Sun Jul 17, 2022 7:33 am
Under-21s start with defeat
Cardiff Under-21s went down 1-0 to Carmarthen Town in their first friendly of pre-season.
The young Bluebirds travelled west to face the Old Gold at Richmond Park, with Will Rickard's second-half goal for the home side deciding matters.
As ever at this time of the season, last night was all about getting miles in the tank ahead of a new campaign. Despite the result boss Darren Purse was happy with what he saw.
"I thought in the first half we played some really good football," Purse said. "It was a really good workout for the boys as our first pre-season game, with today being the first time in game that they'd had since last season.
"In the last 30 minutes of the game we were erratic, but before that we had some good passages of play, but just lacked that end product. It will be all about players now stepping up their workrate. I thought that the intensity was there, but in the second half we just stepped off it a little bit, with the lack of polish being there when you consider that it is our first game.
"I'm never happy to lose a game of football, but it was good for the boys and hopefully they'll learn from the experience, matching that physicality when they play against sides like they did today."
Cardiff City Under-21s: Turner (Luthra 46'), Jones (Benjamin 46'), MacNamara (Davies 46'), Trialist, Clay (Semenyo 46'), Kenniford, Colwill, Hughes (Ashford 46'), Ligendza, Trialist, Wigley (Jefferies 46').