By Adam Evans & Editor
Date: Wednesday November 20, 2019
Kick off: 13:30pm
Venue: University of South Wales Sport Park, Treforest Industrial Estate.
A NEW-LOOK University of South Wales 1st side welcome local rivals Cardiff Met 1st to Sport Park for the second derby fixture of the campaign.
Head coach Lee Kendall has a smaller pool of players to choose from this week due to club commitments taking priority for a number of his starting 11.
USW go into the clash third in the league having played two games less than Met and on the back of a 2-2 draw away to Exeter 1st.
“It’s not ideal preparation losing four of your starting line-up. Four of the players have got club games on Friday and they have chosen those over university football, which is understandable.
“We’re not lucky enough to have control of the players as a Cardiff Met or a Swansea [University] have because all their players are signed to their club on a Saturday.”
The Friday fixtures mean recovery time is minimal for the four, hence their decisions to prioritise their clubs. It is a move Kendall is drawing positives from.
“It’s totally understandable and that said, it is an opportunity for the players who’ve been waiting in the wings to step up and take their opportunity against a really good Cardiff Met team who’ve hit some form recently. We’re also unbeaten in four so it should be a good game.
“For us this has been a transitional year. We’ve lost five players over the summer who have gone to new establishments, coupled with four of our starting line-up today and a number of soft tissue injuries.
“It’s been a tough week but we are what we are USW, we get together, we rally round and we compete. We’ll make sure we are on that pitch today with the people who’ve got the opportunity to play and make sure we represent USW to the best of our ability.”
Earlier in the season when Kendall’s USW clashed with Christian Edwards’ Met, the points were shared after a 1-1 draw at Cyncoed Campus. Clayton Green’s goal put USW ahead, only for it to be cancelled out in the second half by Dan Spencer.
It is always a clash containing plenty of emotion and past meetings between the sides haven’t failed to entertain.
The most memorable fixture between the two south Wales based sides was the 3-2 win for USW in the semi-final of the BUCS Football Championship last season.
USW went on to win the league and cup double whilst remaining unbeaten for the entire season.
Ahead of the visit to the USW Sport Park, The Archers go into the encounter on the back of a narrow 1-0 victory over Swansea 1st but having scored eight in their two previous games.
USW’s Cameron Keetch says that despite the lack of players at their disposal the preparation hasn’t changed.
“We have prepared thoroughly as we do every week. The only difference is the personnel we have, however, we believe whoever is playing will do the job.
“In regards to the previous game [versus Met] we all felt that we missed out on a comfortable three points. We’ll be ready this time and we’ll be prepared.
The forward also made clear how important the match against Met is: “It’s a derby match – it means more than any other game.”
