'U23s can be proud of themselves'

Cameron Toshack insists Swansea City Under-23s can take plenty of positives from their narrow defeat by Oxford United in the Premier League Cup.

The young Swans went down 1-0 in their opening match of this season’s competition as Ravarnelle Evans scored the decisive goal after just 10 minutes at Meadow View Park.

The visitors responded well to falling behind and enjoyed lots of possession but were unable to turn it into an equaliser.

Nevertheless, Toshack maintains the development side have plenty to smile about.

“Most of the players did very well and can be proud of themselves,” he said. “It wasn’t the ideal start but, in a group stage, we have the opportunity to pull it back.

“I thought we were unfortunate to go 1-0 down but, in fairness, they reset and went straight back at Oxford.

“We dominated proceedings for at least two-thirds of the match. We’ve found that a little bit difficult in the early stages of this season, so it’s good to see that the players are taking our feedback on board.

“At this level, you have to think quicker; your technical ability has to be better and you need to stick together in certain moments of the game, which we did.

“We put them on the back foot and had a number of opportunities in their final third. 

“But when you’re on top in football matches, it’s key that you make sure you get your rewards and, for us, it’s now a matter of turning that dominance in possession into impact on games.”