Match Preview: Cardiff City (A)

8 February 2024

PNE head to South Wales to take on Cardiff City this weekend, in search of consecutive victories in the Sky Bet Championship.

Match Details

Date: Saturday 10^th February, 3pm kick-off
Venue: Cardiff City Stadium
Competition: Sky Bet Championship
Kit: Third kit

Supporter Information

Tickets for this fixture will remain on sale online until 3pm on Friday, while sales will continue until 5pm in person from the ticket office and over the phone on 0344 856 1966.

Collections can be made until 6pm, while pre-paid and duplicate tickets can also be picked up on the day of the match from the away ticket office.

Cash-only pay on the day is available from the away ticket office at Gate 12, which opens at 1pm. Prices on the day will be increased by £3 for each age bracket, aside from juniors whose tickets will increase by £2.

Please note, the concourse kiosks are cashless.

Who’s Available?

Duane Holmes, who picked up an injury during the warm-up last weekend, will miss this one, but he could return as soon as next Saturday’s Lancashire derby against Blackburn Rovers.

It was hoped Ched Evans, who hasn’t been available since early January, would return in some capacity to training this week. He’s still in his rehabilitation stages, though, but he’s not expected to be out for much longer.

Manager Ryan Lowe described Kian Best as being “on the mend”, with the left-sided defender having missed the last two games through injury.

Opposition Focus

Heading into the weekend, Erol Bulut’s Cardiff City sit just a couple of points and three places below PNE in the Championship table.

Their 40 points accumulated have been picked up equally home and away, although the majority of those on their own turf were collected towards the start of the campaign when they won five out of six at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Since the beginning of November, though, it’s been one win from seven at home, but good victories on the road against Sheffield Wednesday, QPR and Watford have kept them within reach of the top six.

A Recent Clash

Tom Clarke scored the only goal of the game in December 2017 as PNE snatched a last-gasp victory in Cardiff.

Follow The Action

Fans overseas can watch this fixture live on iFollow PNE, with match passes on sale for £10.

Live commentary is available for supporters all around the world, with Guy Clarke behind the mic, and you can subscribe by clicking here.

You can follow extensive coverage of the fixture across the club’s social media channels and here on the website.

Match Officials

Referee: Dean Whitestone
Assistant Referees: Daniel Leach and Blake Antrobus
Fourth Official: Ed Duckworth

Dean Whitestone will take charge of his second PNE fixture of the campaign, after being the main official for the home victory over Birmingham City in September.

In total this season, he has shown 67 yellow cards and two reds in 18 matches.

Match Reports

Match Report: Cardiff City 0 PNE 2

10 February 2024

Goals from Emil Riis and Ben Whiteman helped Preston North End secure back-to-back wins with a 2-0 victory over Cardiff City.

Riis got PNE going on the half-hour mark with his first goal since returning from injury, and Whiteman then finished off a great team move in the 40^th minute for his third of the season.

Riis had the best chance of the second half, only to be denied by the goalkeeper, but it wasn’t to matter as PNE secured consecutive victories for the first time since November.

North End went unchanged from the side which defeated Ipswich Town the weekend prior as they looked to build on the impressive victory.

However, it was the hosts who started the brightest in South Wales, calling Freddie Woodman into action a couple of times inside the opening 20 minutes, but he was equal to efforts from Kion Etete and Karlan Grant.

North End didn’t manage a shot until the 30^th minute, which proved to be something of a turning point in the game. Frøkjær played his fellow countryman Riis through down the left but he still had plenty to do to cut inside and breeze past two men before finding the bottom corner for his first goal since October 2022.

PNE then started to dominate the ball and nine minutes later doubled their lead. It was a superb one-touch move involving Brad Potts and Will Keane which sent Frøkjær into the box, and he selflessly laid it off for Whiteman to sweep into the bottom corner.

Liam Millar so nearly found a third for his side three minutes into the second period when he made it to the byline and forced Jak Alnwick into a quick reaction stop.

North End were still looking the side more likely and could have made it three on the hour when Frøkjær again showed his class to slot Riis through one-on-one, but Alnwick dived low to his left to make the save.

The hosts were trying to create opportunities as they looked to find a way back into the game, however the PNE backline never really seemed like it was going to be penetrated and they held on for a clean sheet and a first victory at the Cardiff City Stadium since 2017.

Cardiff City line-up: Alnwick; Ng, Goutas, Phillips (Méïté, 85), Collins; Wintle (Ramsey, 45), Siopis, Turnbull (Colwill, 72); Bowler (Wilson-Esbrand, 45), Etete (Diédhiou, 62), Grant. Subs not used: Horvath, Romeo, Ralls, Tanner.

PNE line-up: Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Potts (McCann, 73), Whiteman, Browne (Ledson, 80), Millar (Brady, 86); Frøkjær (Woodburn, 87), Riis (Osmajić, 86), Keane. Subs not used: Cornell, Cunningham, Stewart, Whatmough.

Attendance: 18,763 (505 PNE pre-sales).

Referee: Mr D Whitestone.

Ticket News

Cardiff City Tickets On Sale

19 January 2024

Tickets for North End’s away match against Cardiff City remain on sale.

PNE will head to South Wales for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday 10^th February, and the club have been allocated 1,405 tickets for this fixture.

Tickets can be bought online until 3pm on Friday, while sales will continue until 5pm in person from Deepdale and over the phone on 0344 856 1966.

Collections can be made until 6pm, while pre-paid and duplicate tickets can also be picked up on the day of the match from the away ticket office.

Please note, the concourse kiosks are cashless.

Prices (Advance/Matchday)

Adults £20/£23
Seniors (60+) £17/£20
16-21 £12/£15
Juniors (0-15) £9/£11

The majority of the tickets within the main allocation are safe standing, which is a section where supporters have access to seating with independent barriers, allowing them to stand safely if they wish.

However, 77 tickets are easy access seating where no standing is permitted. Any supporters who require or would like this seating will need to buy over the phone or at the ticket office.

Please note, supporters under the age of 14 will not be permitted entry if not accompanied by a person aged 18 or above.

Disabled Supporter Information

Ambulant disabled supporters will pay in accordance with their relevant age band above, while there are 12 tickets available for wheelchair users, with prices (advance/matchday) as follows:

Adults £19/£22
Seniors (60+) £15/£18
16-21 £12/£15
Juniors (0-15) £8/£10

Ambulant disabled supporters and wheelchair users will also receive a complimentary personal assistant ticket if required.

Travel

Travel is available for this fixture from both Deepdale and Leyland, with coaches departing both locations at 7.30am.

Coach travel is priced at £31 per Ambassador and £33 per non-Ambassador.

Car Parking

There are 12 accessible parking bays available free of charge, issued on a first come, first served basis.

For further details, please contact Cardiff City’s Disability Liaison Officer, Ben Jones by emailing ben.jones@cardiffcityfc.co.uk.

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