Cardiff City’s Rhys Healey and Kadeem Harris are close to regaining full fitness – and they celebrated with a goal apiece.
Striker Healey, winger Harris and goalkeeper Lee Camp were over-age players in the Bluebirds under-23 development team against Crystal Palace at Cardiff City Stadium.
Harris went off at half-time, but that substitution had been pre-planned and there were no further injury problems.
The former Wycombe Wanderers pace ace has yet to play for the Bluebirds this season after having surgery on an ankle problem, while Healey has been out since February after suffering ligament damage.
Palace recovered from two goals down to win and that took them top of the Professional Development League South, jumping ahead of Queens Park Rangers.
Harris struck with a goal in the first minute of Cardiff’s match against Palace, scoring from Jamie Veale’s pass.
Healey scored from a Cameron Coxe after 23 minutes to put City 2-0 ahead against a Palace team which included former Cardiff midfield player Jordan Mutch.
The departure of Harris preceded a collapse by the young Bluebirds, who conceded four second half goals and lost 4-2.
Mutch crossed for Gio McGregor to score a first for Palace (52 mins) and then Michael Phillips equalised (55) before Levi Lumeka (72) and Freddie Lapado (89) completed the London club’s fourth successive victory.
Cardiff included five trialists in their match day squad and the players who have been training with the under-23 squad are:
Sean Hanbury: Aged 18 and a striker spent eight seasons with Swansea City’s Academy. From the Port Talbot area. Played for the Swans in an international youth tournament at St Georges Park when Juventus, Spartak Moscow and Arsenal were the other teams competing.
Kyle Spence: Aged 20. Tricky midfield player or winger from Croydon, Surrey. Former Crystal Palace and Coventry City youth player who won international honours with Scotland at under-16 level. Current club: East Grinstead Town.
Played for Surrey Schools when they won the English County Under-14 Cup six years ago.
Made one first team appearance for Coventry City.
Keegan Woolley: American midfield player from San Antonio, Texas. Son of former Aston Villa (youth), Birmingham City and Mansfield Town player Thomas Woolley. Teenager Keegan has had two trial spells with Manchester United.
Sam Phillips: Aged 18, Welsh midfield player from Church Stoke, Powys. Aged 18, came through the Wolves Academy. Wales under-17 international.
Nathan Mavilla: Former West Ham winger, aged 20. Has played for Maidstone United and Wealdstone since being released by West Ham. He was an unused substitute in a Europa League tie against Romanian club Astra.
Cardiff City: Camp, Coxe, Abbruzzese, Veale, Trialist, Young, Trialist, Waite, Healey, M Harris, K Harris. Subs: Proctor, Byrne, Trialist, Trialist, Trialist.
Crystal Palace: Tupper, Wan-Bissaka, Phillips, Brown, Mitchell, McGregor, Kirby (Flanagan 79), Lokilo, Mutch, Lumeka, Ladapo. Subs not used: Webber, Ossai, Robertson, Coker.