Report | Cardiff City U18s 1 Swansea City U18s 4

Swansea City Under-18s claimed derby-day bragging rights in Leckwith with a 4-1 victory over Cardiff City in the Professional Development Cup.

A hat-trick from Billy Clarke, along with a late strike from the penalty spot from Callum Jones, sealed their second win of the group stage following a 2-0 home victory over Wrexham at Landore in October.

The Swans created plenty of chances in a dominant first half, with the only frustration being that they didn’t take a larger lead into the break.

They found their attacking rhythm after the break, doubling their lead five minutes into the second half before adding two more late on to seal the victory.

Cardiff found a consolation goal in added time, but were limited to clear-cut chances throughout the game by an organised Swansea defence.

The Swans carved out the first chance inside five minutes, with Lukas Murphy cutting inside and unleashing a powerful effort that was well saved by Sam Jones.

The Swans continued to create chances as the half went on, with the Bluebirds goalkeeper called into action once again to make two big saves, denying Jack May and Jones following a corner.

Their pressure finally told in the 27th minute, as Jones drove down the left, beat his man, and squared for Clarke to tap in from close range to open the scoring for the Swans. 

C. Jones remained a constant threat, cutting past his marker on the left and driving a low strike toward the bottom corner, only to see it cannon off the crossbar.

A late chance fell to the hosts to equalise, with Jack Sykes cutting the ball back to Leeyon Phelan, but his strike from 12 yards drifted just wide of the post.

Swansea came flying out of the blocks and doubled their lead when a ball across the box found Clarke, who made no mistake in steering it past Jones at the far post.

As the game ticked past the hour mark, the Bluebirds had a chance to halve the deficit when Tiger Tobin found space in the area, but his low effort was gathered comfortably by Tom Wright.

Just minutes later, the Swans came close to a third as a goal-line clearance from the Bluebirds denied Alfie Jones from close range.

With ten minutes remaining, Clarke completed his hat-trick, meeting a ball into the box from Harvey Gray and slotting it past Jones for his third goal.

C. Jones added a fourth for the Swans with five minutes to play, calmly converting a penalty after being fouled in the area.

Cardiff grabbed a late consolation in added time, as Olly Reynolds headed past Wright, the only blemish on an otherwise superb performance from Swansea.

Swansea City Under-18s: Tom Wright, Ben Phillips (Kaven Bloniarczyk 65), Wahab Ojetoro (Caio Ifans 73), Milo Robinson, Jack May, Brogan Popham, Billy Clarke, Callum Jones, Lukas Murphy (Harvey Gray 60), Bobo Evans (Harlan Perry 60), Callum Jones.

Substitutes: Jakub Nowak.