Dai Sport spent the week in Cornwall and Devon with Neil Warnock’s Cardiff City. Here is the sixth part of our Devon and Cornwall pre-season diary.
Aron Gunnarsson was put through his paces before Cardiff City’s pre-season match against Torquay United, but he had to watch the 1-1 draw.
‘Gunnar’ trained one-to-one with a Bluebirds coach, who urged him to run, run and run again.
Manager Neil Warnock had pondered whether to throw Gunnarsson into the match, but decided to give the Icelandic captain a little extra training.
“He ran in that pre-match session than he would have over 45 minutes,” said Warnock. “He was worked hard and that will help him progress towards full fitness.”
Gunnarsson may also sit out next Wednesday’s friendly against Rotherham United at the New York Stadium and make his first appearance against Burton Albion away three days later.
“Gunnar wanted to play at Torquay, but after playing in the World Cup we want to ensure he is fully up to speed,” said Warnock. “We’ll make a decision about whether he plays at Rotherham next week.”
The Bluebirds manager pushed his players hard through their week in Cornwall and Devon, training at Liskeard AFC and staying at St Mellion International Resort.
Danny Ward was fed up at Torquay United when he went on as a substitute – and was ordered off the pitch 17 minutes later.
Striker Ward, who had knee surgery last season, was accidentally kicked by a Torquay player.
“We realised it wasn’t serious, but it was an impact and I don’t want to take any chances during pre-season,” said Warnock.
“It was the same knee he injured last season and I told Danny to come off. He wanted to play on and gain more match minutes, but I decided it would be a slight risk for him to play on and he came off.”
Ward, who went on for the second half and was replaced by Gary Madine just after the hour, will be available for next Wednesday’s match at Rotherham United.
Captain Sean Morrison and his Bluebirds squad hit the road again next week.
They play two of Neil Warnock’s former clubs, Rotherham United at New York Stadium on Wednesday and then Burton Albion next Saturday.
Cardiff players will stay away for five days, continuing the bonding process which went really well during their week-long stay at St Mellion International Resort.
Remaining first team pre-season fixtures:
Wednesday 25: Rotherham United v Cardiff City (New York Stadium, 7.45pm).
Saturday 28: Burton Albion v Cardiff City (Pirelli Stadium, 2pm)
Tuesday 31: Greenock Morton v Cardiff City (Cappielow Park, 7.45pm)
August
Saturday 4 Cardiff City v Real Betis (Cardiff City Stadium, 5.15pm)
Cardiff City welcomed a Liskeard teenager into their team the under-23 development match against LIskeard AFC.
U23 Report: @AfcLiskeard 0-11 #CardiffCity
The young #Bluebirds round off their tour in style!
👉 https://t.co/Erm35ZTIRM#CityAsOne 🔵⚽️🔵⚽️ pic.twitter.com/KUww6EQFZm
— Cardiff City Academy (@CF11Academy) July 21, 2018
Former Liskeard School pupil Max Gilbert was among the Bluebirds’ substitutes and went on during the second half.
He is a midfield player who had a spell on trial with Cardiff last season, while he played and scored for Bodmin Town in their midweek match against City.
Gilbert’s Bodmin were beaten 11-1 by Cardiff, while he found himself on an 11-goal winning team against his home town club.
He slotted into midfield and helped the Bluebirds win 11-0 with Neil Warnock watching from the away dug-out.
Gilbert was among a number of trialists in the Cardiff team, along with Breyden Shaw, Ryan Price and Scott McLean.
Decisions on their futures at Cardiff will be made over the next few weeks.
Coaches Jarred Harvey and Andy Legg headed home from Liskeard immediately after Cardiff City’s 11-0 win against their South West Peninsular League hosts.
They young Bluebirds won all four matches during their week-long trip to Cornwall and Devon, scoring 27 goals and conceding three.
In-form goals ace Rhys Healey scored 10 goals during the week, including five against Porthleven.
Cardiff’s under-23 team now play Hereford FC next week followed by Wealdstone the following Tuesday.
Both fixtures are against adult teams who play in Vanarama National League, the sixth tier of English football.