Defiant Garrick targets repeat Man City success

Jordon Garrick is aiming to end a tough Premier League 2 campaign on a high when Swansea City Under-23s travel to face Manchester City on Monday (7pm).

The young Swans will be out to secure a second consecutive away win against City.

They claimed a memorable 1-0 victory there last season thanks to a dramatic stoppage-time winner from substitute Kenji Gorre.

And, as Garrick remembers, the visitors earned their rewards following a monumental team performance.

“Just the name of Manchester City makes you nervous and it was also one of our only stadium games of the year,” he reflected.

“They lived up to their name and we took a real battering. It was a battle because we had to keep going and fighting for each other.

“But we held firm, played with no fear and that’s how we need to be this time around. 

“I think I ran over 14 kilometres in that game – which is one of my highest tallies ever. When I came off the pitch, my legs were like jelly.

“Every time, we got out of our half, I thought it was our chance to score. Luckily, it happened for us.”

The defining moment came deep into stoppage time as George Byers found Gorre, whose shot took a deflection before beating Arijanet Muric in the Manchester City goal.

Garrick smiles as he reflects on the euphoria that followed.

“It was a Kenji special with the shot taking a deflection on its way in!” he laughs. “I wanted to sprint over and celebrate with him but my hamstrings were telling me to just walk quickly!

“It was a very surreal moment. Everybody erupted and went over to the corner to celebrate.

“You could tell we were all tired because we struggled to get back into our own half to kick-off again.

“We still had to hold on for what felt like the longest two minutes of my life, but we did.”

Just over a year on, the under-23s are hoping for more of the same against the Citizens.

Their relegation from the top flight of development football may already be sealed, but Garrick had urged his team-mates to put in another huge shift as they target a second memorable away win over City in as many attempts.

“It would be great if we could repeat that. Not many teams go there twice and win twice,” he continued.

“Last year, we learned to never give up. We know we’ve got quality and we can win, but we need to stay disciplined, listen to the coaches, win our individual battles and stick together as a team.

“We don’t want to come off feeling like we could’ve won because that’s been the story of our season.

“It would be massive to finish with a big win in our last league game and show some pride in representing Swansea City.

“I know that we’re already relegated, but we’re not going down without a fight.”

You can watch the young Swans' final game of the Premier League 2 season LIVE on swanseacity.com from 7pm on Monday.