Byron Anthony praises U18s' creativity and character

Coach Byron Anthony praised the creativity and character Swansea City Under-18s demonstrated in their entertaining 4-4 draw with Millwall.

The young Swans played out an eight-goal thriller with the Lions at Landore as they secured their first point under Anthony in Professional Development League South.

The hosts responded well from 1-0 and 3-2 down with goals from Morgan Clarke, Cameron Congreve and Rio Campbell, before Joel Cotterill put them 4-3 up with six minutes remaining.

But they were forced to settle for a point when Tom Leahy equalised two minutes from time; completing his hat-trick in the process.

The under-18s, who had struggled to threaten the goal often enough in their 1-0 defeat by Middlesbrough last time out, scored four in a game for the first time since their 4-2 victory over Southampton in August 2019.

Anthony was pleased by the strides made by his side in such a short space of time, while he also highlighted their mental strength in overturning the deficit on two separate occasions.

“It was an entertaining game for the neutrals; if fans were able to get into games, they definitely would have enjoyed that,” the under-18s coach said.

“We scored four really good goals, but were disappointed by the goals we conceded. Unfortunately, that’s the game.

“Players are at different levels in their young careers, so you’re going to have times when you get slight inconsistency.

“I was really impressed with some of the creativity that we managed to conjure up. 

“I’m really happy we managed to get four goals and that we were creative with the ball. That’s what was lacking against Middlesbrough, but was clear to see here.

“I was also pleased with the character. Coming back from a goal behind is always difficult, but the players are strong-minded and kept going.”

“On another day, we could have scored five or six goals, or even more with the creativity we showed in the final third.”