ISAAC VASSELL " Cardiff City today / FREE to attend "

Isaac Vassell starts for Cardiff City U23.

BUT NO Lee Tomlin still injured with new injury.


A Full U23’s side named

An opening day victory for our U23 side, thanks to @KieronEvansx' 62nd minute strike.


CARDIFF CITY U23’s 1 WIGAN U23’s 0

H-T 0-0


Full team below:

20210816_122405.jpg

Cardiff City's U23 side begin their 2021/22 PDL campaign with a home fixture against Wigan Athletic at Cardiff City Stadium on Monday afternoon - kick-off at 1pm.

The match is FREE to attend for all supporters. Entrance into the stadium will be via Gate 2.

If you can't make it to the game, you can also watch it for FREE on Cardiff City TV.

This will be the first Cardiff City Under 23s home match to be played in front of supporters since February 2020.

Last season Cardiff City finished in 10th place in the Professional Development League, four points behind Wigan Athletic who finished 8th.

Although in March, the last time the teams met in the PDL, Cardiff City won 6-1 with Rubin Colwill getting a hattrick.

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Nice Touch by the club - Good Luck to the Lads

Nice Touch by the club - Good Luck to the Lads

Agree, Tony

A great opportunity to go see what's coming through the ranks, if anyone is available to attend

I used to go to most of the Combination (old 2nd Team) games at the old stadium and always enjoyed and also often attended games that were played in reforest under Sam's tenure. The freedom/confidence some of those youngsters play with is refreshing

This is great.

Glad the club are allowing fans into the U23 games and streaming live. I'll be watching.

Highlight from the last few seasons has been able to watch most of the U23s.

CARDIFF CITY U23’S v WIGAN U23’S
H-T

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Isaac Vassell starts for Cardiff City U23.

Full team below:

20210816_122405.jpg

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Interesting that Colwill and Murphy aren't in the squad for this match.

Suggests they could be fit enough to be more involved in the first team.

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- James Connolly booked for a late challenge on Wooldridge. (0-0)

27 - Vassell goes close. Fine stop from Tickle. (0-0)

- @ChankaZimba hits the post.

Lovely tackle and through ball from @KieronEvansx. Zimba's effort cannons out off the upright though. (0-0)

H-T 0-0

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Anyone who wants to watch the second half live 1-0 to city
https://www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk/video/live

An opening day victory for our U23 side, thanks to @KieronEvansx' 62nd minute strike.

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Well done lads, always great to start the season with a victory. Ccfc

Isaac Vassell starts for Cardiff City U23.

BUT NO Lee Tomlin still injured with new injury.


A Full U23’s side named

An opening day victory for our U23 side, thanks to @KieronEvansx' 62nd minute strike.


CARDIFF CITY U23’s 1 WIGAN U23’s 0

H-T 0-0


Full team below:

20210816_122405.jpg

Cardiff City's U23 side begin their 2021/22 PDL campaign with a home fixture against Wigan Athletic at Cardiff City Stadium on Monday afternoon - kick-off at 1pm.

The match is FREE to attend for all supporters. Entrance into the stadium will be via Gate 2.

If you can't make it to the game, you can also watch it for FREE on Cardiff City TV.

This will be the first Cardiff City Under 23s home match to be played in front of supporters since February 2020.

Last season Cardiff City finished in 10th place in the Professional Development League, four points behind Wigan Athletic who finished 8th.

Although in March, the last time the teams met in the PDL, Cardiff City won 6-1 with Rubin Colwill getting a hattrick.

I thought MM had said that Tomlin was going to start getting fit (or words to that effect) towards the end of this week. Surely he hasn’t picked up another injury?!?!

Pretty tepid affair today with both teams not willing to concede / lose their opening day fixture.

With both playing 5 at the back the teams cancelled themselves out somewhat.

City were a bit fortunate with the goal as the defender tried to control a Vassell ball into the box which fell to Evans who produced a good finish.

Zimba hit the post and city were, like Wigan, a but rusty or perhaps a bit unambitious in the final third.

Saying that, city deserved the win and with a bit more sharpness could have scored more.

Wigan had one or two chances, the best coming late on but Ratcliffe made a super stop. He had little to do apart from that though.

Pick of the city players for me, Kieron Evans again our most creative player, roaming around and involved in nearly all our attacking moves. Taylor Jones was deployed as a right wing back for most of the game and did excellently both going forward and defensively. Connolly and Denham did well in the middle although Connolly was trying a bit too hard and gave away a few silly fouls in dangerous places. D'almeida was the pick of the central defenders and was excellent deployed in defence (he's usually a midfielder) and literally blocked everything and picked up all loose balls. Tom Davies didn't out a foot wrong on the left wing-back position and showed a physical side to his game I didn't think was there. In the middle of midfield Patten and Bowen did well enough but too many wayward long balls zipped forward to the wing-backs to run onto which invariably went out or to a Wigan player.. both are ) should be better than that. Zimba was his usual excellent strong and pacey self but he had little service. Vassell did 'ok' and you can see him getting a bit sharper, but again wasn't given a great deal of service.

Overall I think the city U23 team will be delighted to start with a win and a clean sheet.

Incidentally, Jamie Carragher's son was the Wigan captain today and marshalled their defense very well. Talk of a bigger club coming in for him... I wouldn't mind city taking him on.

Great to see Vassell play

Cardiff City U23’s 1 Wigan U23’s 0

We just deserved the win, but it was wasn't a great performance .

Ratcliffe made a great save right at the end.

Vassell played the full ninety minutes, but looked like he needs more time and that’s why Mick is holding Vassell back.

Zimba hit the post when he probably should have scored that, we defended very well.

It will be interesting how they do this year.

First game , a win

Says Glen William / Media Wales



My View:

I have to say that will be about 11-12 in less than 2yrs , that is very impressive if they really are all this good
It’s what we as fans all dreamed of swing our youngsters make it. I would of loved just to see two or three, but 12 is absolutely amazing, unbelievable




Cardiff City U23’s 1 Wigan U23’s 0

City’s U23’s yesterday played League 1 Wigan’s U23’d




Kieron Evans will be 20 yrs old this year

Undoubtedly the star of the show.

If any player was going to break the deadlock it was going to be the young forward.

It was such a shame that he struggled with injury during pre-season, because it would have been the perfect opportunity to press his case for the first team to McCarthy.

But he is certainly making up for lost time. McCarthy dubbed his performance against West Brom last week "outstanding" and if he was watching on Monday, Evans would have only further enhanced his reputation.

He had one of the better chances of the first half, when he volleyed from close range to force the Latics keeper into a sharp stop to maintain parity.

Then he turned provider and presented Chanka Zimba with a huge opportunity to score. After jinking inside the Wigan defence, Evans slotted through an inch-perfect pass to his striker, who side-footed it straight at the post.

He took matters into his own hands on the hour-mark, though. The Wales youth international punished James Carragher when the Wigan defender failed to deal with Isaac Vassell's ball into the box.

It landed at Evans' feet and he calmly and ruthlessly put it away.

It seems to be only a matter of time before the 19-year-old gets his shot at the big time and do not bet against him to take it.





Sam Bowen will be 21 this season

The midfielder has come on leaps and bounds during pre-season. He looks a completely different player to last season.

That is not to put him down for his performances last year, either. Bowen just plays with a confidence now that was not particularly evident in years gone by.

He bossed the game in the middle of the pitch and that can only come from training day in, day out with the senior midfielders in the Bluebirds ranks.

He pulled the strings, showcased a tremendous array of passing and brought the structure and organisation to the middle of the park.

What was also impressive was just how much influence he had higher up the pitch. Typically a deeper-lying midfielder, on Monday he was slotting through killer passes and always looking to play the ball forward.

That midfield area is well stocked at Cardiff, but there is a reason McCarthy likes him so much and called him "excellent" in pre-season.

A big season awaits for him.







James Connolly will be 21 this season

A summer signing from Blackburn who was involved with the first team during pre-season.

The centre back took the captain's armband for the season opener and it was easy to see why. He was loud, communicative and led by example, too.

After picking up an early yellow card for an ill-judged tackle out on the wing, he barely put a foot wrong thereafter.

He made a number of telling interceptions and was excellent in the air when called upon - a pre-requisite if he is to graduate to the first team.

On this very small evidence, he looks a solid acquisition to this Bluebirds side and will be eyeing those centre-back slots in front of him.