Toshack: We can be positive

Cameron Toshack urged Swansea City Under-23s to focus on the positives following their 1-1 draw with Newcastle United in the Premier League Cup.

The young Swans were just four minutes away from claiming victory at Landore thanks to a Botti Biabi goal before Owen Bailey headed home from a corner to ensure a share of the spoils in Group D.

Despite letting the lead slip, the Swans extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to four matches.

They must now beat Burnley in their final group game at the end of the month to advance to the knockout stages of the competition and Toshack is fully aware of the importance of the fixture.

“Overall, we can be positive about the result,” the under-23s coach said. “Obviously, we would really have liked to get a win under our belts but if we look at it in a positive way, we’re still in the competition and kept our unbeaten run going. 

“The boys now know what they have to do which is to go away and win a game.

“We’ve now got the difficult task of beating Burnley on their own patch. There’s a lot on the game with the winner taking all.”

The young Swans handed first starts to goalkeeper Steven Benda and defender Joe Lewis, with both playing the full 90 minutes at Landore.

Toshack believes that both players coped well with the step up and held their own against an experienced Newcastle side.

“We had a couple of youngsters coming into our environment for the first time and understanding what under-23 football is all about,” he added.

“We were playing against a slightly more experienced Newcastle team but they have to adjust and adapt to it. 

“I thought that both players did very well and that’s a big positive for us.”