Match Information
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Bristol City Under-21 1-0 Queens Park Rangers Development
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When: Tuesday 17th October 2023
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Kick-off: 1pm
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Where: Robins High Performance Centre, Clevedon Road, Failand, Bristol, BS8 3TN
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Competition: Premier League U21 Professional Development League South
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Attendance: 139 (my headcount)
I had previously seen a Bristol City Under-21’s home match on 26th January 2015 when they lost 3-2 versus Charlton Athletic (attendance 37). That took place at the Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital (QEH) School Bristol Sports Ground in Failand.
However in March 2021, Bristol City moved literally next door to open their new Robins High Performance Centre training ground which took 13 months to create at a reported cost of £20 million.
With a new groundhopping opportunity in mind, I set off on my 300 mile round trip back to Failand. It is a village housing 700 residents five miles west of Bristol city centre.
Ground Description
The floodlit show pitch features a lengthy viewing gallery offering 500 elevated seats across three rows split into two sections. It stages first team training sessions plus fixtures for the Bristol City’s Under-21’s, Under-18’s and Women’s sides.
A thoroughly impressive main building backs on to this containing extensive reception, dressing room, kitchen, restaurant, medical, sports science, rehabilitation, office, tactics room, media room, management suite, education, welfare, hydrotherapy pool and gym fitness facilities.
There are two other full-size pitches and two additional training areas.
Programme Details
An up to date printed teamsheet was handed out free of charge at the entry gate.
The Match
Closely contested between two Under-21 sides incorporating a sprinkling of permitted over-age players.
Significantly, QPR gave a much-awaited debut to newly signed 25 year old American international defender Reggie Cannon who most recently played for Boavista in Portugal. He was getting his match fitness up to speed ahead of imminent EFL Championship duties.
Anyway, matters at Failand were edging towards scoreless stalemate until Sam Pearson grabbed an 89th minute winner for Bristol City crisply converting Callum Hutton’s cross.
While I like attending Under 21 fixtures, I would personally prefer a return to proper reserve team leagues.
Clubs such as Bristol City and Queens Park Rangers used to compete in the long lost Football Combination where young players gained tremendous experience by lining up alongside and against more experienced men that were returning to full fitness after injury.
For example, I vividly remember observing Republic of Ireland star David O’Leary in action for Arsenal Reserves away to Queens Park Rangers Reserves on Tuesday 17th March 1992. He was 33 years old and had made 700 first team appearances for the Gunners.
It was a totally historic event at Loftus Road because O’Leary was sent-off for the only time in his entire career following what the match referee described as “foul and abusive language”.
Fortunately for me, I was the sole journalist present and I thereby made an absolute fortune selling the O’Leary story to several national newspapers including a Daily Mirror full back page ‘lead’.
Alas, the Football Combination folded in 2011/12 due to rapidly developing preferences for Under-23 and Under-21 competitions.
The People
Firstly, I must say all the matchday stewards I encountered at the Robins High Performance Centre were extremely helpful and polite.
It was also good to chat to the respective club web site correspondents – QPR’s Simon Cheshire and the Bristol City duo of Kyle Wakley and Ben Thorne. All three lads are very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Consequently, I enjoyed reading their subsequent online reports.
Then I had a long chat with Bristol City’s professional development phase coach Trevor Challis. I have known him ever since he was an up and coming left-back in the QPR youth ranks.
In fact, I travelled to Goodison Park to witness Trevor’s Premier League debut for the R’s against Everton on Wednesday 22nd November 1995.
So some 28 years later, I asked him about that fixture and he told me: “I can recall being in the hotel on the morning of the game and boss Ray Wilkins pulled me over because regular left-back Rufus Brevett was ill. Ray said he had full confidence in me as a player. Therefore I should go out and just do what I had been doing in the reserves.
“I relished the whole occasion at Goodison even though we lost 2-0. It was a night I will never forget. QPR were my boyhood club I had supported and watched for many years. But I was suddenly out on the pitch playing for them. Although the 90 minutes went by so fast, I loved every second of it.
“Nowadays, I coach the young Bristol City footballers at Under-18 level. This is a perfect role for me. If you’ve played football all your life and you come to the end of your career, coaching is the next best thing.”
*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Tony Incenzo*
