Jarred Harvey | We were ruthless in both boxes

Head coach Jarred Harvey was pleased to see a ruthless edge at both ends of the pitch after Swansea City Under-18s claimed an emphatic victory over Colchester United.

Morgan Bates netted a hat-trick as the young Swans made it back-to-back wins on home turf.

The Swans were 2-1 up at the break thanks to fine finishes from Aidan Higgins and Bates, before a quick counter from the U's allowed Raashad Drysdale to halve the deficit. 

The goals continued to come thick and fast in the second half, Milo Robinson netted his first goal of the season on the hour mark, with Bates getting his second minutes later. 

Eighteen-year-old Bates then grabbed a third and completed his hat-trick to make it 5-1.

Kai Martin pulled a goal back from the spot for the visitors, but substitute Callum Jones rounded off the scoring for the Swans. 

"I've mentioned a lot about being ruthless in both boxes, and sometimes when chances present themselves we haven't taken them. But this game was different, and we managed to score six goals," said Harvey.

"I thought we were good with and without the ball, we still could have had a lot of goals because we had some great chances, and that's the pleasing thing, they did what they were asked and we were good in both boxes.

"It was nice to see some players get more minutes on the pitch after some short injuries. I thought it was a good performance all round, and great to see four boys on the scoresheet.

"This result will give the boys a lot of confidence, because we had a tough game against Cheltenham last week, and our next game is in the FA Youth Cup.

"That is probably one of the biggest games in the calendar for under-18s' football, so we're looking forward to it."