Report | Swansea City U18s 9 Bristol City 0
Swansea City Under-18s extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to four matches with an emphatic victory over 10-man Bristol City at the Joma High Performance Centre.
The Swans raced into a three-goal lead inside the opening 25 minutes through strikes from Caio Ifans, Bobo Evans and Brogan Popham, before the former added his second five minutes before half-time.
A second-half goal from Lukas Murphy, along with braces from substitutes Billy Clarke and Harvey Gray, capped off a dominant performance from the Swans, who also kept their first league clean sheet since the 4–0 opening-day victory over Fleetwood Town.
Swansea made the perfect start, opening the scoring inside three minutes when Ifans drove into the area from the left flank and drilled a low strike into the far corner.
The hosts continued to look the more positive side going forward, with Ifans causing problems down the left, and Swansea soon doubled their lead when his delivery into the area was initially cleared by the Robins, but fell kindly to Evans, who made no mistake in slotting the ball into the corner past Cooper Covington.
The Swans showed no signs of letting up and added a third when Wahab Ojetoro’s corner was met by Popham, who let the ball drop before calmly tapping it past Covington, capping off an electric start from the young Swans.
Swansea survived a scare just minutes later after losing possession high up the pitch, allowing the Robins to break down the left through Daniel Ezendu. His dangerous cross found Illan Wood in space, but the forward struck the post from close range in a real let-off for the hosts.
They responded from that scare by scoring a superb team goal. The move began with goalkeeper Tom Wright and ended with Carter Heywood releasing Ifans down the left side of the area. The winger replicated his earlier strike, drilling a low effort into the bottom corner five minutes before half-time.
The Swans carried their first-half dominance into the second period and added a fifth goal on the 50-minute mark. Kai Rhodes drove into the area and saw his initial effort saved by Covington, but the rebound fell for him to square the ball to Murphy, who slotted home from close range.
Rhodes continued his bright start to the second half, creating a half-chance after winning a 50–50 challenge before curling an effort towards goal, which was well blocked by the Bristol City defence.
The Swans continued to dominate possession and control proceedings, though the visitors did have opportunities of their own, with Desmond Kumih Barimah going close as he fired just wide from the edge of the area after a swift counter-attack.
Goalkeeper Wright had had little to do in the opening hour but remained alert to make a sharp save, tipping a powerful header from Josh Murphy over the bar following a corner.
After weathering a spell of Bristol City pressure, Swansea added their sixth goal with just under 20 minutes remaining as Clarke made a well-timed run in behind the defence before calmly slotting past Covington for his first of the match.
Things then went from bad to worse for the visitors when they were reduced to 10 men, with Stan Sainsbury shown a red card for a reckless challenge on Evans.
The Swans made the most of their numerical advantage, adding a seventh goal through Clarke, who netted his second of the game. A driving run from Brogan Popham opened up the defence before the full-back played in Clarke, who finished with a composed low strike.
The goals continued to flow in the final 10 minutes as the Swans pressed forward in numbers. Covington initially did well to deny Bobby Lewis, but he could do nothing about the rebound, which Gray converted.
The final goal arrived in added time when a teasing delivery from Elis Thomas found Evans, who squared the ball for Gray to fire home from six yards, sealing a fantastic day’s work for Swansea City Under-18s.
Swansea City Under-18s: Tom Wright, Kaven Bloniarczyk, Wahab Ojetoro, Carter Heywood, Brogan Popham, Jack May, Kai Rhodes (Billy Clarke 59), Alfie Jones, Lukas Murphy (Harvey Gray 59), Bobo Evans, Caio Ifans (Bobby Lewis 82).
Bristol City Under-18s: Cooper Covinghton, Cavalli Walker, Derrick Ababio (Ollie Williams 46), Josh Murphy, Stan Sainsbury, Marcus Portch, Isaac Abbott (Roman Chiswell 68), Desmond Kumih Barimah, Excellent Ikpeama (Trayvion Jackson 68), Daniel Ezendu, Illan Wood (Kaylan Appleton-Benett 86).