SAT MATCH 2: CARMARTHEN 0-1 CITY XI

Club News

Bluebirds secure victory in West Wales

On a day where Cardiff City's senior squad were playing Shrewsbury Town at Greenhous Meadow, a Bluebirds XI defeated Welsh Premier League outfit Carmarthen Town.

An early first half strike from Dylan Rees was enough to separate the sides at Richmond Park.

Comfortable First Half

After a quiet first 10 minutes, the Bluebirds were the first to strike at Richmond Park. After a mix up in the Carmarthen Town defence, Dylan Rees gathered the ball on the right hand side of the penalty area and produced a cool finish to slot the ball past Lee Idzi. The 11th minute goal gave City a deserved 1-0 lead.

The home side came close to an equaliser on the half hour mark; Jeff White turned inside the box, though his curled strike travelled agonisingly wide of David Marshall’s left hand post.

But City were quick to get back on the offensive. Adam Le Fondre found himself in acres of space on the right wing and crossed low to Javi Guerra. The Spanish striker then laid the ball off to JamieVeale, who forced a low save from Idzi in the Town goal.

Guerra followed up with his own strike a couple of minutes later, but once again the Town stopper was up to the mark. City carried on pushing forward and the attacking was not limited to the strikers; full back David Tutonda went on a marauding run from left back to the edge of the area, and once again forced Idzi into action.

Dylan Rees continued to impress on the right wing providing plenty of crosses and causing problems for the Town defenders. The home side held on though, and the lead remained at one goal going into the break.

A Quieter 45

Kevin Nicholson made wholesale changes for the second half with 11 new players entering the field of play. The first chance for the new team fell to Macauley Southam. Some neat link up play from the young midfield allowed Southam to shoot at goal from inside the area but his right-footed strike was gathered by Idzi.

It was then the turn of the home side to increase the pressure. A searching ball from Luke Cummings looped over Joe Lewis and struck the top of the cross bar.

Cardiff looked to respond and a chance came to Abdi Noor. The striker turned his defender on the byline and found the waiting Etien Velikonja, the Slovenian firing wide.

The Old Gold game close to levelling the scores when Mark Jones found himself with just the keeper to beat from 10 yards. Luckily for City the former Aberystwyth man could only drag his effort wide.

With just a minute left there was one final chance and it fell to the hosts. Joe Lewis was forced into point blank save as Mark Jones rifled goalwards. The former Peterborough number one was more than a match though and kept the score at 1-0.

Carmarthen Town: Idzi (Kirkwood), Sheehan, Hanford (Morgan), C Thomas, Knott (Handy), Morgan (Walters), Cummings (Lumb), Harling, Bassett (Ham), White (Presser), Jones

First Half Cardiff City: Marshall, Nugent, Blaise, Tutonda, Barnum-Bobb, Veale, Kiss, O’Sullivan, Rees, Guerra, Le Fondre

Second Half Cardiff City: Lewis, Watkins, Menayese (Humphries), Abbruzzese, Baker, Burdidge, Southam, Noor, Rothe, Velikonja, Phipps

Goals: Rees (11)

Referee: R Harrington
Assistants: A Jenkins & P Jones

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