UPDATED " CARDIFF CITY/SWANSEA CITY TONIGHT "

" UPDATED "

Cardiff City 0-1 Swansea City: Swans see off strong Bluebirds second string to claim South Wales derby bragging rights

It was the South Wales development derby that both clubs needed to win. It was the Swans who triumphed, effectively eliminating the 10-man Bluebirds in the process

Cardiff City 0-1 Swansea City
Swansea City won the development derby at the Cardiff City Stadium, beating a strong Bluebirds team to take a giant leap towards a play-off place.

The Bluebirds, who had been just four points behind their rivals with a game in hand in PD2 South, sent out a strong team, including Kagisho Dikgacoi, Ben Turner, Anthony Pilkiington, Matt Kennedy and Kadeem Harris but were beaten by a well organised Swans side.

Things started well for the hosts as Pilkington and Kennedy caused problems down the flanks but a Swans team, featuring the likes of Matt Grimes and Adam King took the lead on 23 minutes when Kenji Gorre's deflected effort looped over Ben Wilson and into the Cardiff goal.

Things went from bad to worse for the baby Bluebirds when Ben Watkins was sent off for a foul on James Loveridge 10 minutes before the break.

Watkins was given a straight red while Loveridge was forced off the pitch six minutes later.

In the second half, 10-man Cardiff ralled and Kennedy had a shout for a penalty turned down while Harris hit the bar with a curling shot but ultimately the Swans headed back down the M4 worthy winners.

They are on the brink of joining Crystal Palace in the play offs of the South Group with Nottingham Forest and Huddersfield all but assured their place in the northern equivalent.

Cardiff Team
Wilson, Barnum-Bobb, James, Dikgacoi, Ajayi, Turner, Kennedy, Watkins, Harris, Pilkington, Roche.

Subs: Rees, Massaro, Patten, Southam, Noor.

Swansea team
Davies, Alfei, Hanley, Gallifuoco, J. Jones, Fulton, King, H. Jones, Grimes, Loveridge, Gorre.

Subs: Zabret, Roberts, Gogic, Fallon, O. Jones.

Final Score Cardiff City 0 Swansea City 1

FULL-TIME: @CardiffCityFC 0-1 @SwansOfficial - Gorre's 1st half wins it for the away side. Cardiff valiant playing 64 mins with 10 men.



HALF-TIME: @CardiffCityFC 0-1 @SwansOfficial - Gorre's deflected strike separates ten-man Cardiff and Swansea at the break.



" Cardiff City and Swansea City youngsters set to face off in development South Wales derby with Premier League twist "

By Terry Phillips

Monday 20th April 2015

Even though the Bluebirds and Swans are in different divisions now, South Wales derbies are alive and well and there's one tonight, at development level

Cardiff City and Swansea City's youngsters will be thrust into the fiery South Wales derby cauldron tonight, with a little Premier League experience alongside them.

The Bluebirds' U21 development team will host their Liberty Stadium rivals with Kagisho Dikgacoi and Ben Turner set to line up as they continue their respective journeys back to fitness.

Arsenal centre back Semi Ajayi is also set to feature in a strong looking Bluebirds side that are keen to claim more than bragging rights tonight, with a prized play-off place on the line.

The Swans currently sit second in Development League South while the Bluebirds are fourth, just four points behind with a game in hand, making the exciting derby clash pivotal to each team's season, with the visitors knowing a win would guarantee their spot in the top two.

Kick off is at 7pm and entrance is free.

Tonight's squads:
Cardiff City (from): O’Reilly, Massaro, Rees, James, Dikgacoi, Ajayi, Turner, Southam, Patten, Roche, Johnson, Noor, Amondarain, B Watkins, Abbruzzese, J Watkins.

Swansea City (from): Davies, Roberts, Rodon, Gallifuoco, Hanley, King, Jones (capt), Maric, Fallon, Loveridge, Gorre, Demetriou, O Jones, Zabret, J Jones, Evans.

But even with all that at stake, tonight's match feels like a hors-d'oeuvre compared to the Welsh Youth Cup final, that will be played out between the two rivals at U18 level on Thursday, April 30.

That clash will also be played at the Cardiff City Stadium and will see Cameron Toshack's Swans come down the M4 looking to retain the trophy they've won for the last five seasons.

The Bluebirds, led by Matthew Bloxham and Jarred Harvey, didn't even enter the competition last season but are intent on getting their hands on the trophy they last won in 2006.

Ninian Park hosted the last final between the two South Wales derby rivals in 2008 in which a Joe Allen inspired Swans team triumphed 1-0.

Possible squads...
Cardiff City: Joe Massaro, Ash Baker, Rhys Abbruzzese, Dylan Rees, Will Taylor, Rollin Menayese, Sam Williams, Elvis Menayese, Lloyd Humphries, Jarrad Welch, Eli Phipps, Jamie Bird, Jamie Veale, Jake Watkins, Cameron Cox, Luke Wakeman.

Swansea City: Gareth Owen, Aaron Lewis, Cai Owens, Cameron Gilchrist, Keston Davies, Jordan Sherman, Dylan Thomas, Jamie Latham, Kyle Copp, Owain Jones, Ashleigh Harries, Dan James, Alex Samuel, Adnan Maric.

Tickets will cost £5 adults and £2 children.

You can meet Slade and his coaching staff too at 6pm.

You can meet Slade and his coaching staff too at 6pm.

1-0 Swansea, Gorre

Cardiff also down to 10 men

1-0 Swansea, Gorre

Cardiff also down to 10 men

Not looking good.

HALF-TIME: @CardiffCityFC 0-1 @SwansOfficial - Gorre's deflected strike separates ten-man Cardiff and Swansea at the break.

63 - Crossbar! @KadeemHarris27 cuts in from the left and curls his effort, cannoning over off the crossbar. (0-1)

89 - Final #CardiffCity change: @AbdiNoory11 replaces Kagisho Dikgacoi. (0-1)

90 - Three minutes added on. (0-1)

FULL-TIME: @CardiffCityFC 0-1 @SwansOfficial - Gorre's 1st half wins it for the away side. Cardiff valiant playing 64 mins with 10 men.

How did Dikgacoi do? He looked useful preseason and broke up midfield play well?

Poor result getting worse all round what the hell is going on.

Sounds like the deflection beat the keeper. Just bad luck.

The sending off effectively ended the game.

Dikajoi played ok, till he tired before the end. Looks a tad overweight. nowhere near a starting XI player

Dikajoi played ok, till he tired before the end. Looks a tad overweight. nowhere near a starting XI player

Dikajoi played ok, till he tired before the end. Looks a tad overweight. nowhere near a starting XI player

Cheers Steve

Grimes' delight at derby victory



PUBLISHED
21st April 2015
. . . as Under-21s beat Cardiff to seal play-off spot


Matt Grimes says he enjoyed his first taste of a South Wales derby after the Under-21s ran out 1-0 winners over Cardiff on Monday night.
The development squad knew a draw or win would seem them seal a place in this season's play-offs ahead of their final league game against Ipswich on Thursday.
But Kenji Gorre's first-half strike proved to be the difference, with Cardiff having to play the best part of an hour with ten men following the dismissal of Ben Watkins.
And Grimes - who played the full 90 minutes alongside Jay Fulton and Adam King in midfield - revealed his delight at playing his part in the victory.
"I really enjoyed it," said the former Exeter man. "We played a diamond formation which is what the first-team have adopted recently and it was good to see what we were capable of.
"It's always great to play in derby games and it was a fantastic win and we're all really pleased.
"We spoke before the game about what we needed to do in terms of reaching the play-offs and that's what we were focussed on.
"I've played a few games for the Under-21s this season but for me it is all about game-time and getting myself match fit.
"You can train all you like but there's nothing that compares to playing games, and in the last ten minutes there were a few of us who were struggling a bit. But we dug in and got the three points in the end."