U18 Match Report | Cardiff City 0-1 Shrewsbury Town
Cardiff City's U18 side fell to a narrow defeat in the PDL Cup on Saturday afternoon.
Vlad Paternoster's second half strike proved the difference as the young Bluebirds fought the visitors in a physical challenge in Leckwith.
'Keeper Luke Armstrong did well to keep the hosts from conceding in the first half, as he pulled off two terrific stops in quick succession to deny the visitors at close range.
At the other end, City were unfortunate not to take the lead despite dominating much of possession throughout the opening 45 minutes of play.
Dylan Lawlor came the closest to a first-half opener when his improvised header flew narrowly over the bar with less than ten minutes of the half remaining.
Following a skirmish inside the City area, Paternoster was able to tuck his shot home with 25 minutes of the fixture remaining, leaving City looking for a late equaliser.
The narrow defeat came despite City's best efforts against a physical and senior side, with Shrewsbury holding on at the end to secure their second victory of the cup campaign.
FINAL SCORE: CARDIFF CITY 0-1 SHREWSBURY TOWN
Cardiff City: Armstrong, C. Jones, Giles, Lewis, Lawlor, Kenniford, Fleming, Ware, Nyakuhwa, T. Jones, Keeping. Subs: George, Dennis, Beecher, Barton, Phillips.
Shrewsbury Town: Thompson, Owusu, Bailey, Hutchings, Paternoster, Warner, Morris, Hernes, Kirby-Moore, Antal, Knight. Subs: Muenda, Beckles, Watts, Dadie, Bartozzi.
Following the final whistle, U18s Manager Steve Jenkins reflected on the result:
"I think in the first half we played really well," began Steve. "We played the ball really well and played to a high standard, though we couldn't quite make the most of it in the final third.
"It became a bit more of a battle afterwards, against a big, physical team. We couldn't really get back into our rhythm after that. It suited them, and they probably deserved to win it 1-0 in the end.
"They had a more mature side, but it's always disappointing to lose a game. It was a really good test, and we'll learn from it. We've got to deal with the physical side of the game, as teams won't always let us play the way that we want to."
