I posted the following on a City messageboard last night.
“Bizarre events at Leckwith today as the Under 18s drew 2-2 with Crewe. With City 2-0 ahead well into the last ten minutes of the game, I did what I usually do when watching matches at the Athletics Stadium – that is, leave my seat and watch the rest of the game through the perimeter fence as I’m walking towards my car. For those who have not been in the stand at the stadium, you leave it by walking through the reception area so there are a few seconds during my walk when I cannot see the pitch. Today, those few seconds were extended a little by me looking at the television in the reception area to see what the score was in the Wales rugby game, but I couldn’t have missed more than half a minute at the most.
When I could see the pitch again, I was surprised and disappointed to see City taking the ball to the corner flag to waste time when they were 2-0 up, but when, as I thought, Crewe got a goal back with a far post volley, the way all of the players and subs rushed to greet the scorer had me thinking “that’s an equalising goal, they must have scored and the game restarted while I was in the reception area for those few seconds”.
This was confirmed when I got home and saw the score on Twitter. If the first team had thrown away a 2-0 lead so deep into the game like that, I think there would have been a managerial rant to more than match the famous one in that You Tube video, but I would have thought things are more low key at this level – although the team should, in my opinion, be left in no doubt as to how careless they had been in finding a way not to win from such a position.
In my blog piece on the Under 23s’ loss to Sheffield United last Monday, I mentioned that they seemed to play in a way more in keeping with our first team than the one they normally employ which is akin to the playing out from the back style associated with City’s youth sides. I wondered to myself if we may see something similar from the under 18s, but within a minute or so I knew the answer to my question – no! Within another minute, keeper Cogman had taken the first of several goal kicks to a colleague stood within the penalty area and there was no end of that passing within your own half that Neil Warnock does not want to see from the first team.
City played some really nice stuff at times with quick passing through the middle of the park, while there were moments of great individual skill from the likes of Rubin Colwell, Keiron Evans and Ryan Kavanagh. However, Crewe stuck doggedly to their task with their goalkeeper making important saves when required and City soon became frustrated to the extent that for long periods in the second half it looked like both teams would have to settle for a record of two games, two goalless draws from their first couple of fixtures.
In saying that, the visitors did force Cogman into a couple of good saves, but going into the final quarter of an hour, it was hard to see where one goal, let alone four, would come from. As it was, the deadlock was broken when one of City’s subs scored on the far post from a good cross by left back Sam Parsons and within two minutes Colwell had initiated a break which was carried on by Isaak Davies to free Ntazana Mayembe and the speed merchant, who was now playing down the middle after swapping positions with Davies, took the ball on to impressively beat the keeper and make it 2-0.
Davies, not as effective as usual, and Mayembe missed further chances as Crewe pushed forward, but they didn’t seem important because I was still thinking City were home and hosed when, in truth, that mystery goal scored while I was in the reception area had put a completely different complexion on things!”
Turning to other teams, the venue for Blaenrhondda’s midweek match with Cwmamman was switched for some reason, which means that their first four matches of the season would have been away from home were it not for the postponement of last weekend’s opener at Baglan. In very heavy conditions, Blaenrhondda earned their first Premier League point with a 1-1 draw in a derby fixture with a team which accompanied them up from the first division last season.
It was honours shared yesterday as well, with a 2-2 draw at Garw SBGC and, after a couple of 3-1 losses, it was the same score for Ton Pentre in Welsh League division one as they picked up their first point of the campaign at early season league leaders, Bridgend Street. Although the fact they were 2-0 up takes a little of the gloss off the outcome for Ton, it was still a result that offers hopes of better days ahead for a club that has been in the doldrums in recent years.
