more competitive. We know how important these derby games are, and we all feel a sense of excitement and competitiveness in training this week. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”

TICKET INFORMATION

Entry for this Saturday's match at the Robins High Performance Centre will be free for all supporters.

REACHING THE GROUND

Supporters planning on attending on Saturday should use the following address:

Robins High Performance Centre, Clevedon Road, Failand, Bristol, BS8 3TN.

The ground is located in Failand, and fans are advised to catch the X6 bus from the centre of Bristol to reach the ground.