Garrick eager to take the fight to Toffees

3rd May

Swansea City Under-23s may be underdogs but Jordan Garrick insists they can down league champions Everton and reach the Premier League Cup final for a third consecutive year.

The young Swans welcome the newly-crowned Premier League 2 champions to the Liberty Stadium for an eagerly anticipated semi-final showdown on Saturday.

You can watch the action LIVE on swanseacity.com from 12pm.

Tickets are still available for just £1 and can be purchased HERE.

It will be the third meeting between the sides this season, with the previous two bringing a goalless draw at Goodison Park and a narrow 1-0 defeat here in SA1.

The under-23s are aiming to end a difficult season on a high following their relegation from Premier League 2 Division One.

However, they have continued their impressive recent history in the Premier League Cup - a tournament they won in 2017 before reaching the final 12 months later.

And a defiant Garrick admits he cannot wait to get back on the Liberty turf tomorrow and take the game to the Toffees.

“We seem to do really well in the cup competitions – whether it be the Premier League Cup, Checkatrade Trophy or Premier League International Cup,” he said.

“I think we dominate teams whenever we play in this competition.

“In three years, we’ve reached two finals and we’re in another semi-final, so teams should look at our stats in this competition and be afraid of us.

“Everton have just won the league title so we know we’re in for a tough game, but they’re not unbeatable.

“Both times we’ve played them this season, we’ve showed they can’t just roll us over and that will be the case again in our back yard on Saturday.

“I love playing at the Liberty with the home fans cheering you on. It’s always good to have the home advantage.

“We don’t like losing at the Liberty and don’t plan to start that this weekend.”

Despite opening the tournament with a surprise 1-0 defeat against Oxford United, the Swans recovered to top Group E ahead of Wolverhampton Wanderers on goal difference.

Having lost to Aston Villa in last year’s showpiece, the development side gained revenge with a comfortable 2-0 victory in the last 16.

They then had to demonstrate true grit and determination in the quarter-finals to hold off a strong Nottingham Forest side – featuring the likes of Arvin Appiah, Liam Bridcutt and Jamie Ward – before prevailing 3-0 on penalties.

That leaves Garrick and the Swans just two victories away from lifting the trophy for the second time in three years, and the winger is confident in their chances of doing so.

“It’s been a rollercoaster competition for us this season,” he added.

“We’ve shown we can beat teams by playing really good football like we did against Villa.

“Against Forest, we also showed we can grind out results by being as physical as any other team. You want to win during the game but to win on penalties and come through a hard-fought game against seasoned professionals was fantastic.

“This year, we know how we have to play and how we have to prepare to give ourselves the best opportunity of getting back into the final and lifting the cup again.

“It would be my second winners' medal, which would be great.”