ON SATURDAY afternoon, Jenner Park stages the annual pre-season challenge match between Barry Town United and Cardiff City at 3pm, with the bulk of the fledgling squad that appeared in the recent fixture with Belgium's KV Kortijk expected to feature for the visiting Bluebirds.

This weekend will see the fifth encounter between the teams since the fixture's revival in August 2012. On that evening, a bumper crowd of around 1,500 at Jenner Park saw Cardiff race into a 2-0 lead through Dekel Keinan and Kevin Sainte-Luce, before Barry's Josh Bell converted a long range free-kick to half the deficit.

The following summer, another four-figure attendance saw Michael Hartley and Lewis Cosslett hand the Town a 2 - 1 half-time lead over their newly-promoted opposition after Kadeem Harris had broken the deadlock. Premier league-bound Cardiff would storm back, following second half efforts from Etien Velikonja and striker Rhys Healey, but Barry were unfortunate to see TJ Nagi’s late equaliser ruled out.

The next year in 2014 saw former Manchester United forward Ole Gunnar Solksjaer visit Jenner Park; the 1999 UEFA Champions League winner in the midst of his brief managerial stint with the Bluebirds. With more than 1,000 fans joining Solksjaer on a wet evening in Barry, Cardiff added to an early lead with another after the break, before sealing a 3 - 0 win via David Tutonda's late penalty past Town goalkeeper Dan Bradley.

Then, last July, the fixture switched to Cardiff and a behind closed doors affair that the Bluebirds would win by four goals to nil, despite Barry holding their professional opposition to 2 - 0 until the closing 10 minutes.

Barry versus Cardiff fixtures are almost as old as the two clubs itself, with the neighbours contesting a number of South Wales Senior Cup finals in years gone by, as well as, most famously, the 1994 Welsh Cup Final; a match the Town would win 2 - 1 at Cardiff Arms Park's National Stadium.

The last competitive meetings came in 1999, when a 2 - 2 draw at Ninian Park in the FAW Premier Cup was followed by a 2 - 1 win for the Town on home turf, as broadcast live by BBC Wales.

With the relationship between the clubs strengthening in recent years, Barry were bolstered by the loan signings of Cardiff City prospects Jamie Bird and Elvis Menayese last campaign, though both would return to the capital by the time home fixtures commenced in October.

Tickets for this Saturday's match on July 23, will be available on the gate at the Gladstone Road and Jenner Road ends, with admission only £5 and concessions for senior citizens and children. Advance tickets can meanwhile be purchased online from ticketsource.co.uk/Barry until 9am on Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, the club has confirmed its full fixture list for their 2016-17 Welsh League Division One campaign, with matches against demoted Welsh Premier League duo Port Talbot Town and Haverfordwest County among the highlights.

Gavin Chesterfield’s side will travel to Haverfordwest on Saturday, September 3, before hosting a hotly-anticipated encounter with friends Port Talbot at Jenner Park on Saturday, October 22.

Barry will then make the return trip to Victoria Road on Saturday, March 4, 2017, their first visit since December 2004. The full set of fixtures is as follows:

August 13 - Undy Athletic (home)

August 20 - Penybont (away)

August 27 - Monmouth Town (H)

September 3 - Haverfordwest County (A)

September 10 - Afan Lido (H)

September 17 - Cwmbran Celtic (A)

September 24 - Caldicot Town (H)

October 8 - Risca United (H)

October 15 - Goytre (A)

October 22 - Port Talbot Town (H)

November 5 - Cambrian & Clydach (A)

November 19 - Taffs Well (H)

November 26 - Caerau Ely (A)

December 3 - Ton Pentre (H)

December 10 - Goytre United (A)

December 17 - Undy Athletic (A)

2017

January 7 - Penybont (H)

January 14 - Monmouth Town (A)

January 21 - Haverfordwest County (H)

January 28 - Afan Lido (A)

February 4 - Cwmbran Celtic (H)

February 11 - Caldicot Town (A)

February 18 - Risca United (A)

February 25 - Goytre (H)

March 4 - Port Talbot Town (A)

March 11 - Cambrian & Clydach (H)

March 18 - Taffs Well (A)

March 25 - Caerau Ely (H)

April 1 - Ton Pentre (A)

April 8 - Goytre United (H)