City’s U21s begin their Professional Development League campaign with a home clash against Barnsley.
The fixture will take place at Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday, August 18th, kicking off at 2pm.
PRE-MATCH | MATTHEW BLOXHAM
Ahead of the league opener, Matthew Bloxham said: “We were very pleased with the performance against Bournemouth on Friday night and that gave us a good start to build on. Barnsley will pose us a different test and it’s important that we maintain high standards in order to be the team that we want to be on a consistent basis.
“The message to the players is regularly around our non-negotiables and playing with the principles that we want to bring to each game, both on and off the ball. We know that we have the quality to perform well but we’ll have to be at the top of our game in order to compete on Tuesday.
“With it being our first league game of the season, we want to get off to a positive start and make sure that Friday’s performance is a platform for us. The boys set a high standard in that game and we’ll not only be looking to reach those levels again but also take learnings forward and see improvement in certain aspects.”
PRE-MATCH | JAC THOMAS
Defender Jac Thomas impressed last time out, offering City a great outlet on the left as well as contributing defensively.
The left-back added: "Beating Bournemouth on Friday was a brilliant result and really good start to the season for us. With a good team performance to come with it, that is going to give us a lot of confidence going into the game Barnsley on Tuesday.
"It’s important now that we move on to the next game and continue what we have been working on in training. We want to put in good performances to give ourselves every chance of winning games."
RECENT RESULT
Last time out, City claimed an impressive 4-1 victory over AFC Bournemouth in the PL Cup.
The Bluebirds produced a brilliant first half display to head into the break with a 1-0 lead thanks to Jack Sykes' opener, reacting quickest in the box after a corner was played in to tap into the net.
City had further chances to add to the lead in the opening period, with Rob Tankiewicz and Paul Moreno both impressing.
Our visitors came out of the blocks quickly in the second half and got themselves on level terms, requiring Bloxham's side to show character.
They did exactly that, with Tankiewicz netting a fine strike to put City back ahead.
All of the Bluebirds' substitutions made an impact when they came on but it was Troy Perrett who stood out, adding a third and fourth goal to City's tally.
Both of Perrett's strikes were full of quality, picking out the top corner for the first and showing great feet to find space for the second.
TICKET INFORMATION
Entry for the match will be free for all supporters, with entry via Gate 2, between the Ticket Office and SuperStore.
REACHING THE GROUND
Supporters planning on attending should use the following address:
Cardiff City Stadium, Leckwith Rd, Cardiff, CF11 8AZ.
The ground is located a 9-minute walk from Ninian Park Station and a 32-minute walk from Cardiff Central Station.