Toshack proud of Checkatrade progress

Cameron Toshack says Swansea City Under-21s should be very proud after securing a third consecutive progression to the Checkatrade Trophy knockout stages.

The young Swans qualified as Group G winners in the Southern section following an impressive 1-0 win over Charlton Athletic at The Valley.

They made a strong start to the contest in South-East London and eventually reaped their rewards when Adnan Maric scored what proved to be the winner in the 55th minute.

It was enough to seal qualification and Toshack thinks the club should be proud of their achievements.

“We’re really pleased for the boys,” the under-23s coach said. “We asked them to apply themselves because we knew we needed to win the game.

“I thought we were excellent in the first half, but we told them at half-time how important it was to maintain our levels, which they did.

“To qualify for the knockout stages three years in a row is something everybody at the football club should be very proud of.”

It has been quite a turnaround for the development side, whose campaign began with a 5-0 defeat away at Stevenage on the opening matchday.

However, they responded with a last-gasp 1-0 win over AFC Wimbledon to keep their hopes of progressing alive, before getting the job done against Charlton.

And Toshack is excited at the prospect of the young Swans continuing their run into the knockout stages of the competition.

“In a very short space of time, they’ve managed to turn things around and deserve a huge amount of credit for qualifying that after two 1-0 wins over league opposition,” he added.

“The further you can go in these competitions gives our young men more experience to play against league opposition. We’re looking forward to whatever the future brings.”