Cooper delighted for young Swans duo

Steve Cooper could not hide his delight for academy products Liam Cullen and Oliver Cooper after the pair got on the scoresheet in the FA Cup win over Nottingham Forest.

Cullen scored his second and third senior goals with a pair of excellent left-footed finishes at the Liberty, before midfielder Cooper opened his senior account by firing a shot under the keeper from an excellent Swansea counter.

Cooper was also heavily involved in the lead-up to Cullen’s fourth – and Swansea’s second – when he drove forward after the hosts had won back possession.

And the Swansea head coach was so pleased to see the pair get their rewards for the hard work they have put in on the training pitch.

“Liam has deserved that. I said to him not so long ago that it’s just a case of those chances dropping for him, because we know he can take those chances,” said Steve Cooper.

“You local guys have seen him do that for years in the academy, especially the under-23s recently, and we see him do it every day in training.

“He is a really good finisher and, although he made the finishes look comfortable today, they were not easy.

“That does not surprise us, but we were really pleased they fell for him as he is a great player, a great lad and part of what we are doing.

“We are made up for Oliver too, he did brilliant for the fourth goal, scored the fifth, but his all-round play was excellent.

“We played with 10 men the last 10 minutes or so and he did the other side of the game really well too.

“He is a good player who we have been waiting to give an opportunity to, he took it today.”

Cullen was forced off late on with an ankle injury, while the Swans also lost Wayne Routledge in the first half to a calf injury.

But head coach Cooper hopes neither injury is too serious.

"We don’t know the extent of Liam's injury yet, he just said he felt his ankle a little bit, and he might have made it worse carrying on. Fingers crossed for him," he said.

"With Wayne, he hopes it was just a kick on his calf and we also have our fingers crossed for him."