Sat Jul 25, 2015 8:27 am
CARDIFF CITY,,NEWS
A BRIEF BLUEBIRDS UPDATE 25/07
Saturday July 25, 2015
By Jamie Kemble
A Brief update of the Bluebirds
Russell Slade and his men are due to return to Cardiff in the coming days following a successful pre-season trip to Amsterdamn. City return from the Dutch capital still unbeaten in their pre-season campaign and with a “much better” team spirit.
Before the Dutch trip, Cardiff kicked off their pre-season campaign with a 1-1 draw against Forest Green Rovers at The New Lawn before earning a 2-2 draw at Shrewsbury Town.
Only a couple of days in to the Netherlands pre-season camp, City faced Israeli outfit Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona and come away with a 2-0 victory after goals from Bruno Manga and Anthony Pilkington.
Following three more days of intense training, Slade’s men come up against Dutch second tier team Sparta Rotterdam in a match played ‘behind closed doors’. The match was won thanks to a stunning strike from Anthony Pilkington, the irishman’s third in as many games during pre-season.
Simon Moore provided the coaching staff with even more positives during the game when he pulled off two very good saves to prevent a Sparta Rotterdam equaliser. Moore is likely to start the season between the sticks for City as Marshall misses the first three due to suspension. The young Bluebirds ‘number 2′ continues to improve in ability as his confidence grows.
The Bluebirds had to finish the game with 10 men after Federico Macheda was sent off for two bookable offences. The management’s concerns however, will certainly be with Bruno Manga who suffered a nasty looking lateral knee injury during the first half. The highly rated centre-half is likely to miss the start of the season and scans early next week will reveal how much longer he will be stuck on the sidelines.
The trip to the Dutch capital will certainly be seen as a successful one with Cardiff winning both their games without conceding a single goal.
The City squad now return home to face Premier League opposition in Watford (at home) on Tuesday evening before traveling to AFC Bournemouth on Friday evening. (See the Fan Corner for ticket information).
Slade and his men will be looking to finish their pre-season campaign unbeaten after promising solid performances in the Netherlands.
In other news, promising youngster Deji Oshilaja has joined League One outfit Gillingham on loan until January 3rd. We wish Deji all the best with his loan move.
With the departure of Oshilaja, the club announced further transfer news as 19-year-old French defender Jordan Blaise signs for City after a successful trial period. Jordan come through the Bordeaux academy system before leaving the club at the end of last term. The young defender featured in Cardiff’s pre-season friendlies against Forest Green Rovers and Carmarthen Town during his trial period.
During the Netherlands tour, Wales Online correspondent Steve Tucker interviewed Cardiff winger Matthew Kennedy who stated that the Cardiff dressing room was “the flattest” he had ever been in last season. While this doesn’t come as a massive surprise, the Bluebirds faithful will have been happy when the fiery winger added “the boss has managed to completely turn that around during pre-season”, a statement which can only install optimism into City fans ahead of the new season.
The countdown now begins for the season opener against Fulham on August 8th.