U21 Match Report | Cardiff City 0-2 AFC Bournemouth

Cardiff City's U21 side were defeated by the Cherries on Friday afternoon.

Dominic Sadi's brace proved the difference on the scoresheet as the young Bluebirds were held throughout and unable to find a responding goal.

Following City's 2-2 draw against Swansea City earlier on in the week, the hosts fielded a side without the inclusion of any senior First Team players this time out, with scholars such as Joseff Edwards and Dakarai Mafico featuring against the Cherries in Leckwith.

Goalkeeper Joe Thomas was tested well throughout the first half, and put in a series of good stops before the visitors eventually broke the deadlock before the interval. The second goal, following right after the break, was a well-taken penalty-kick, following a foul by Dylan Lawlor on goalscorer Sadi.

While City had moments throughout where they looked to threaten the opposition's area, the visitors held fast to keep a clean sheet.

"I'm disappointed. I can take losing a game, but the difference between the two sides was that they looked like a side looking to win the league, and we didn't," began Darren Purse following the final whistle. "You can look at us having three First Year Scholars starting, but that's irrelevant as I picked those players because I believe that they deserve to play."

Continuing to reflect on the afternoon, Darren elaborated: "We struggled a bit with that competitive edge, and lost a lot of those 50/50 duels, but the biggest disappointment for me was that if we're going to lose, I'd rather do it in a way where we're playing well, and I don't think we did that. 

"They outworked us, outpressed and outpassed us, and in the end deserved to win the game, and that's the most disappointing thing. 

"Looking where we're at, I've focussed on individuals within the group, and this season we've got a lot of players on the bench for the First Team and have done things a bit differently by getting a lot of our senior U21 players also out on loan during this second half of the season.

"It will then of course affect the results, but we're hoping that the younger boys who are now coming through are going to benefit from what they learn now, so that next year they'll know what it's like to go up against those sides that are chasing the league. Then, they can hope to be a part of a group that can look to go and do it themselves in the future. 

"It's a constant evolution, but today we didn't look as though we were going to play the way we wanted to, and that's what's disappointing."