REPORT: CARDIFF1-3 TOTTENHAM U18S
Sat 05 Jan 2008
Cardiff U-18's fell to a disappointing 3-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur at Treforrest on Saturday.
The young Bluebirds had impressed coaches Geraint Twose and Neal Ardley over the past four or five weeks with a string of good performances, which made this defeat even more disappointing. The game started well for the visitors who created a couple of half chances early on. These chances included one just three minutes into the game when a free kick was whipped in from the left. It evaded everyone and whistled past the Cardiff 'keeper Josh Herring's left hand post.
However, the first clear chance fell to a Cardiff man. The ball was pumped into the box and it fell to skipper, centre-half Bradley Middleton with only the keeper to beat. The angle may have been tough, but he completely sliced the volley and the ball was cleared.
Tottenham responded to this scare by creating a good chance of their own. The ball was played through to the pacey Spurs striker which put him one-on-one with Herring. However, the Bluebirds stopper was up to the task and the ball was deflected away for a corner.
Cardiff, however, could not stop Tottenham from taking the lead at their next opportunity. It came from excellent work by left back Yuri Berchiche. The Spain U-18 International showed pure class in taking on, and beating, three Cardiff players. He then coolly laid the ball off to a teammate to finish the move and put the ball in the back of the net.
Tottenham then really started to up the pressure and another chance followed when the Spurs goalscorer beat another Cardiff defender and passed the ball to a Tottenham man, but Cardiff regrouped and blocked the resulting shot.
Cardiff could not stave off Tottenham for too long and just before the break, the boys from London doubled their lead. A free kick was awarded in a central position. The left back Berchiche took the ball and drilled it past Josh Herring and into the left hand corner of the net.
Half Time: Cardiff 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur
The second half started reasonably well for Cardiff as Rafiq Kaeed was put through one-on-one with the Spurs goalkeeper. It must have seemed that way to Kaeed, but out of nowhere came a Tottenham defender who managed to sprint across the pitch and make an excellent challenge.
Fifteen minutes later and Cardiff were presented with a similar chance. Substitute Rhys Kelleher was this time the man put through and this time the ball was smothered at his feet by the Spurs 'keeper. In between the two Cardiff chances, Tottenham also had a chance when the impressive Berchiche put the ball in the box and, like in the first half, the ball was just begging to be put in the back of the net, but the ball wasn't quite good enough and the danger was averted for the Bluebirds.
With a quarter of an hour left to play, Cardiff halved the deficit to make the score 2-1. A tug of a Cardiff shirt in the box by a Tottenham player left it up to central midfield player Jack Carlisle to put it away. His penalty was initially saved from the Spurs goalie, but in the scramble that ensued the ball was rolled past the goal line by Carlisle.
From that point onwards Cardiff pressed for an equalizer. A central free kick from James Bloom found the head of Cardiff centre back Anthony Acheampong who was unable to direct it to the goal and instead his header rose over the bar for a goal kick.
In Cardiff's search for a goal, they weakened at the back and Tottenham took advantage. A scrappy build up and a deflection favoured the Tottenham striker who used his speed to take the ball past the Cardiff defence and rounded Herring to tap the ball into an empty net.
Full Time: Cardiff 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Cardiff Coach Geraint Twose:
"It was very disappointing for me and Neal Ardley (Academy Manager) after a good five weeks beforehand. What we have talked about in training was not implemented in the game and the performances as a team, and as individuals, were poor. Last week I talked about the strong defensive side of us and the need to now push on with the attacking side of our game. We didn't do that today. We forgot about the basics that made us successful."
The young Bluebirds had impressed coaches Geraint Twose and Neal Ardley over the past four or five weeks with a string of good performances, which made this defeat even more disappointing. The game started well for the visitors who created a couple of half chances early on. These chances included one just three minutes into the game when a free kick was whipped in from the left. It evaded everyone and whistled past the Cardiff 'keeper Josh Herring's left hand post.
However, the first clear chance fell to a Cardiff man. The ball was pumped into the box and it fell to skipper, centre-half Bradley Middleton with only the keeper to beat. The angle may have been tough, but he completely sliced the volley and the ball was cleared.
Tottenham responded to this scare by creating a good chance of their own. The ball was played through to the pacey Spurs striker which put him one-on-one with Herring. However, the Bluebirds stopper was up to the task and the ball was deflected away for a corner.
Cardiff, however, could not stop Tottenham from taking the lead at their next opportunity. It came from excellent work by left back Yuri Berchiche. The Spain U-18 International showed pure class in taking on, and beating, three Cardiff players. He then coolly laid the ball off to a teammate to finish the move and put the ball in the back of the net.
Tottenham then really started to up the pressure and another chance followed when the Spurs goalscorer beat another Cardiff defender and passed the ball to a Tottenham man, but Cardiff regrouped and blocked the resulting shot.
Cardiff could not stave off Tottenham for too long and just before the break, the boys from London doubled their lead. A free kick was awarded in a central position. The left back Berchiche took the ball and drilled it past Josh Herring and into the left hand corner of the net.
Half Time: Cardiff 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur
The second half started reasonably well for Cardiff as Rafiq Kaeed was put through one-on-one with the Spurs goalkeeper. It must have seemed that way to Kaeed, but out of nowhere came a Tottenham defender who managed to sprint across the pitch and make an excellent challenge.
Fifteen minutes later and Cardiff were presented with a similar chance. Substitute Rhys Kelleher was this time the man put through and this time the ball was smothered at his feet by the Spurs 'keeper. In between the two Cardiff chances, Tottenham also had a chance when the impressive Berchiche put the ball in the box and, like in the first half, the ball was just begging to be put in the back of the net, but the ball wasn't quite good enough and the danger was averted for the Bluebirds.
With a quarter of an hour left to play, Cardiff halved the deficit to make the score 2-1. A tug of a Cardiff shirt in the box by a Tottenham player left it up to central midfield player Jack Carlisle to put it away. His penalty was initially saved from the Spurs goalie, but in the scramble that ensued the ball was rolled past the goal line by Carlisle.
From that point onwards Cardiff pressed for an equalizer. A central free kick from James Bloom found the head of Cardiff centre back Anthony Acheampong who was unable to direct it to the goal and instead his header rose over the bar for a goal kick.
In Cardiff's search for a goal, they weakened at the back and Tottenham took advantage. A scrappy build up and a deflection favoured the Tottenham striker who used his speed to take the ball past the Cardiff defence and rounded Herring to tap the ball into an empty net.
Full Time: Cardiff 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Cardiff Coach Geraint Twose:
"It was very disappointing for me and Neal Ardley (Academy Manager) after a good five weeks beforehand. What we have talked about in training was not implemented in the game and the performances as a team, and as individuals, were poor. Last week I talked about the strong defensive side of us and the need to now push on with the attacking side of our game. We didn't do that today. We forgot about the basics that made us successful."
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