Taff's view from the sidelines

With 4 debutants in the side, the new look second team took to the field first as Cardiff City's 2004-2005 indoor season got underway. With a combined total of five month's training, Cardiff's four girls were thrown in at the deep end, and they all responded in excellent fashion. Matched against several far more experienced girls, the walk-over you might expect never materialised and Bristol were forced to work hard all game. Some stubborn defending kept Bristol at bay for long periods, and some unlucky bounces off the ring for both sides kept the score down, but gradually Bristol worked their way out to a 5-1 half time advantage. Terry orchestrated a simple free-pass move that gave James our only goal of the first half.

The second half saw a step up in class as Bristol introduced last season's league top and second top scorers, but again Cardiff's second-string rose to the challenge. Terry's long-shot from out near the sidelines and Jack's huge effort from the halfway line were Cardiff's reward for a determined second half showing. Inevitably though, Bristol were able to make their experience pay and ran out 11-3 winners.

So although a fair-sized defeat leaves Cardiff at the foot of the second division for now, the many positives we can take away from the game will surely mean a climb up the table will follow. Lee and Zoe were particularly unlucky to see several shots bounce out that on another day will fall, and with our team rebounding improving visibly as the game went on, there'll be plenty of shots to take. Especially pleasing to see was the willingness to fight for loose balls and hassle the opposition into making mistakes. Most important though, was the resolute defending, which kept out all the genuine second teamers on Bristol's side and will surely see us dominate games later in the season.

While Bristol City made full use of all their players present, the lack of numbers meant that Bristol's reserves featured 7 first team players, with 4 on court at all times, in comparison, Cardiff didn't use any first teamers to support the second team. 10 of the Bristol's 11 goals were scored by players who went on to play the entire first team game, and although those players were on cruise control throughout the second team match, they still dominated the game and the scoreline. For the rest of the season Cardiff City seconds will be hoping to play against reserve sides that keep more to the spirit (and point!) of the second division.

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