Mangotsfield Utd 0 - 2 Cardiff City res

Mangotsfield 0 Cardiff City 2

Cardiff City team:

1 Mark Walton
2 Chris Collins
3 Martyn Giles
4 Gethin Jones
5 Kevin Evans
6 Michael Simpkins
7 Kristian Dimond
8 Simon Heal
9 Tony Wallis
10 Gavin Gordon
11 Ceri Hughes

Subs

12 Kirk Huggins (on for Evans 85)
13 Marc Porter
14 Byron Anthony
15 Danny Thomas (on for Gordon 70)
16 Nicky Fish (on for Dimond 80)

Man U away on a Saturday afternoon in July, what could be better....

Mangotsfield United play at Cossham Street and finished 7th in the Dr Marten's league Western division (2 leagues below conference standard). They are the team where Steve White started his career as is shown by a large photo of him in their club house, and have provided pre-season opposition for Cardiff a couple of times in recent years.

City turned out in an old all blue xara kit with a bizarre sponsor which I'd never seen before and can't remember for the life of me now. Mangotsfield's kit looked like a nasty blocky blend of claret and light blue, which became even more strange as subs came on in a slightly different but equally awful kit.

The ground is tidy enough for the level they play at, it has clearly had some investment in recent years, a seated main stand on one side, a covered terrace on the other. Behind the goals were an old fashioned cow shed and a grass bank. The crowd I would estimate at around 200 with around 30-40 City fans present.

The team that turned out for City today was one blending youth, experience, trialists and rejects. Mangotsfield I am told had pretty much a full strength side out, and came into the game off the back of a 3-3 draw with a youthful Bristol City side, coming back from 0-3 down after 30 minutes.

Cardiff played 4-4-2, Walton in goals, Collins right back, Jones and Simpkins centre back, and Chris Collins out on the right. Midfield (from left to right) was Hughes, Evans, Dimond and Heal, who interchanged positions as the game went on. Recent father Gavin Gordon and Tony Wallis were up front.

The first half was dire stuff, neither team settling properly and it was difficult to tell who the professional side was, lots of long ball and not much control. City had a couple of chances, Walton nearly made a blunder by kicking the ball straight at a Mangotsfield player before it rebounded into his arms. Gordon had a headed chance and not much else really. Can't remember anything too much of note.

HT Man U 0 Cardiff City 3rd team 0

Second half was far more open, Mangotsfield came out and had a go and left a bit more space for Cardiff to attack down the flanks. The home team applied some pressure straight after the break having a couple of opportunities going forward without really threatening Walton's goal. City's first came on around 65 minutes, a Tony Wallis high ball across the goal found Gordon tightly marked in a central position 20 yards out. Gordon controlled and played the ball across out to the left of the box where Kristian Dimond was left unmarked to rifle home into the bottom corner. 1-0 City

This seemed to open up the game and within two minutes City had scored again, a cracking run and excellent cross from the right by Chris Collins was met superbly by Gavin Gordon who headed comfortably in for 2-0.

Mangotsfield then started bringing on subs, eventually ending up with two number 14s and two number 15's on the pitch in a mix of this seasons kit and last. They saw a couple of chances saved by Walton and a free kick go narrowly over. City brought on three subs, all youngsters who looked keen and chased around for the last 20 minutes. Cardiff could have extended their lead, Dimond and Wallis both spurning good chances, but 2-0 it was.

FT Man U 0 Cardiff City 3rd team 2

Fairly uninspriring stuff as you would expect from players not considered good enough to be in the 22 going to Scotland, but an enjoyable enough afternoon in the West Country given the good weather, and a far more relaxing experience than Oldham away will be in two weeks.

I wouldn't expect to see any of them gracing the first team this season except possibly Gordon if we have an injury crisis. Hughes showed the odd bit of class, but was completely unfit and seemed to be harbouring some sort of attitude problem, constantly throwing the ball away at free kicks and throw ins. Some of the youngsters impressed, Chris Collins was solid enough at right back and Dimond had a reasonable game in midfield.

Roll on the real thing on August 10th....