Zohore and Saadi at the double for City

THIS was always going to be straightforward, Cardiff City knew that.

The purpose of this tour of Devon and Cornwall is to re-establish fitness rather than run riot at places like Tavistock.

Nonetheless Neil Warnock will be content with what he saw in 90 minutes at Langsford Park, another lowkey location ticked off for the Bluebirds juggernaut this pre-season.

Because if Warnock didn’t enjoy the 1-0 victory at Taff’s Well last Friday night, his smile widened a touch after this one, a thumping victory albeit against much inferior opponents.

It was slightly strange to see Cardiff City’s big guns arrive in this sunsoaked corner of Cornwall. They seemed like giants lining up against their opposition, the Lambs. In the end the 7-2 scoreline actually flattered the hosts as Cardiff’s pace slowed towards the end.

So while the occasion didn’t possess the billing of Taff’s Well, where nearly 3,000 people packed into a similar sized ground for a charity friendly, a community atmosphere was apparent again. Cardiff were made very welcome in Cornwall.

But the Bluebirds perhaps weren’t such welcome guests when Nathaniel Mendez-Laing put them in front after two minutes, slaloming inside from the right to leave his marker for dead.

But Tavistock, living up to their nickname, were the sacrificial lambs against which Cardiff’s fitness levels were being tested.

It certainly seemed that way in the first half, and minutes after opening the scoring Mendez-Laing cut his fullback to ribbons again and squared for Idriss Saadi to slot home. It was 2-0 inside 10 minutes.

Any rustiness for last season’s 12-goal man Zohore was also shaken off soon after when he converted Kadeem Harris’ cross to make it 3-0. By then the Bluebirds were purring in the evening sun with Tavistock simply unable to live with Warnock’s men and their ferocious power and pace.

In fairness to the Lambs, Cardiff were red-hot from the start. Those allimportant fitness levels are clearly improving by the day, a result of Warnock’s intensified training sessions.

But the boss won’t have been impressed with some lacklustre Cardiff defending which allowed Adam Carter to pull a goal back with virtually Tavistock’s first shot of the match after 30 minutes.

Though that was soon forgotten when Zohore produced what’s becoming a classic Kenneth Zohore goal, latching onto a stray Tavistock pass and steaming through the defence to slot home.

The goal had the feeling of inevitability about it. From the moment the Dane received the ball, he was never going to miss. Think last season’s goal against Preston and you’re close.

And when Saadi got his second before the break – and Mendez-Laing chipped the keeper to make it 6-1 – a cricket score seemed inevitable.

That discrepancy between the sides that had seemed evident before kick off was becoming clear. Zohore, Mendez-Laing and Saadi all had braces to their names before the second half had even begun.

Warnock made five changes at the break, with Zohore and Gunnarsson restricted to 45 minutes after international duty.

There were second Bluebirds opportunities for Loic Damour and Danny Ward – who both debuted against Taff’s Well – while Greg Halford made his pre-season bow.

But as the Cornish sun set, the pace dropped.

Whether Warnock demanded his players take their foot off the accelerator is debatable, but new boy Ward cut a frustrated figure as he saw a string of second half chances denied by Tavistock’s ‘keeper.

At the other end, Bruno Manga was harshly penalised to gift Carter a second from the spot that had made it 6-2.

But the Bluebirds remained largely untroubled as Joe Ralls fired late to make it 7-2, content with their winning margin and the much-improved sharpness.

Their pre-season campaign marches swiftly onto Bodmin Town tomorrow night with plenty of useful lessons learned.