Report | Swansea City U18s 0 Queens Park Rangers U18s 3
Swansea City Under-18s suffered their first home league defeat since September, falling to a 3-0 loss against Queens Park Rangers at the Joma High Performance Centre.
A first-half strike from Ashley Trujillo, followed by second-half goals from Joshua Wright and Fraser Neill, condemned the young Swans to their first reverse in SA1 since a 7-4 loss to Bournemouth five months ago.
It proved to be a disappointing first half for Swansea, who struggled to gain control of the contest before being punished for leaving a free man inside the box as Rangers took the lead. The visitors also created further opportunities to extend their advantage before the break.
The Swans began the second half with greater intent, but their momentum was quickly halted by Wright’s goal, and a superb finish from Neill minutes later effectively put the game beyond Jon Beale’s side.
It marked a stark contrast to December’s meeting between the two sides, when Swansea ran out emphatic 7-2 winners.
It had proved to be a quiet opening 15 minutes before QPR registered the first effort on goal. Enis Neziri struck a superb curling effort from distance, but Tom Wright produced an outstanding diving save to tip the ball around the post for a corner.
The Swans also looked positive going forward, with Alex Godfrey proving a threat down the right. He delivered a dangerous ball into the box, but it narrowly evaded a Swansea touch.
Instead QPR took the lead 10 minutes before half-time. A delivery from the right-hand side by James McAvoy was met by Trujillo, who found space inside the area and guided a free header past Wright to open the scoring.
Swansea had to be alert to prevent their deficit doubling, Jack May produced a big block to deny Harvey Boddy, and moments later McAvoy beat two or three defenders as he drove in from the right before seeing his strike well blocked by Archie Quick.
QPR continued to threaten down that flank, with Jerrell Tang delivering another ball into the area for Trujillo, where his first-time volley drifted narrowly wide of the post.
Although Swansea made a more positive start to the second half, QPR struck again just past the 50-minute mark. Once more it came down the right flank, with McAvoy delivering into Wright. Quick initially produced a block, but the rebound fell kindly back to the forward, who slotted into the corner to double the visitors’ lead.
Alfie Jones attempted to spark a response from the hosts, driving forward 20 yards from midfield before unleashing an effort from outside the area that flashed narrowly wide of the post.
The Swans continued to react well to the setback and should have pulled one back following a strong driving run from Godfrey, who delivered an inviting ball into the box. However, the opportunity went begging.
Swansea were made to rue that miss soon after. A scramble on the edge of the area saw the ball fall to captain Fraser Neill, who struck a superb effort into the top corner to make it three for the Hoops.
As the game entered the final 15 minutes, QPR continued to push for more. McAvoy, already influential, tried his luck from distance, but Wright got down well to tip the ball around the post.
A late consolation chance fell Swansea’s way when Godfrey drilled a low ball across the face of goal to Rhodes, but the substitute’s first-time effort was straight at Alfie Fittall, who gathered comfortably to secure the clean sheet.
Swansea City Under-18s: Tom Wright, Alex Godfrey, Jack May, Alfie Jones, Archie Quick, Kaven Bloniarczyk (captain) (Ben Phillips 78), Ioan Johnston (Caio Ifans 58), Bobo Evans, Harvey Gray (Ifan Harding 71), Bobby Lewis (Alffi Hughes 58), Elis Thomas (Kai Rhodes 58).
Queens Park Rangers Under-18s: Alfie Fittall, Jerrell Tang, Christian Pullella (Kyreece Moore 61), Shaquille Sandiford, Nkhai Gbemre-Mclean, Fraser Neill (captain) (Gabriel Oluwabusola 74), James McAvoy, Enis Neziri (Thomas Wiles 61), Harvey Boddy (Giovanni Ikoroha 74), Ashley Trujillo, Joshua Wright.
Unused substitutes: Kasey Taylor