Swansea City Under-18s Brighton
5th March
A stoppage-time equaliser denied Swansea City Under-18s a season ending win in Premier League South as the side drew 2-2 with Brighton at Landore.
Despite the early Swans chances it was Brighton who broke the deadlock as Luis Garcia's pass found Danny Mandroiu in the box to slot past Alex Lang in the Swans net.
Lang had to be alert later in the half to deny Seagulls captain Danny Parker and a free-kick from goalscorer Mandroiu.
Mael Davies almost found an equaliser for the Swans on the stroke of half time only for Tom McGill to save in Brighton's net.
Davies was on form early in the second half to ensure Brighton did not extend their lead as the defender cleared from the line after Lang has saved a shot from the left wing.
Swansea slowly started to grow in confidence and got their reward just after the hour mark as Rydian Williams free-kick was cleared only as far as Cameron Berry on the edge of the area to lash home the equaliser.
Swansea almost took the lead minutes later as Davies got on the end of a corner from the left, but the defender's header came back off the foot of the post.
But pressure paid off as the U18s took the lead with fifteen minutes to go as Davies' cross found Berry in the box to flick past McGill to give the side a 2-1 lead.
The Swans almost added a third before the final whistle as Edwards and Oliver Cooper linked-up well before finding Keiran Evans to flash a shot just wide of the post.
The chance would prove crucial to the final outcome as Brighton's continued pressure in the closing minutes of the game saw midfielder Archie Davies scramble home a heart breaking equaliser.
Despite the disappointment of not taking all three points, the result ensured that Swansea finish higher in the Premier League South table compared to the 2015-16 season.
The Under-18s will now face Newcastle United, Sunderland, West Brom, Wolves, Southampton, Brighton and Leicester in their merit division in the coming weeks.
SWANS U18s: Alex Lang, Rydian Williams, Mael Davies (Capt), Marco Dulca (Tom Price, 63), Joe Lewis, Ben Erickson, Oliver Cooper, Cameron Berry, Liam Edwards (Finley Hazel, 87), Keiran Evans, Matthew Roberts (Sean Hanbury, 67).
UNUSED SUBS: Brandon Cooper, Nathan Sheppard.
BRIGHTON U18s: Tom McGill, Owen Moore, Rian O'Sullivan, Archie Davies, Danny Parker (Capt), Sam Rolph, Luis Garcia., Charlie Ferguson, Isaac Hutchinson (Stephan Ljubicic, 72), Danny Mandroiu, Alex Cochrane.
UNUSED SUBS: Hamish Morrison, George Bentley, Tyrese Fornay, Tariq Shihab.
