Cardiff City (U21s) 2-1 Barnsley (U21s)

Cardiff City (U21s) 2-1 Barnsley (U21s)

Professional Development League

Friday 1st September 2023

A Friday afternoon spent watching a game on YouTube and learning about players (some who I’ve not seen before - so very useful) and Cian Ashford was the top performer in this one as Cardiff City’s U21s overcame Barnsley to record their first win of the season in the Professional Development League.

I wouldn’t usually do a blog on a game I’ve watched online; I don’t do it that often anyway but I feel there are worthwhile comments about the game I can make - and coverage I can give some of these lads which they wouldn’t otherwise get, so here I am tapping away at the keyboard with a few observations.

The Reds made wholesale changes to their line-up from the team which hammered Bournemouth on Tuesday, to the point where just three players named (Kieran Flavell, Nathan James and Aaron Atkinson) also started in the win over the Cherries.

The three trialists who played from the start for Barnsley were Julian Donnery (No.7), Aaron Atkinson (No.10) and Jaylan Wildbore (No.11) whilst there was another on the bench - possibly Jake Greatorex who wasn’t listed whatsoever on Barnsley’s Twitter but was named as one of four substitutes when the Reds line-up was shown on the YouTube stream.

For the first 45 minutes, the game wasn’t the greatest of spectacles.

Cardiff started well without really troubling Kieran Flavell in the first 15 minutes or so and as the half wore on, Barnsley wrestled control with Aaron Atkinson looking a livewire around the box (as he has done in recent U21s games) and he flashed a low shot narrowly wide of the post around the half-hour mark, then provided a cross a few minute later which Josiah Dyer headed wide. Jaylan Wildbore also had a few shots which he couldn’t convert as the Bluebirds were put on the back-foot too.

But it remained 0-0 at the break.

In the second half, although Barnsley initially looked bright with Julian Donnery involved with a decent bit of link-up play that allowed Josh McKay to flash in a low cross towards the near-post within 15-20 seconds of the re-start, the opening goal soon came down at the other end as Cian Ashford got past Hayden Pickard and accelerated away into the box where he took the shot on and fired the ball across Kieran Flavell and into the back of the net for what was a pretty impressive finish it’s got to be said.

Cardiff’s lead only lasted a few minutes though as Barnsley soon equalised; the leveler coming in somewhat bizarre style as a corner into the box appeared to come off Nathan James (in the area of the body where no bloke ever wants to be whacked) before Jaylan Wildbore smashed the loose ball into the net - albeit there weren’t too many celebrations as Nathan James needed a couple of moments to be tendered to whilst wiping a tear from his eye and recomposing himself ready to go again.

But that equaliser was as good as it got for Barnsley because the rest of the game was pretty much dominated by the team wearing blue.

Cardiff got the ball in the net again before the hour mark only to see it wiped out (correctly) for offside but as the minutes passed and they continued to enjoy superior possession and territory and generally looked strong, you always felt they were the more likely team to get a winner.

They nearly did so when Finlay Johnson got in-behind and forced Kieran Flavell to make a solid save with his legs but with five minutes to go Cian Ashford turned from scorer to provider because just moments after he’d had a shot blocked by Julian Donnery who’d covered the angle well, Ashford provided a brilliant set-piece delivery straight into the six-yard box where Freddie Cook lost his marker and headed in for 2-1.

Ashford forced another save in injury-time when he carried the ball across the box (great technique this time) and took on a shot which was kept out and then Aaron Atkinson headed over at the other end even later into injury-time, but overall it was a deserved win for Cardiff and given how they dictated a lot of the last 30 minutes and played with a good drive and intensity, there can’t be too many complaints about the outcome.

Having not seen him before it was a pleasure to watch Cian Ashford for the first time and he’s the player I’ll remember most from this game.

The goal and assist will give him the headlines but he had an excellent game where he stood out. I appreciate quality and his touch, ability to glide with the ball, his positioning and link-up play around the box was all of a high standard. I’ll be looking out for his name in the future, I look forward to watching him again and if he plays like this in every game (not to mention the improvement that will come through experience), then I’ve got every confidence he’ll do okay for himself. Keep it up!

As for Barnsley, although the result is disappointing, it was a young line-up they fielded and I think they’ll learn a lot from that second half - especially that last 30 minutes.

I thought Julian Donnery made some good contributions. He kept the ball under pressure a few times (one instance in the second half around the halfway line springs to mind), he was involved in a few nice bits of link-up play in high areas, made a couple of noticeable defensive contributions (the clearance from the early corner and then the block which led to the corner where Cardiff got their second goal). I liked those and he ought to be pleased with how he did because this is a game where he’ll have learned plenty and was tested - especially in the second half, but he did alright. And as I mentioned in the previous blog from Barnsley’s last U21s game, I know already what he can do in an attacking sense from having watched him on various occasions at Lincoln last year.

Jaylan Wildbore will be happy with his goal (one of the stranger ones he’s scored - that’ll be for sure) and he might feel he deserved another one with the 2-3 chances he had before half-time, whilst Aaron Atkinson again put in another good shift on the wide-left. Apart from one instance where he just needed to look up and square a simple pass to Josiah Dyer on the edge of the six-yard box for a tap-in (one to learn from) Azza was good and I’ve been really impressed with his tenacity to win the ball as he did a few times in this game - especially in the spell just before half-time when Barnsley were on top, then keep it using the nimble footwork/technique that’s he’s got, plus his confidence to drive forward at opponents too. Having watched him on three occasions now he’s been lively, offered something, he’s clearly a good player and I’d love to see him stay at Oakwell on a permanent basis - beyond just a trialist, because I think he’s a really good addition to this team.

So there’s 1,200 words which,  hopefully, are insightful about this game!

Have a good weekend!

Barnsley: Kieran Flavell, Josh McKay, Hayden Pickard, Nathan James, Danny Benson, Matty Doyle, Julian Donnery, Jean Claude Makiessi, Josiah Dyer, Jaylan Wildbore, Aaron Atkinson. Subs: Alex Joof, Jake Greatorex, Mylan Benjamin, Elliot Probert, Tommy-Mbogba.