U23 Match Preview | Cardiff City vs. Queens Park Rangers
Cardiff City's U23 team will face Queens Park Rangers in a PDL South fixture on Tuesday, 8th February with kick-off at 1pm at Cardiff International Sports Stadium.
For those unable to attend the fixture at Cardiff International Sports Campus, Cardiff City TV will be live streaming the match worldwide, and will be available to watch free of charge!
Darren Purse's side showed incredible character to come from three goals down to pick up a 3-3 draw against Bristol City last time out, with goals from Rubin Colwill, Ibrahim Bakare and Cian Ashford netting inside the final 30 minutes of the match.
This time around, City are back on home soil as they face the R's, who are currently sitting at the bottom of the divisional table, with three wins, one draw and 11 defeats from their 15 fixtures to date.
Rangers are without a victory since November 9th, when they defeated Ipswich Town 4-2 on home soil. American forward Charlie Kelman netted a hat-trick for the R's on that occasion; however, the striker has since joined Gillingham on loan, linking up with former Bluebirds boss Neil Harris.
The Bluebirds travelled to West London to face Rangers back in November, coming away with a 3-1 victory. Captain James Connolly, currently out on loan with Bristol Rovers, netted a brace for City, after James Crole had opened the scoring with a first half penalty kick.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday's clash, U23 boss Purse reflected on last week's draw with the Robins, and praised the members of his squad who brilliantly stepped up to First Team action in our weekend defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.
"Last week wasn't a classic performance, but we got a result out of it, which we deserved. We let ourselves down in the first half, but it was a game of two halves. To be fair to the boys, you can't knock their commitment and their attitude. It's all about having those experiences for these boys.
"Four of the lads that played, Eli King, Oliver Denham, Rubin Colwill and Jai Semenyo, then went on to play at Anfield on the weekend. It's all about preparing them for that sort of situation, so they are ready to step up and produce performances like they did. It also shows the other lads that there is a pathway to go and be in that First Team."
The former City captain then turned his attention to Tuesday's fixture, which could see the Bluebirds extend their unbeaten run to three matches.
"There's never any easy games, and you never know which side the opposition will put out. At any given time, you could be playing against anyone. We don't know what type of side QPR are going to bring, but you have to go out and earn a right to win the football match. That's what I'm expecting from the boys tomorrow.
"The boys are pushing to get into the side, and having that pressure is part and parcel of football, because you never know who is waiting to take your shirt. From our point of view, that competition for places is valuable to have, in any squad. Hopefully the boys can do it justice tomorrow, and look to get some sort of result from the game."
