City’s U18’s were beaten 1-0 by Peterborough United in their latest PDL fixture on Saturday afternoon.
MATCH SUMMARY
The young Bluebirds began on the front foot, registering their first chance of the game after 10 minutes. Some neat link up play between Axel Donczew and Hayden Allmark opened up space to fire towards goal, however the effort rose over the bar.
Leo Papirnyk had a chance five minutes later after pouncing on a loose pass to run towards goal, but his attempted chip over the keeper also rose over the crossbar.
The visitors took advantage of the missed opportunities by taking the lead after 23 minutes, but City almost responded instantly to the setback, with Donczew striking an effort towards goal cleanly but was unable keep it on target.
Before the break, City continued to create chances as Donczew was again involved in the action, first driving towards goal with his attempt deflecting off a Peterborough defender and coming off the post, and then delivering a teasing ball into the area which was again deflected onto the bar in the last play before half time.
Allmark almost brought his side level minutes after the restart, being denied from close-range by the Posh’s goalkeeper. Substitute Keano Conaty aimed to make an impact off the bench, looking for Paul Moreno in the area with minutes to go however the danger was cleared at the near post.
City were unable to find the equaliser and are next in action on Saturday, 11th April where they will travel to face Wigan Athletic in an 11am kick-off.
REACTION | TOM HUTTON
“I'm frustrated with the result, but in relation to the scoreline you could probably have no complaints. We created quite a lot of chances today, but you have to take them when they come.
“There was a positive reaction from us to going behind. The boys kept on and there was an intent to try and do the things that we asked, but ultimately, I think we've let ourselves down on technical quality, which we know is so important.
"If that first touch or that final pass or the decision-making on how you deliver into the box is not quite right, ultimately, you're not going take those moments. On another day, had we taken the chance, I think it'd be a bit more of a favourable result. I'm frustrated in that respect, because we had the chances early on to get ourselves into a lead.
“Credit to Peterborough, they obviously came with a gameplan to try and stop us from playing, but they were resilient. They defended their box well and made it difficult for us to play through. There were options to play over them, which we did at times, but probably not with the level of quality that was needed, but credit to them, I thought they worked hard."
PRE-MATCH | TOM HUTTON
“We’re expecting a different game to the one against Charlton last weekend but still one that will be challenging.” Tom began. “The players have had a heavy couple of weeks with some of the lads playing across both the U18s and U21s.
“This week, we will be spending time reflecting on Saturday’s game firstly and making sure that we recover well, and then we'll see what the week brings in terms of training.
"We'll be preparing as best we can to hopefully build upon the positives that we saw against Charlton and try and deliver a positive performance."
RECENT RESULT
The young Bluebirds faced off against league-leaders Charlton Athletic in their most recent PDL fixture, where they played out a 1-1 draw.
As both sides searched for an opener, City’s best chance of the half fell to Hayden Allmark. After winning the ball deep in the Charlton half, Paul Moreno played a neat backheel inside the area to Axel Donczew, who squared it to Allmark whose effort was denied at the near post.
With the scores level at half-time, the Addicks took the lead minutes after the restart. A ball over the top from Ed Thomas found the run of Raynon Richman, who rounded the keeper and slotted home.
However, City struck back just after the hour-mark through Moreno, who hit a stunning free-kick from 25 yards beyond the keeper to draw the scores level.
The hosts came close to snatching all three points late on, as Tiger Tobin played a neat diagonal pass to Harry Watts just inside the area, who cut inside on his right foot and struck towards the far comer, but was denied by a strong save from Logan Williams.
TICKET INFORMATION
Entry for the match at Cardiff International Sports Campus will be free for all supporters.
REACHING THE GROUND
Supporters planning on attending should use the following address:
Cardiff International Sports Campus, Leckwith Rd, Cardiff, CF11 8AZ.
The ground is located an 11-minute walk away from Ninian Park Station and a 32-minute walk from Cardiff Central Station.