Yzzy Taylor | The players dealt with the pressure really well

Swansea City Women’s manager Yzzy Taylor was proud of how her players handled the pressure of being favourites after their 6-0 victory over Cwmbran Celtic Women booked a place in the final of the Bute Energy Welsh Cup.

Braces from Aimee Deacon and Stacey John, along with goals from Taite Trivett and Emily Richards, saw the Swans secure their place in the final for the first time since 2018, when they defeated Cardiff City 2-1 to lift the trophy.

John opened the scoring after connecting with a cross from Trivett, before Deacon showed real poacher’s instinct with two goals of her own to give the Swans a 3-0 lead at half-time.

The Swans flew out of the blocks in the second half, with Trivett firing past Amie Preston-Roberts within six minutes of the restart. Two further goals inside a minute followed as John grabbed her second of the match before substitute Richards added a smart finish to round off the scoring and send the Swans into the final.

Taylor was pleased with the professionalism her side showed throughout the contest and emphasised how the whole squad played their part in securing the result, while also admitting that winning silverware was one of the key goals set at the start of the season.

“We were fantastic today," she said.

"We knew that, as a tier one team playing against a tier two side, the pressure would be on us and we didn’t want to be the cup upset of the round.

"Full credit to Cwmbran, who really brought the game to us, especially in the first half, and caused us a few problems.

"We spoke to the girls before the game about getting a quick start, so it was great to have that three-goal cushion going into half-time. It was just as important to keep pushing for more goals while also protecting the clean sheet, so the fact we managed to do both was really pleasing.

"We also knew we had a lot of quality on the bench that could make an impact. It was important to get those players onto the pitch, and they helped us continue to be relentless in the way we approached the game. Scoring early in the second half really helped maintain that momentum.

“We spoke at the start of the season about what we wanted to achieve as a group, and winning silverware was right at the top of that list, so to be one step closer is really pleasing.” She added. 

"Our goalscoring record has been excellent. In this competition alone we’ve scored 25 goals in four games and only conceded two.

"We know how strong our forward line is, but the goals are being shared right across the team, with contributions from midfield and defence as well. Hopefully that’s something we can continue over the next few weeks.

"We’ll enjoy today, but our focus will quickly turn back to league football with some tough games coming up. Then we can look forward to the Welsh Cup final at Rodney Parade and hopefully have the chance to pick up some silverware.”