Report | Watford U18s 5 Swansea City U18s 1

A youthful Swansea City Under-18s side were beaten by Watford in Professional Development League South.

Ex-Hornet Rio Campbell gave the Swans a half-time lead against his former club in what was Byron Anthony’s first game in charge.

However, the hosts’ superiority in experience showed after the break, as they quickly turned the contest on its head before seeing out a commanding win.

New boss Anthony, who made four changes from last week’s win over Queens Park Rangers, named a matchday squad boasting an average age of just 16 years and four months.

Among them were six under-16 players with Joel Cotterill, Ben Lloyd, Sebastian Dabrowski and Geoff Bony starting, while Iwen Morgan and Tom Stokes appeared from the bench in the second half.

The Swans made a bright start in Hertfordshire and deservedly took the lead midway through the first half.

Following some neat free-flowing football through the middle of the park, Campbell arrived to head the ball home from Dabrowski’s delicious cross.

Watford, whose side consisted predominantly of second-year scholars, had been limited during the first half, but responded well after the break and applied lengthy spells of pressure on the youthful Swans.

Two goals within 15 minutes of the restart turned the match on its head, and they found the net a further three times later on to wrap up the points.

Swans U18s: Josh Hutchings; Panashe Makokowe (Jada Mawongo), Kai Ludvigsen, Ryan Bassett, Jacob Edwards; Joel Cotterill, Ben Lloyd (Tom Stokes), Adnaan Moti; Sebastian Dabrowski, Geoff Bony, Rio Campbell (Iwen Morgan).

Subs not used: Tyler Evans.