Gary Richards | Porto win one of our best ever

26th September
Gary Richards

Swansea City Under-23s coach Gary Richards has hailed last night’s comprehensive Premier League International Cup victory over two-time champions Porto as being “right up there with the best” the development side have produced since he and Cameron Toshack took charge in 2015.

The young Swans produced a magnificent performance as they ran out commanding 5-1 winners at Landore – enjoying their highest win in this competition since beating Celtic 6-0 in September 2017.

Oli Cooper scored a hat-trick and Liam Cullen also chipped in with two goals, while Jordon Garrick provided two assists as the development side moved top of Group D with four points from two games.

Following last week’s impressive 1-1 draw with PSV Eindhoven, the under-23s looked dangerous every time they attacked with neat passing and bundles of pace and power down either flank.

They also responded well after been pegged back by Diego Landis’ early equaliser – scoring twice in quick succession to restore their authority on proceedings.

And Richards was delighted to witness what he regards as one of the development side’s best-ever victories.

“It was a fantastic performance that had pretty much everything; we couldn’t ask for much more,” the under-23s said.

“Our first-half display was full of energy; we looked solid defensively, were very disciplined and looked a threat going forward. Every time we attacked, it looked like we were going to score a goal.

“We’ve created a lot of opportunities in most of our games so far, but not quite taken them. That’s something we’ve asked the players to work on and they delivered last night; we probably could have scored a few more as well.

“We limited them to hardly any chances, so we were quite disappointed and felt unfortunate to concede the equaliser. It was harsh but didn’t deter us and we carried on playing the way we had started the game, which was very pleasing.

“When Porto come to Swansea and you win 5-1, it has to be right up there among our best victories – especially because we know how good their academy is.

“We couldn’t be happier with the start we’ve made to the competition. Although we could have beaten PSV, we would certainly have taken four points from the opening two games at the start of the tournament.”