U18 Match Report | Cardiff City 5-4 Stockport County
Cardiff City's U18 side defeated Stockport County in an entertaining pre-season test in Leckwith on Friday afternoon.
With plenty of goals scored and the lead swinging between the two sides as the match progressed, the young Bluebirds came out on top following a confident attacking display throughout.
The hosts were behind following three minutes of play, when a loose ball deep in the City half gave the visitors a gilt-edged chance on goal, with ‘keeper Sam Jones narrowly beaten in the subsequent one-on-one.
While City came close to levelling quickly afterwards as Daniel Ola’s shot skimmed past the crossbar from a tight angle, the visitors doubled their lead around the quarter-hour mark with a header inside the City area.
Fighting back throughout the remainder of the first half, Ola got the hosts back on level terms with two fantastically taken penalty-kicks in quick succession. With the latter being a carbon copy of the first, the striker send the ‘keeper the wrong way both times with powerful shots down to the left.
Having scored two, he would assist for the third on the stroke of half-time, as he found Lennon Talbot waiting at the edge of the area. Wasting no time, Talbot in turn picked out his spot at the far post with a powerful low shot which flew in at the side netting, completing City’s comeback with aplomb.
Following the break, the Bluebirds continued playing in the same fashion that they had finished the first half, moving progressively on the ball and pressing well when not in possession. Utilising the wide spaces on the pitch, City forced a fourth goal on the hour mark as Jake Davies finished nicely from a cross, reacting well to get his body over the ball before striking home.
The visitors’ response was a goal of their own ten minutes later, finding the top of the net with a powerful shot from inside the area, though City’s third and final penalty kick was won and taken by Jac Thomas. The left back was brought down inside the area before striking home and deservedly getting his name on the scoresheet.
Not content with the two goal deficit, Stockport County halved it once again a few minutes later, with another neat finish from close range following a successful press inside City’s half.
Holding on with a neat defensive performance for the remainder, the young Bluebirds were well tests by the Hatters, but came away the victors with another valuable 90 minutes under their belt ahead of the upcoming campaign.
FULL-TIME | CARDIFF CITY 5-4 STOCKPORT COUNTY
Cardiff City: Jones, Thomas, Reynolds, Debono, Spiers, C. Williams, Rees, Watts, Davies, Talbot, Ola. Subs: Higgs, Hobson, Foggarty, Phelan, Walsh, Hilaire-Clarke, Parfitt, Allmark, O. Williams, Lenney, Tankiewicz.
Following the final whistle, Tom Hutton discussed the performance:
"First and foremost, it's important in pre-season that you get minutes in the legs," began Tom. "To be able to do that in these warm conditions increased the load on the boys, and everyone has come through it as well, which is another positive.
"At the moment, we're working with a group that is new to U18 football, so they've got a lot to learn. We want to continue to expose some of the lads who have stepped up to the U21 side early, too.
"There were a lot of really good bits today in possession, but I think that as a group we need to try to recognise more quickly what the expectations are without the ball as well.
"There is a lot to do, but the boys will become fitter and stronger as the pre-season goes on, and it's our job as staff to develop that in the lads. We saw a positive reaction to turn the game around, and that mindset is what we're looking for."
Reflecting on the step up many of the young Bluebirds are making into the U18 side, Tom continued:
"To go from U16 to U18 football is a big step," he said. "The players don't always realise that straight away, so it's our job to guide them into knowing what it takes to compete at this level.
"Games will be coming thick and fast now, and as the boys reflect and review our performance, we'll see it's about having consistency in these matches.
"We had a similar challenge with the group coming up last season, and after a slower start by the end of that campaign we finished strongly. As an Academy, our success will be measured on how much we improve the players, not on how many matches we've won."