Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Saturday, March 26.
Colwill: Bale an inspiration to me and the next generation
Cardiff City starlet Rubin Colwill has said he and his contemporaries are inspired by iconic forward Gareth Bale and they will try to fill the sizeable shoes he will vacate when he eventually retires.
Bale put in a sensational display for Wales during the 2-1 win over Austria, scoring both goals in impressive fashion, silencing any critics while doing so. And Colwill, who is still just 19, said that performances like that serve as an inspiration for him and fellow youngsters in the Wales camp.
Read more : The appalling treatment of Gareth Bale amid car damage, vile abuse and vicious attacks
"It's an inspiration for all of us," Colwill said of Bale. "The success he’s had in his career. For him to still be doing that stuff now is incredible.
"It’s a tough job for anyone to fill those boots. We’ll try our best."
Bale's first was that fantastic free-kick, which he stuck right in the postage stamp of the goal from 25 yards. Colwill himself impressed with a free-kick goal which proved to be the winner for the Bluebirds against QPR earlier this month.
And being in training with Bale will only be a positive for Colwill as he looks to hone his free-kick expertise. The young Bluebirds starlet, though, admits that he won't be shoving Bale off the ball if he does find himself on the pitch with him in the near future.
"Everyone wants to take free-kicks but I don’t think anyone’s going to have much of an argument against him really when he puts it top bins like he did the other night," Colwill added. "But the way he strikes the ball... you see it in training and you think ‘wow how does he do that’.
"It’s great. Obviously you have to practice it a lot. Maybe you score one out of five. When one does go in, it’s a great feeling."
Whyte scores in Northern Ireland win
Gavin Whyte produced a fine cameo display from the bench to help Northern Ireland secure a 3-1 win over Luxembourg.
Whyte was introduced in the 63rd minute with the game poised at 1-1, but had a hand in the second Northern Irish goal, scored by Steven Davis, before helping himself to one himself to wrap up the win in the friendly fixture.
The winger's positive form has continued, it seems, with the player having registered 10 assists in a goal for Oxford United on loan this term, numbers which appear to be catching the eye of City fans.
Meanwhile, Tommy Doyle impressed in England under-21s' 4-1 win over Andorra on Friday night. His impressive stats included 121 touches, 93 accurate passes at a success rate of 92.1%, he produced two key passes, 16 accurate long balls and won two aerial duels.
Chanka Zimba also netted his first goal for his loan club Northampton Town on Saturday. He notched the second goal for the Cobblers to take a 2-0 lead against Hartlepool United in League Two.
Cardiff second-favourites to land Bale
The Bluebirds are second in the bookmakers' odds list to sign Gareth Bale this summer.
His former club Tottenham lead the odds list at as little as 2/1, while Cardiff come in second at 8/1. Bale has a strong link with the Bluebirds, of course, given it is his hometown club and his uncle, Chris Pike, was a favourite in the Welsh capital during his playing days with the club.
Indeed just last year, during a Q&A with then Spurs team-mate Joe Rodon, Bale revealed he supports Cardiff. "Of course I'm from Cardiff, and I support Cardiff, but I'm a Welshman," he said. "I try to unite both if it's even possible."
Even Liverpool and Wales legend Ian Rush said Bale moving to Cardiff would make sense, which you can read about here.
Moneybags Newcastle come in third at 10/1, while Rangers , where Aaron Ramsey currently plies his trade, of course, were next at 12/1.
Gareth Bale next club odds:
- Tottenham - 2/1
- Cardiff - 8/1
- Newcastle - 10/1
- Rangers - 12/1
- Man United - 20/1
- Southampton - 20/1
- Celtic - 20/1
- AC Milan - 20/1
- Inter Milan - 20/1
(Odds courtesy of OddsBible, correct at time of publication)
Fixture change
Cardiff's Championship fixture with Middlesbrough will now be played on Wednesday, April 27.
This game was originally scheduled to be played on March 19 but was moved following Boro's progression in the FA Cup, which saw their clash with Chelsea occur on the same day Cardiff's meeting with them was due to take place.
Now, though, the clash at the Riverside has been selected for live Sky TV coverage and will move from Tuesday, April 26 to the following day.
Kick-off remains at 7.45pm.
