Match Preview – Cardiff City U21s (H) – Pre-Season Friendly

13 Jul 2026

Tomorrow evening sees City make their second appearance of pre-season and the first at Cannon Clarke Stadium @ Twerton Park, with a Cardiff City U21 side the opposition.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

Unquestionably the most famous meeting between the two was on 14 November 1992, when the Romans won 3-2 at Ninian Park in the FA Cup 1st Round. Ex-Bluebird Graham Withey opened the scoring for Tony Ricketts’ side before Carl Dale and Nathan Blake put the hosts ahead before half-time. City equalised through future boss Jerry Gill before substitute Deion Vernon steered in Martin Boyle’s pinpoint cross, his fourth goal in three after his arrival, to seal a place in round two. Cardiff went on to win Division Three (now League Two) that season.

City have faced Cardiff 11 times in pre-season, but only once against a confirmed youthful line-up. In July 2006 a Cardiff City XI drew 1-1 at Twerton with Lewis Hogg on target for John Relish’s men. Their last three visits to BA2 since have included strong sides, with the 2014 meeting notable for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s presence. He oversaw a 1-1 draw. Mick McCarthy’s Bluebirds won 5-0 at Twerton five years ago.

Overall pre-season record v Cardiff City:
Pld 11 W1 D4 L6 F10 A27

TRIVIA

  • Chris Pike featured for Cardiff in the FA Cup defeat in 1992. A year later he was part of the Hereford United side that lost to City in the 2nd Round.
  • City were the last non-league side to knock Cardiff out of the FA Cup at Ninian Park.
  • Isaac Vassell was on target for Cardiff on their last visit to Twerton. He went on to make a handful of appearance for the Stripes.

FORM

  • Bath City opened their 2026 pre-season with a 3-1 win at Larkhall Athletic last Tuesday.
  • This is Cardiff U21’s first friendly of the summer. They’ll also play Yeovil, Chelsea U21, Torquay, Manchester City U21, Liverpool U21 and Fulham U21 across the next month.

TICKET INFO

Fanbase | Select Tickets

If you’re unable to attend, you can obtain updates via:

X – @BathCity_FC
Bath City Radio – also on the Mixlr app, search for Bath City Radio.