U21 Match Report | Cardiff City 3-1 Barnsley
Cardiff City's U21 side returned to winning ways with a 3-1 victory over Barnsley at CCS on Tuesday afternoon.
First Team player Ebou Adams opened the scoring for the young Bluebirds, with Isaak Davies and Cian Ashford adding to the scoreline in the second half after the visitors netted an equaliser right before the interval.
The hosts were on the front foot from the off, and came close to an early opener through Davies, whose low strike after a cutting run was denied only by the 'keeper's outstretched leg.
On the quarter-hour mark, Joel Bagan's cross found skipper Xavier Benjamin, who couldn't quite keep his header from inside the area on target. Bagan came close once again 15 minutes later, as his free-kick struck the crossbar.
The Bluebirds were fortunate at one point when, having conceded a penalty, Barnsley striker Josiah Dyer's shot on goal struck the crossbar before being cleared well away.
City found their breakthrough in the 44th minute of play, as Ebou Adams netted his first goal in a City shirt. Latching onto a high ball played towards him outside the area, his volleyed effort flew in perfectly at the top left corner, breaking the deadlock in terrific fashion.
The lead was short-lived, however, as Harrison Nejman levelled minutes later with an effort from inside the area, giving City more work to do after the break.
Having an immediate impact after the break, Davies netted with a clinical finish, putting City deservedly in the lead once more. Remaining in control for much of the remainder - and bolstered by three substitutes with 25 minutes remaining - in the 80th minute, substitute Cian Ashford did well to tuck his effort away under pressure from Joel Colwill's terrific through ball, securing the three points for the hosts.
FINAL SCORE: CARDIFF CITY 3-1 BARNSLEY
Cardiff City: Dennis, T. Jones, Bagan, Denham, Benjamin, King, Jefferies, Antwi, I. Davies, Adams, Peake. Subs: Thomas, J. Colwill, Pritchard, Ashford, Zimba.
After the final whistle, U21s Manager Darren Purse spoke to Cardiff City TV to discuss the result:
"I thought it was a good performance," began Darren. "The difference between this week and last week was box-to-box we were similar, but we were more ruthless when we got around the penalty area today.
"We spoke to Isaak Davies about playing further up, and that's where he gets his goal from, which is great to see. We've also got a little bit of impact from the boys coming off the bench; Cian Ashford has had a real impact off the bench and affecting the game.
"It was a good performance, but we need to be reducing the mistakes, like conceding a penalty in the way that we did today."
