I would have entitled this a perfect day for City fans were it not for a disappointing loss last night by the youth team at Oxford United in the Fourth Round of the FA Youth Cup – this is not the first time in recent years that our youngsters have gone out of that competition to a club with a lower Academy status than us and it came after we’d got the perfect start by taking the lead on just three minutes thanks to a long range goal by Will Spiers.
However, two goals in a two minutes early in the second half turned the tie around and another one with around fifteen minutes left saw City bow out of the competition by a margin of 3-1 against a side that included two players with first team experience.
Of more impact though will surely be the confirmation of the news that City have paid the first instalment of the Emiliano Sala transfer fee to Nantes just as we near the fourth anniversary of his death.
You will not have found very much to read in this blog about the legal arguing which has followed the tragic and awful death of the man who, it seems, was our player for about three days before the plane crash which claimed him and David Ibbotson, the pilot of the plane which crashed into the sea somewhere off the Channel Islands on the evening of 21 January 2019.
This is because I lack the expertise to comment in any great detail in the matters which will decide the culpability or otherwise of individuals and/or clubs involved in the tragedy. Therefore, apart from a view that City were always going to struggle to win a case where they had announced the player as theirs and then had, it seems, based their defence on the argument that he wasn’t in reality because someone had cocked up when filling in a form, I’ve refrained from saying much.
City have been under a EFL and FIFA embargo for not paying the first instalment of the transfer fee and, from a football point of view, it is a good news for fans that both embargos will be lifted (this has not been officially confirmed yet mind) during a transfer window. As it was, there appeared to be the chance that the embargoes would bite so deep that we wouldn’t even be able to recall Mark McGuinness from his loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday – if we do nothing else on the transfer front in January, at least it looks like we’ll have the services of the player who has been hailed as the best player in what is, arguably, the best team in League One this season.
You’d like to think that the payment would be the first step towards a situation whereby the Sala family, who have suffered terribly in the aftermath of Emiliano’s death, would be able to start living something which qualifies as a “normal” life, but, I fear this is probably wishful thinking.
As for the hierarchy at Cardiff City, I’m not sure that yesterday will qualify as a good day for them. Although I suppose for an owner, whose family we’re told are desperate for him to end his association with Cardiff City, it may represent a first step in a process that renders such an outcome more likely. It seems logical that no potential buyer of the club will make a move for it while the consequences of the Sala transfer remain dependant on the outcome of legal arguments.
Going back to football, yesterday lunchtime at Leckwith saw a game which I claimed on a messageboard produced City’s best result of this season. Now, that sounds a bit over the top when you consider that I was talking about an Under 21 game against Bristol City, but, hear me out, and maybe you’ll end up agreeing with me.
Starting with City, the Youth Cup tie later in the day meant that a lot of players who may have been starters for the under 21s were not available. This meant that Darren Purse had to bring a couple of players still qualified for under 16 football into the starting line up. Lewis Benjamin is very tall for his age age and, on yesterday’s evidence, a very composed goalkeeper with the ball at his feet who also is able to do what I consider the primary requirement of his position (keep the ball out of the net!) well – under 16 or not, the younger of City’s two Benjamins was a commanding presence.
In midfield, Dakarai Mafico was a new name to me, but it’s one I’m going to keep an eye out for from now on. Dak, as he was called by the commentators, looked like an Under 16, but there was the same composure seen with Lewis Benjamin, an intelligence and awareness way beyond his years and a passing ability which manifested itself in the first few minutes with a lovely pass inside the Bristol right wing back. Dak will no doubt be disappointed to have missed two of City’s best chances either side of half time, but, that apart, I thought he was excellent.
Dak was replaced for the last twenty minutes by another under 16s player Troy Perrett who immediately settled in with another pass which showed he was not out of his depth at this level in the slightest.
In the last under 21 fixture before the Christmas break, City had picked a side full of players with first team experience to face Sunderland, but there was none of that this time – Vontae Campbell was the only player in the team which had played league football for City this season, it was the opposition this time which had the side packed with first teamers.
City were helped by the return of Eli King, Chanka Zimba and Taylor Jones from their loan spells at Crewe, Newport and Weston Super Mare respectively, but there was a huge disparity in experience between the two sides.
This is why I rated City’s 1-0 win so highly – it came against a team which Owen Pritchard on summariser duties (he was very impressive as well, as was another young professional, Jac Clay, who took over from him for the second half) pointed out had around a thousand first team appearances in their side. I was sceptical of this remark when I first heard it, but then I saw the wurzels side and realised he was right – in fact, if anything, he may have underestimated slightly!
Bristol were captained by the very experienced former Wales international Andy King and, besides him, Joe Williams, Jay De Silva, Republic of Ireland international Mark Sykes and Han Noah Massengo have all played over a hundred senior matches – there were others such as Steve Bell who had also played Championship football this season.
Yes, a side featuring plenty of first teamers isn’t always a guarantee of a good performance at second team level, but Bristol seem to be in the habit of doing this and they sat top of the table having thrashed City 5-0 earlier in the season.
For much of the first half, City were forced to concentrate almost wholly on defence, but Benjamin with some fine saves and central defenders Jones, Aidan Macnamara and captain Xavier Benjamin presented a formidable barrier to the visitors. King and Cameron Antwi (who has grown on me as the season has gone on) dug in through the middle with young Dak fully playing his part as well.
Gradually, City began to edge their way into things – goalkeeper Stefan Bajic had to turn aside a Jack Leahy shot and when Dak worked his way into a one on position the goalkeeper was able to keep out his shot.
It had been hard work, but City got to half time with the game goalless and, from then on, they prospered to the extent that, by the end, they could justifiably claim their win was deserved. Bell missed a good chance early on after the break, but, that apart, the goalmouth action was at the other end of the ptich.
Notably, Zimba had a shot turned aside by Bajic and Dak was again foiled by the keeper, but, with Campbell and Jai Semenyo now getting forward more on the wings, it wasn’t a surprise when the former burst on to a neat pass from Leahy to outpace his marker and then dink a lovely shot over Bajic and into the net.
City were able to see out the half an hour or so for a fine win and consolidated their hold on third position in the table, but, realistically, the wurzels and Millwall are probably too far clear to be caught – there can be no denying though that the under 21s have improved as the season has gone on.
Finally, I want to wish Sean Morrison all the best at his new club Rotherham even if they are in the relegation fight with us – as long as we stay up, I’ll be wanting Rotherham to as well.
