Report | Birmingham City U21s 0 Swansea City U21s 3
Swansea City Under-21s continued their unbeaten run in the Premier League Cup with a 3-0 victory over Birmingham City on Friday evening.
All the goals came in the second half, a second brace of the season for Ben Lloyd and a third goal in two games for Thomas Woodward secured three points in Group C with the Swans in top spot.
The Swans had also ran out winners by the same scoreline in the reverse fixture in August and claimed a point against Huddersfield in September.
The hosts had made the better start to the evening, and they found the net through Tobe Ugorji but an offside flag ensured there was no early setback for the Swans.
Swansea responded by putting pressure on the Blues keeper through Joe Davies, the winger set Woodward up but the midfielder sent his strike high and wide.
The game became more even with 20 minutes on the clock, but Blues keeper Tyrese Warmington made the first save of note to keep out a deflected shot from Lloyd.
Good defensive work from Billy Clarke intercepted a dangerous run from Taha Elmansuri in the box with Swansea keeper Evan Watts gathering the resulting corner-kick.
Another save from Warmington kept the Swans at bay, the keeper this time denying a powerful strike from skipper Yori Griffith from the edge of the area.
It was goalless at the break but the visitors started the second period on the front foot with Woodward seeing a low effort gathered by the Blues' stopper.
The breakthrough came on the hour mark. Milo Robinson fed Lloyd through the middle and the midfielder made no mistake to curl the ball home from distance.
Just three minutes later, the academy graduate found the net again from skipper Griffith’s lay-off; his curling effort took a slight deflection, but it landed in the back of the net to complete his brace.
Arthur Parker and Carter Heywood combined well with Watts to defend the two-goal lead after the hosts piled on the pressure, before substitute Kai Rhodes advanced on a solo run down the other end, unleashing an effort that was palmed away by Warmington.
But in-form Woodward would seal the win in the closing stages, a deft chipped finish from a Rhodes pass sealing victory.
Swansea City Under-21s: Evan Watts, Billy Clarke, Sebastian Dabrowski, Milo Robinson, Arthur Parker, Carter Heywood (Jack Fanning 85), Joe Davies (A. Jones 78), Yori Griffith (captain), Ramon Rees-Siso (Kai Rhodes 61), Ben Lloyd, Thomas Woodward (Kaven Bloniarczyk 85)
Substitutes: Joe Collins, Gregory Asemokhai, Staitham Bowen.