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' Cardiff City last night '

Sat Jul 14, 2018 8:06 am

Taffs Well 0-3 Cardiff City : Young Bluebirds ease to win in pre-season opener




The Bluebirds played their first game since winning promotion to the Premier League

Cardiff City began their pre-season friendly campaign with a comfortable 3-0 victory over local Welsh League Division One outfit Taffs Well FC.

Rhiw Dda'r stadium boasted a crowd of more than 2,000 for the clash, with the entire Bluebirds first team squad travelling for the game to meet fans and pose for selfies and sign autographs.

The game also raised money for two charities: Rookwood Hospital and Velindre Cancer Centre.

On the pitch, a brace from Rhys Healey as well as a late strike from trialist Scott McLean was the difference.
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Re: ' Cardiff City last night '

Sat Jul 14, 2018 8:08 am

Taffs Well 0-3 Cardiff City: :bluebird:


Crowd 2,560

By Dominic Booth

Rhys Healey brace secures win as Bluebirds begin pre-season with victory

Cardiff City got their pre-season campaign off to a pleasantly victorious start, even if the subdued circumstances taught us precious little about what is to come in the next 10 months.

Taffs Well were accommodating hosts in every sense of the word and a Cardiff team including mainly Under-23 players were barely tested, running out 3-0 winners thanks to a Rhys Healey brace either side of half time and trialist Scott McLean's late strike.

More stringent tests and bigger stages are to come, especially in the Premier League.

But even taking on Tavistock, Bodmin Town and Torquay with the first team squad, you feel, will tell us more about how this Bluebirds side are gelling ahead of their biggest season in years.


The positives were that Rhwr Dda'r stadium was packed to the rafters with more than 2,500 buoyant fans; the coffers of charities Rookwood Hospital and Velindre Cancer Centre were nicely boosted and, most pertinently, the good feeling around this Cardiff team continued.

Many Bluebirds fans might have hoped to see the big names play, but such was the dry and bobbly state of the Taffs Well pitch that Neil Warnock felt obliged only to take them merely as selfie and autograph fodder, happy to mingle with fans, not wanting to risk injury.

Still it was good to hear strains of 'Allez, Allez, Allez' in Taffs Well, that infectious Cardiff fan song that will always take minds back to promotion on that final day of 2017/18 against Reading.

It was good to see a first glimpse of Bobby Reid and Alex Smithies, even if they were off duty.





And it was good to see Sean Morrison, Junior Hoilett and Sol Bamba, who were among the familiar faces posing for pictures in the crowd.

Talk about the calm before the storm though. It was as if Cardiff's players were being paraded in the paddock before the big race. An anticipation building process.

Warnock, though, was in his element: chatting affably to supporters and even saying a few words on a microphone before kick off. As has been the case for a good 18 months now, he is the main event.

A phrase perhaps overused the other side of the Seven Bridge recently has been 'it's coming home'. But it really did feel as though Warnock was bringing football back to its roots here, a youthful homegrown Cardiff team locking horns with the Wellmen, a Welsh League Division One outfit.


What about the game? Well, Healey was the best on display by a distance, opening the scoring with a tap-in before winning - and missing - a penalty brilliantly saved by Wellmen goalkeeper Stephen Hall.

Hall then denied headers from both Cardiff centre-backs, Ciaron Brown and Jack McKay to ensure Taffs Well trailed 1-0 at the break. You had to give the hosts' shot-stopper a lot of credit.

But Healey was always good for another goal and converted after the break, before it became a procession. Trialist McLean added a third late on.

But there wasn't much to complain about here. There is so much more to come, we all know that.
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Re: ' Cardiff City last night '

Sat Jul 14, 2018 8:09 am

Cardiff City's pre-season schedule :bluebird:

Cardiff City's first team pre-season fixtures :thumbright:

Tavistock AFC vs. Cardiff City, Monday July 16, Langsford Park (7pm)

Bodmin Town vs. Cardiff City, Wednesday July 18, Priory Park (7pm)

Torquay United vs. Cardiff City, Friday July 20, Plainmoor (7pm)

Rotherham United vs. Cardiff City, Wednesday July 25, New York Stadium (7.45pm)

Burton Albion vs. Cardiff City, Saturday July 28, Pirelli Stadium (2pm)

Greenock Morton vs Cardiff City, Tuesday July 31, Cappielow Park (7.45pm)

Cardiff City vs. Real Betis, Saturday August 4, Cardiff City Stadium (5.15pm)
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Re: ' Cardiff City last night '

Sat Jul 14, 2018 9:14 am

Sky Sports

Pre-season friendly round-up: Cardiff.





Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock watched his side breeze past Taffs Well


Cardiff City made the perfect start to their pre-season campaign as a young Bluebirds side beat non-league Taffs Well 3-0 on Friday night.

Rhys Healey scored twice for the Premier League newcomers while trialist Scott McLean added a late third as Neil Warnock fielded a side largely made up of U23s players.

Cardiff are set to face Tavistock, Bodmin Town and Torquay in the coming weeks, but Warnock will not have learned too much from the Welsh Football League Division One team being brushed aside.


Pre-season friendly fixtures and results

At a packed Rhwr Dda'r stadium, new signings Bobby Reid and Alex Smithies were in attendance, albeit they were not risked by Warnock on a dry pitch.

Healey scored twice, but he was denied the match ball after goalkeeper Stephen Hall kept out his penalty.