City’s U17s were defeated by Wrexham and bowed out of the PDL Cup on Wednesday afternoon.
MATCH REACTION | TOM HUTTON.
“I was disappointed overall,” Tom began. “We talk a lot about having a gameplan from a tactical point of view but we also talk about the important behaviours that underpin that.
"To be successful as a team you must make sure that you are on top of both. There were times where we played good football but overall, our application and work rate wasn’t at the level.
"When that isn’t consistent across a 120-minute match, you’ll find it difficult to win. There are loads to improve on, whilst there were some bright spells in possession.
"There were moments of us on top of them in terms of where we were on the pitch and where the game was played. When we had our moments that mattered, we lacked quality and the end product was poor, that was consistent throughout the game.”
MATCH SUMMARY
The Bluebirds started the stronger of the two teams. Jack Sykes had the first real opportunity of the game, receiving the ball in the box. Moments later, City took the lead following some strong passing work. Just seven minutes later, Wrexham levelled the scoring with a well taken effort.
The hosts saw the goal as a wakeup call. Leo Papirnyk played the ball to Sykes on the edge of the box, whose shot found the side netting. Minutes later, Jake Hobson had his own chance to get the second, though his long-range effort resulted in a diving save from Wrexham’s shot-stopper.
Early in the second half, Wrexham once again took the lead. Riley Hilaire-Clarke was then found on the right-hand side. His clever skill and pass to Papirnyk led to a shot on target. Jake Hobson came close in the 54th minute, though his free kick forced a save from the goalkeeper. Hilaire- Clarke was rewarded for his bright spell, luring the keeper out on the right flank and squaring it to Papirnyk, who slotted it home.
Despite having chances in the latter stages, the game was forced into extra time. Wrexham took the lead in the 104th minute, before finishing the game off with their fourth in the 115th minute. City bowed out of the PDL Cup as the game ended 4-2 in Wrexham’s favour.