AFC St Austell 2, Cardiff City Development XI 2
Declan John and Mark Harris were the Cardiff City scorers during a hard fought pre-season match at Poltair Park in Cornwall.
The Bluebirds led twice and dominated possession, but did not defend well enough when their experienced South West Peninsular League hosts put them under pressure.
Both St Austell goals came from set pieces and Cardiff coaches and their under-23 players will surely be studying video replays and analysing what went wrong.
Wales international John, Harris and Ibrahim Meite all travelled to Cornwall with the young Bluebirds.
There were plenty of positives in the City performance and they were plenty of good moments, but they did not take advantage of chances created against a physically strong home team.
Cameron Coxe, at right-back, is a fast, attacking defender who loves to go forward and has the energy to get back quickly, while Lloyd Humphries switched from midfield and linked up with Connor Young at the heart of defence.
Rhys Abbruzzese impressed when he went on after half-time, while captain Jamie Veale caught the eye.
Goalkeeper Oliver Byrne produced a magnificent save when St Austell’s Liam Eddy broke clear. Byrne flung himself to palm the ball away one-handed.
Cardiff included five trial lists – all unnamed – in their squad and two of them started.
Harris fired City in front on 22 minutes with a sharp finish, but Will Tinsley equalised (31 mins).
John’s timed his run to perfection and tapped in a Coxe pass from close range on 63 minutes, but St Austell levelled again from a Tom Chambers header (71 mins).
Cardiff’s under-23 team now play Bideford away in their next fixture on Saturday.
Cardiff City: Oliver Byrne, Cameron Coxe, Declan John, Jamie Veale, Lloyd Humphries, Connor Young, Mark Harris, Marco Weymans, Ibrahim Meite, Trialist, Trialist. Subs, all used: Rhys Abbruzzese, Jordan Duffey, James Waite, Trialist, Trialist, Trialist.
AFC St Austell: Chapman, Davies, Watts, Giles, Chambers, Dingle, Reski, Richardson, Eddy, Goldsworthy, Tinsley. Subs, all used: Roberts, Pearce, Wearne, Lean, Hamshaw, Flack.
