By Chris O'Brien
July 22 2004

Lennie Lawrence and Mark Wright have both given their thoughts following Chester City's 2-0 friendly victory over the Bluebirds. The hosts dominated for the majority of the game and were worthy winners as they prepare for their return to the Football League.

Lennie Lawrence and Mark Wright have both given their thoughts following Chester City's 2-0 victory over the Bluebirds at the Deva Stadium. Tuesday evening saw an impressive Seals side cruise to a comfortable looking victory over their First Division counterparts, despite the hosts making a whole host of substitutions throughout the game. For a full match report please click here.

Cardiff City's Lennie Lawrence:

Although the game was only a pre-season friendly, Bluebirds boss Lennie Lawrence was understandably upset about the result and the poor performance from his side. However, the cautious manager seems more alarmed by the injuries to Paul Parry and John Robinson which could see them miss a lot of the pre-season build-up.

Typically, no quotes that stand out from Lawrence but he takes time to praise Chester City, who impressed with a solid and spirited performance. Cardiff were rarely in the game at the Deva Stadium, and it would appear the Seals are building a squad that could mount a serious promotion challenge for the forthcoming term.

"Obviously the result is disappointing. Even though it's a pre-season friendly you want to win the game. We looked like a team playing its first pre-season match. We were ring-rusty and a bit ponderous at times." said a concerned Lawrence.

"The biggest disappointment of the evening is that two players, Paul Parry and John Robinson, have picked up injuries. Hopefully they are not too serious.

"You have to give Chester credit. They looked more advanced in their match-fitness than us. Once they got their first goal they sat back and we found it difficult to break them down."

Chester City's Mark Wright:

Chester City boss Mark Wright was full of praise for his side after their 2-0 victory over the Bluebirds. The win followed the Seals' 3-0 pre-season win over Walsall on the weekend, meaning they have comprehensively beaten two sides from higher divisions in a short period of time.

The former Southport manager took time to single out several of his players, including trialist Mike Sheron who was amongst the scorers, and also raised doubts over whether the Cardiff squad is as good as the local South Wales press and people at the club would have supporters believe.

"There are a lot of big teams in Cardiff's league. I wish them all the best - but I think Cardiff know themselves that it's going to be tough.

"I read Cardiff are a club pushing for a good finish in the First Division, but after that showing you have to raise questions about their credentials." said Wright.

"It was a great team performance from us, and I was really pleased with the way Andy Harris went about his game. He didn’t perform a lot for us last season - he started the season and was our club captain, but then he hurt himself and played a bit-part season.

"To see Mike Sheron scoring a goal like he did and seeing Stuart Roberts playing as well as he did, and watching Peter Handyside playing ever so well is making things difficult.

“"The squad is making life difficult for me at the moment. Everyone is playing really well and I am delighted with our pre-season wins victories over Walsall and Cardiff."