Cardiff Metropolitan 0–0 Connah’s Quay Nomads

A blustery day at a university campus in a leafy part of the Welsh capital

Saturday came around again and keen to grab a football fix, I decided to descend on the home of Cardiff Metropolitan FC.

Playing their football in the Cymru Premier League, the Archers are made up of undergraduate, masters and PhD students.

This weekend was the first of the second stage of the season, where the 12 team division split into two six club leagues, the Championship and Playoff Conferences.

Cardiff’s first fixture of the second stage was the visit of Connah’s Quay Nomads.

It had been a rough week for the visiting team, who received an 18 point deduction for fielding an ineligible player in six matches this season.

It was this which set up the fixture, as before the deduction Cardiff would have been playing Caernarfon Town.

Getting to the match was the first aspect of the day.

From Cardiff Central station, it takes just ten minutes to reach Heath High Level station, the nearest to the Cyncoed campus.

It’s a half an hour walk from the station, but this can be broken up with a pub stop.

The Discovery is slightly less than halfway to the stadium, and a couple of points in the spring sun went down very well.

The entrance to the campus feels tucked away off a suburban street, and the stadium is located around the back next to other sports.

The ground holds around 1200 spectators, including a couple of hundred seats in stands on either side of the pitch.

There was a bitter wind whipping around the ground as I headed to the turnstile. £6 entry is about the amount I was expecting.

My only other experience of Cymru Premier League is Aberystwyth Town, with the Seasiders charging £7 for entry, so this looked like a pretty average amount.

It was a scrappy affair, with neither team really making inroads during the early exchanges.

The wind played its part, this forced both sides to keep the ball down and play short ball stuff.

Chances in the first half were limited, with neither keeper really being tested.

Half time arrived and after a visit to the toilets (which are tucked away in the corner of the ground next to the turnstiles, I grabbed a cup of tea from the cafe.

Having spent the first half sitting in the sun, warm but being unable to see much I decided to switch stands for the second.

Unfortunately that meant being completely in the shade, but it was easier to see, which was an improvement.

The quality of football improved only slightly in the second half, and it was the Nomads who were doing most of the huffing and puffing.

The visitors started to get in behind the Archers back line in the latter stages of the game, but in the end neither team was able to make the all important breakthrough.

Cardiff would have been happiest with the point, but in reality neither side deserved to leave with all three.

It was a decent jaunt across the Welsh capital, to a match between a Cardiff side looking good for a top of the second tier and a Connah’s Quay team thrust into a relegation scrap