http://tinyurl.com/23e9ko
shows just how poorly they have been doing. Recent draws at Villa and Tottenham offer some hope that things are improving, but there is nothing in that record to indicate that they would be playing for a place in the last eight of the FA Youth Cup last night and I am sure cynics (naming no names!) were quick to point out that they had only beaten Merthyr and Cambridge United to get into the last sixteen of the competition.
Contrast that to Sunderland‘s league record
http://tinyurl.com/yuxoop
as well as the fact that they had beaten Preston and Bolton to get to this stage and you can see why the result came as a very pleasant surprise to at least one person at last night's match!
A very good match report of the game has already been posted on the site so I thought I would just give my opinion on last night's individual performances;-
Josh Herring - probably the least impressive City performer on the night, but that's not a criticism of him, it's just a recognition that those in front of him ensured that he had a very quiet match - when called into action though, he did everything expected of him.
Chris Gunter - a good performance especially when you consider he had played forty five minutes for Wales Under 21s the previous day. Gunter's display reflected the confidence he must have gained from International recognition and first team appearances, but it is to the credit of the others in the team that he didn't look a class above them as I thought he might.
Lloyd Evans - solid performance from the captain who barely put a foot wrong throughout. Against opponents who, generally, were taller than us, his aerial ability served City well.
Bradley Middleton - same as Evans really. With this display, along with the one against Swansea reserves last week, he and Evans have shown that, although I had my doubts previously, there are decent young centre backs coming through the system - Middleton picked up a deserved booking for a second half foul.
Matt Smith - always impresses me when I see him play. Is able to deliver high quality free kicks and corners with his left foot and last night encountered few defensive problems as well as an ability to get up and down the left hand touchline for the full ninety minutes.
Jon Brown - after a poor start, Brown improved to make a full contribution to City's win. Although he plays mostly on the right and had a couple of right footed shots from edge of the area free kicks, Brown appears to be able to go inside or outside his full back- if he can take that ability with him into senior level, his chances of having a good career have to be improved. Brown, who picked up what I thought was a harsh yellow card for a first half foul, is a first year trainee like Herring and Middleton (the rest of the starting eleven are second year trainees).
James Simpson - certainly a versatile player. He never really convinced me when I saw him play right wing a few times for the Academy team last season, but this year I have seen him play well as a centre back and last night gave a hard working display in central midfield. Simpson, who forced a good save from the keeper in the first half, has trained with the Scottish youth team (although Cardiff born, he qualifies for them through his grandparents).
Darcy Blake - one of our best players last night. The more I see of Blake, the more he appears to be a midfielder who can do a bit of everything. He has shown at reserve level that he has an eye for a goal, can pass the ball well and is good at the defensive side of the game, but last night he displayed an ability to run at and go past opponents that I hadn't seen before - didn't seem to be affected in the slightest by having played the previous day for Wales Under 21s.
Kyle Bassett - three seasons ago Bassett was making reserve team appearances for us and was being touted as the one in his age group with the best chance of making it into the first team. Although allowance has to be made for the fact that he has since had a year our through injury, I had not seen much in Bassett to justify such a reputation (a tendency to get yellow carded every time I saw him play didn't help!). However, last night I thought he was excellent and a real candidate for our man of the match. Bassett showed a great attitude while playing with power and pace - he also did his full share of defending when required as well as showing good technique in hitting long range shots.
James Upcott - caused a couple of centre backs who must have been six inches taller than him an awful lot of problems with his tireless running, neat touches and ability to defend from the front. It was a shame that he missed a great chance when one on one with the keeper in the second half, but he made a full contribution to City's win.
Mark Jones - with two goals last night and the match winner against the jacks second string seven days earlier, it's been a great week for the young striker! Although his first goal came from a goalkeeping howler, Jones showed a lot of composure to score from an awkward angle, whilst he showed the striker's knack of being in the right place at the right time for his second - Jones also turned his marker beautifully to create a chance for himself in the first half and put Upcott clean through with a good header in the second.
Aaron Ramsey -According to Football Manager, Ramsey is still only fifteen - only played the last ten minutes as a replacement for Mark Jones, but that was still long enough for him to show his promise with a beautiful first time cross field pass to Gunter and some calm, unhurried passing in the middle of the park.
In finishing, I must say that, despite what the league tables say, this victory was certainly no fluke for City - they were well worth a two goal win and could really have scored more whereas, after a bright start, Sunderland offered very little going forward. Although their opponents were the taller team, for me City had a definite edge in pace and power as, perhaps, we saw the benefits of the experience these players have gained at first and reserve team levels. I have not been too complimentary about this group of players before when commenting on what I have seen from them at league level, but last night all twelve of them were a credit to their club.