Report | Swansea City U21s 4 Bristol City U21s 1
Swansea City Under-21s produced some outstanding attacking football as a Yori Griffith hat-trick helped them to a dominant victory over their Bristol City counterparts at the Joma High Performance Centre.
Captain Griffith opened the scoring when he turned home a rebound, and his deflected strike then restored Swansea’s advantage after Ephraim Yeboah had briefly brought the visitors level.
A Thomas Woodward penalty further extended the advantage after the break, with Griffith sweeping home his third to round off the scoring.
The winning margin could easily have been greater as the development side played with a pleasing fluency in a contest they always had a control over.
The home team set the tone when they made the brighter start and penned the visitors in their own third. Joe Davies saw a pair of flat deliveries into the area cleared, while Ben Lloyd sent an effort over the bar from the edge of the area.
At the other end Evan Watts made a comfortable save from an attempted lobbed finish by Ephraim Yeboah.
Lloyd was soon involved again for the Swans, forcing Freddie Godden to gather a stinging strike from distance at the second attempt.
But the Swans took a deserved lead in the 18th minute when Griffith was quickest to react and send a loose ball into the bottom corner after Davies and Woodward had been denied by Godden.
Swansea nearly doubled their lead as Godden came out quickly to block from Davies, and from the subsequent counter attack the Robins levelled as Yeboah fired home with authority to find the bottom corner after being found in space arriving on the right side of the box.
However, the Swans regained the lead when a pull-back to the edge of the area was met by Griffith, and his deflected strike wrongfooted the keeper to find the net.
While the hosts were in the ascendancy, Bristol City posed a threat on their forays forward, and Arthur Parker made a superb goal-line clearance to prevent Billy O’Neill bringing the Robins level for a second time.
It was very nearly 3-1 before the break, but Lloyd was ruled offside after a ball took a couple of ricochets before he turned home.
However, it was 3-1 within three minutes of the start of the second half. Davies was adjudged to have been fouled after racing into the area from a rapid Swansea attack. Woodward stepped up to take the spot-kick and dispatched it into the corner of the net with authority.
Substitute Ranel Young wasted an opportunity to strike back immediately for Bristol, but dragged a low right-footed strike wide of the target, before Woodward nearly added to Swansea’s tally after a slick move down the left ended with the midfielder cutting infield to fire a curling effort agonisingly wide.
Young was proving a lively presence for the Robins, and only some outstanding tracking back from Lloyd denied the forward a clear sight of goal after a defence-splitting pass had sent him racing into the Swansea half.
The hosts drove upfield and put the result beyond doubt as Kai Rhodes and Davies were denied, but Griffith arrived to sweep home and complete his hat-trick.
Woodward and Davies had further chances for Swansea, while keeper Watts made a superb double save during the closing stages as the hosts eased to victory.
Swansea City Under-21s: Evan Watts, Billy Clarke, Sebastian Dabrowski, Milo Robinson, Arthur Parker (Staitham Bowen 58), Jack Fanning (Josiah Kallicharan 70), Kai Rhodes (Gregory Asemokhai 70), Thomas Woodward (Bobo Evans 78), Joe Davies, Ben Lloyd (Alfie Jones 70), Yori Griffith (captain).
Unused Substitutes: Joe Collins, Alfie Jones, Kaven Bloniarczyk.
Bristol City Under-21s: Freddie Gooden, Marley Thelwell, Ollie Williams, Tomos Gibbs, Josh Campbell-Slowey, Elijah Morrison (Pawel Kalkowski 80), Harry Hogg Josh Murphy 70), Rhys Knight, Daniel Ezendu (Ranel Young 46), Ephraim Yeboah, Billy O’Neill (Jack Griffin-Pacheco 70).
Unused Substitutes: Isaac Finch, Zac King-Phillips.