U21 | Cardiff City 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday

City's U21 side began the PDL campaign with a 1-0 defeat against Sheffield Wednesday.

Reaction | Darren Purse

Following the full-time whistle, U21 head coach Darren Purse said: "I'm gutted. I looked at the team and I thought that it was good enough to win the game. We didn't quite perform at the level that we wanted to. You can't give a side an easy opportunity to get a goal and go 1-0 up, then expect to try and break them down. They sat deep and made it difficult for us; we didn't have that end product in the final third. 

"I hope that comes with time, they're young players. We huffed and puffed, but there wasn't a lot of space for our players. There's lots to work on, but I feel a bit gutted, because I was really looking forward to the game and the team that we put out. It's a tough one to take."

Match SUMMARY

Devian Moses' 6th minute strike was enough to secure victory for Sheffield Wednesday at Cardiff City Stadium.

City reacted well to falling behind and looked for an immediate equaliser, going close through Troy Perrett, who fired just over. Striker Tanatswa Nyakuhwa also had a chance, but was denied from close-range by goalkeeper Jack Hall.

The visitors remained a threat on the counter-attack, with winger Joey Phuthi particularly a threat. He drove into the area and hit the post just before the break.

Purse's side dominated possession and had to be patient in their build up, but couldn't quite break down a compact Owls defence, who withstood second half pressure to ensure victory.

Watch on Cardiff City TV!

Team News

Here's how the Bluebirds line-up for our PDL opener:

Cardiff City: Griffiths, Spiers, Edwards, Cook (C), Beecher, Twose, Mafico, Wigley, George, Perrett, Nyakuhwa.

Substitutes: Joe Thomas, Debono, Jac Thomas, J. Davies, Jefferies.

Pre-Match | Darren Purse

Ahead of the season opener, Purse said: "The way that pre-season pans out for us, with us being in the Nathaniel MG Cup, we have to prepare the boys for men's football. Because of our opposition in pre-season, we went into games against Afan Lido and Pontypridd United with experience of it and you can see the development of the boys in such a short space of time. 

"Pre-season has been brilliant. I'm happy to have got in the players that we have brought in, the scholars that have come up have really stepped up and now the big thing is taking what we've learned into the new season. 

"If you look at how much our squad has developed and evolved, you've got some young players in there with a lot of experience. The balance of our squad is a lot better now and we have strength in numbers with competition for places."

PRE-MATCH | TROY PERRETT

City playmaker Troy Perrett added: "We're all looking forward to it. It's been a tough, but positive pre-season for us. We're just excited to be back playing league football now.

"Playing against men's teams in pre-season has been a good challenge and has given us different experiences in each game. It will benefit us a lot going into the new season and throughout the year.

"Pre-season has been as it should be. It has helped us with fitness, but also playing against those men's teams, it has got us used to that physicality."

Ticket information

Entry for Wednesday's match at Cardiff City Stadium will be free for all supporters.

Reaching THE GROUND

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

Cardiff City Stadium, Leckwith Rd, Cardiff CF11 8AZ

The nearest rail station to CCS is Ninian Park Station, which is four-minute walk away from the ground. Grangetown Station is a 15-minute walk, while Cardiff Central Station is a 26-minute walk away.

Parking will be available outside the ground on matchday.