Match Preview: Cardiff City FC Women vs. Abergavenny Town

Cardiff City FC Women will host Abergavenny Town in the WPWL Cup at Cardiff International Stadium on Sunday, December 1st – 2pm kick-off.

The Bluebirds will be looking to move onto six points in group one, having previously beaten Llandudno Ladies 7-0 in their opening group stage fixture in September. Entry is free for all as the Bluebirds aim to strengthen their position in the group.

Recent Form

Cardiff City come into the match with confidence, having progressed into the quarter-finals of the FAW Women’s Cup after producing a fine display to record a 7-0 victory over Aberystwyth Town on Sunday, November 16th. Catherine Walsh and Kate Jeremiah both recorded a brace in the win, whilst Danielle Broadhurst, Jasmine Simpson and Zoe Atkins all netted in City’s joint second biggest victory of the season.

It has been over three weeks since the Bluebirds featured in league action, however they produced an efficient performance to claim all three points against a determined Briton Ferry side, with Alana Murphy registering a brace in the 2-1 triumph.

The Opposition

Abergavenny Town have endured a tough start to the 2019/20 campaign, having lost on the opening day to the Bluebirds’, before also being defeated by Swansea City.

Abergavenny have enjoyed success in the FAW Women’s Cup as of late however, progressing to the quarter-finals following an emphatic 8-2 victory against the Cardiff Bluebells, scoring six goals in extra time to set up a tie with Llandudno Ladies.

Previous Meetings

The most recent meeting between the two sides came in the opening game of the season, as the Bluebirds confidently dispatched the hosts 3-0 at Pen-Y-Pound Stadium on September 8th, 2019.

On November 25th, 2018 Alana Murphy and Catherine Walsh netted in the 2-0 WPWL victory at Pen-Y-Pound Stadium and seven days later, Danielle Broadhurst scored a brace in the 2-1 WPWL League Cup Quarter-Final win, that went through extra-time.

The Bluebirds have also struggled against Sunday’s opponents, falling to defeat two occasions last season. The most recent was a 6-2 defeat in their final league game of the 2018/19 season. Their will certainly be an added emphasis on this game for the Bluebirds, as Abergavenny Town knocked out the Bluebirds in the semi-finals of the FAW Women’s Cup.

Pre-Match quotes

Ahead of the match, we caught up with Head Coach Iain Darbyshire, who shared his thoughts going into the cup tie.

“We’re excited for the match. The cup was restructured in the summer and with the group stage it gives us an opportunity to get some extra games and for the schedule, so we’re all excited for the upcoming game. We didn’t have a game last weekend, which gives us an extra incentive to do well. We’re ready to go and hoping for a positive result on Sunday.

The girls are playing some great football at the moment, we’re winning the games very well and putting in some good performances whilst playing attractive football. If everyone could come down and support it’d be great. The girls need your support, and it’s always good to get a nice crowd.

“We lost in the semi-final to Abergavenny last season - they were the better side on the day. We’d appreciate any support that we get, as we want to try and create an awareness of what we’re trying to do with the side. We’ve got some fantastic footballers; we welcome anyone to come down and support the girls at Cardiff International Sports Campus on Sunday.

“Abergavenny are a good side, we played them the first game of the season, but they endured a bit of a transitional summer. I’m expecting a very strong side moving forward, and they’ve had some good results as of late. We’re at home, which is a good incentive, as the girls love playing on the pitch. We’re expecting a very physical and tough match, but the girls have prepared very well and if we stick to our game plan, we should get a positive result.”