Cardiff City

Troy Parrott saw a low effort saved by the deputising Jak Alnwick, while Bambo Diaby guided a snapshot just wide before the break. At the other end, Kion Etete ...

Battled away in typical fashion and pounced on the rebound to net his eighth goal of the season. Had a lack of service but his work rate was rewarded in the second half. Had seen a low shot saved in the first half. Kept it neat and tidy in the middle of the park. Had picked out Cannon in the build-up to his big chance at nil-nil. Loose at times at left wing-back but still had moments in the game. Will have wanted to control things more in the first half but kept plugging away and played his part. Operated slightly deeper than normal in the absence of Browne and did okay. Sent a couple of decent crosses into the box but drifted out of the rest of the first half. His pass led to the opener. Ben Whiteman stepped up to take the resulting free-kick, which was saved and then blasted in on the rebound by substitute Ched Evans. Barely put a foot wrong over the course of the game.

Even so, for an 18-year-old leading the goal-scoring metrics in all competitions for the women's domestic top flight in Wales (and by no meagre distance), ...

“We’ve done a new one now and we’re just continuously setting the bar and pushing ourselves to the limit. We thought, as a team, we need to prove that even with six players missing we’re still the level up.” This year, though, Poole and Cardiff City have cut themselves a very different beast and revenge looks well on the cards. And we’re all very good at that, we’ve got really good motivators in the team. A date with Cardiff Met in the Adran Trophy final on Sunday, March 12, represents the first step in doing achieving a treble. Yet, as noise was made outside the club about the perceived sense of injustice at being forced to play without so many key players, the Cardiff squad opted against joining in. With three training sessions per week, full-time coaching staff, a seamless alchemy of youth and veteran players and an emphasis on self-expression within a structured philosophy, the standards for success have been rewired. On a personal level, it offers a glimpse into Poole on the pitch, the one unshackled from modesty, whose football career began innocuously with a local Cyncoed boys' team but has since seen her gobble up goals like some insatiable glutton and earmark her for a genuine crack at the Wales senior squad this year. Poole celebrated with a roaring Ayatollah (“it was pure instinct, I think every Bluebird would say if they have to celebrate against Swansea, you do that”), before following up the on-pitch celebrations with some playful Twitter trash talking to Swansea’s Chloe Chivers, who queried the veracity of the seven added minutes. For all the things that Poole continues to belie – her age, her league, her incidental demeanour as she insists she can't remember her first goal or first win but “just enjoyed football since... “You can see by the stats that we’ve had an amazing season so far," Oakley says. Poole's goal ensured Cardiff's pristine record of 22 matches unbeaten (now 23) remains in mint condition, as well as their hunt for a historic Adran Premier treble and an elusive first league title in a decade.

Preston North End extended their unbeaten run to six matches with a 2-0 victory over relegation-threatened Cardiff City at Deepdale.

North End had already carved out an effort from Alvaro Fernandez minutes before which was scuffed across goal, but when Greg Cunningham clipped a ball up the pitch towards Cannon on 68 minutes, the young Everton loanee managed to shrug off Cedric Kipre, put Mark McGuinness on his back with his footwork before composing himself to rifle the ball past Alnwick. There was definitely a lot more action in the second half and Cardiff could’ve gone ahead just after the hour mark when Sory Kaba appeared to keep himself onside in the eyes of the linesman to forge himself an opportunity. However, he fired a left-footed effort straight down the middle of the goal which was easily stopped by the City goalkeeper, and a few minutes later the visitors had a good effort too as Jaden Philogene’s effort from outside the box dipped and whistle just over the top corner of the PNE goal.

Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Preston and Cardiff City at Deepdale as goals from Tom Cannon and Ched Evans ...

The second half was more lively and Cannon should have scored from point-bank range after Fernandez found him in the box, but he prodded a tame shot straight at the oncoming Alnwick. Cardiff's Mark McGuinness next to have his name taken 40 minutes in after bringing down Jordan Storey as he surged down the right and Preston improved as the first half drew to a close, with Parrott nearly curling a precise finish into the corner while Alvaro Fernandez and Bambo Diaby both went close. Cannon opened the scoring with a blistering second-half strike and Evans sealed the points at the death after Cardiff goalkeeper Jak Alnwick was sent off to extend the Lilywhites' unbeaten run to six games