10.30am 15 September 2018
Under 18 Professional Development League
Bristol City U18 1 Cardiff City U18 0 (att 44)
Lucky I took the time to phone Bristol City to check this game on Friday, as otherwise I wouldn't have known that the kick off had been moved forward 30 minutes from the previously advertised 11am start.
It did mean setting off from home in Manchester even earlier, but a lot of Bristol City's youth team fixtures are lunchtime kick offs, making doubling them up with afternoon matches tricky, so at least the early start helped in that respect.
When I phoned to check the game I also checked the venue carefully. Bristol City's academy is at the SGS (South Gloucestershire and Stroud) College's WISE (West of England Institute of Specialist Education) campus in Stoke Gifford. I'd previously seen a game on the 'show pitch', enclosed by a running track and now home to Bristol City's women's team, and wanted to make sure this wouldn't be a revisit.
I needn't have worried. As I suspected and hoped, the club's academy pitches are adjacent to the show pitch. The under under 18s game was a grass pitch while Bristol City and Cardiff met at under 16 level on an artificial pitch next door.
In an era where many clubs seem to want to deter spectators from youth team games it felt refreshingly laid back at Bristol City. There was plenty of access around the pitch, limited stewarding, and teamsheets were freely available. Then again, the late change to the kick off time might have caught out some.
Sadly it wasn't a game that will live long in the memory. It was a tetchy affair with few chances. The solitary goal was a swift 33rd minute counter attack by the hosts, who'd been under pressure until then but hadn't looked like conceding.
There wasn't much between the sides, and despite the rarity of a teamsheet none of the names on it stood out as great prospects for the future, at least based on this 90 minutes.
Under 18 Professional Development League
Bristol City U18 1 Cardiff City U18 0 (att 44)
Lucky I took the time to phone Bristol City to check this game on Friday, as otherwise I wouldn't have known that the kick off had been moved forward 30 minutes from the previously advertised 11am start.
It did mean setting off from home in Manchester even earlier, but a lot of Bristol City's youth team fixtures are lunchtime kick offs, making doubling them up with afternoon matches tricky, so at least the early start helped in that respect.
When I phoned to check the game I also checked the venue carefully. Bristol City's academy is at the SGS (South Gloucestershire and Stroud) College's WISE (West of England Institute of Specialist Education) campus in Stoke Gifford. I'd previously seen a game on the 'show pitch', enclosed by a running track and now home to Bristol City's women's team, and wanted to make sure this wouldn't be a revisit.
I needn't have worried. As I suspected and hoped, the club's academy pitches are adjacent to the show pitch. The under under 18s game was a grass pitch while Bristol City and Cardiff met at under 16 level on an artificial pitch next door.
In an era where many clubs seem to want to deter spectators from youth team games it felt refreshingly laid back at Bristol City. There was plenty of access around the pitch, limited stewarding, and teamsheets were freely available. Then again, the late change to the kick off time might have caught out some.
Sadly it wasn't a game that will live long in the memory. It was a tetchy affair with few chances. The solitary goal was a swift 33rd minute counter attack by the hosts, who'd been under pressure until then but hadn't looked like conceding.
There wasn't much between the sides, and despite the rarity of a teamsheet none of the names on it stood out as great prospects for the future, at least based on this 90 minutes.
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