Cardiff City 2-0 Taffs Well: Davies and Evans on target as Bluebirds progress

A youthful Cardiff City progressed to the next round of the Nathaniel MG Cup after beating Taffs Well 2-0 at the USW Sport Park. 

Kieran Evans’ first-half strike and a penalty from Isaak Davies gave Steve Morison’s side the victory over the managerless Wellmen. 

The Bluebirds were making their first appearance in the competition and created many opportunities against their more experienced opponents.

Unnerved by the margin of experience between themselves and their opponents, Cardiff City’s young guns inventively began on the front foot, creating a host of opportunities from the off to threaten the visitors’ goal.

In particular, Bluebirds wide man Kieron Evans subdued the Wellmen to a nervy start, calling Taffs Well’s Cael Jones into action with a low strike just inside the area after eight minutes on the clock.

The hosts continued to administer pressure onto their opponents and Evans was directory to the early stronghold Steve Morison’s men had on proceedings, waltzing down the wing and inflicting fear into the Wellmen upon every movement.

Despite this, the Wellmen were afforded a rare chance on goal as young midfielder Owen Pritchard cheaply gave away possession in the middle of the park.

With limited numbers back for the hosts, Taffs Well energetically broke through, but forward Corey Spencer could only watch on in frustration as his tame effort was saved by Cardiff shot-stopper Jaimie Cogman.

Even though their dominance had been jeopardised, the buoyant Bluebirds swiftly resumed their superiority as they created a host of chances to repeatedly ask questions of Jones.

City forward Roland Idowu, who joined the club from Southampton in September, span off his man inside the area and dispatched a powerful drive towards goal, although Jones had it covered.

Evans, who was proving to be an increasingly difficult proposition for the Taffs Well backline to contain, unleashed a dangerous delivery from out wide, which was promptly palmed away by Jones as he persisted to keep the Wellmen in the game.

But just before the first half drew to a close, City struck gold. A standout performer all evening, Cardiff City’s Kieron Evans delightfully put the hosts ahead with a timely finish inside the area.

Following a City corner, young midfielder Rubin Colwill flicked the ball into the path of Evans, who made no mistake in cooly finding the back of the net to ensure that the Bluebirds had a goal advantage heading into the interval

City continued to motor after the break, with skilled midfielder Rubin Colwill controlling play in the middle of the park. Whilst also possessing a broad physical presence to go with artistry and assurance in possession, the crafty eighteen year old sparkled for the hosts as he determinedly drove forward and created chances over the course of the evening.

Highly-regarded prospect Isaak Davies also shone as he proceeded to stretch the defence and make darting runs in behind, something that Taffs Well defender Riccardo Mackenzie found hard to deal with as he saw yellow following his challenge on the fledgling forward.

Just after the hour mark, Evans showcased his quality once more as he dispatched a through ball laced with perfection into the path of Cardiff’s Isaak Davies, who rip-roaringly raced through on goal, but could only rustle the side-netting with his powerful effort.

Moments after Davies nearly doubled City’s advantage though, the visitors came agonisingly close to getting back on level terms with their opponents. Taffs Well forward Corey Spencer, who was looking to compensate for his earlier miss, released a placed effort from outside the area which seemed destined to nestle in the bottom left-hand corner. However, the ball sailed just wide, much to the Wellmen’s frustration.

Regardless of being only one goal to the good, the Bluebirds were not letting up and continued to plug away, creating chance after chance as the vulnerable visitors were powerless to prevent the onslaught. A real dictator of the tempo throughout the affair, Colwill consistently drove forward to make things happen as the hosts looked to double their advantage.

The wishes of Morison’s men was soon granted however, as Cardiff were awarded a penalty after Isaak Davies was brought down in the area. Davies, who had been a threatening feature in the City side all evening, confidently stepped up and assuringly struck the ball into the left-hand corner of the goal with just over ten minutes left to play to double the Bluebirds’ advantage

In spite of being 2-0 down at this point, the managerless Wellmen were still not giving up as they scavenged for a chance to get a goal back. Unfortunately for the visitors, they just couldn’t find a way to break down an astute Bluebirds backline, who stood firm and displayed consistent solidity throughout the course of the match.

As the showdown met its conclusion, there could be few arguments with the final result. It was a thoroughly impressive display from a youthful Cardiff City side who simply had too much in the locker for their opponents to deal with.

Cardiff City: Jaimie Cogman, Taylor Jones, Thomas Davies, Ben Margetson, Jack Bodenham, Mweembe Chiabi, Owen Pritchard, Rubin Colwill, Kieran Evans, Roland Idowu, Isaak Davies (James Crole, 86).

Goals: Kieran Evans 44, Isaak Davies p 79

Yellow Cards: Jack Bodenham 22, Owen Pritchard 84′

Taffs Well: Cael Jones (Henri Phillips, 88), Aaron Thomas (Ethan Cann, 82), Abdul Mohsin, Riccardo Mackenzie, Joe Shephard, Mamadi Mane Sanha, Corey Spencer, Samuel Webber (Thomas Austin, 71), Luke Davidson, Harry Gidman, Liam Martin.

Yellow Cards: Liam Martin 23, Riccardo Mackenzie 56, Joe Shephard 81′

(Featured Image: Lewis Mitchell)