Anthony Wright pleased following improved second-half showing from Swansea City U21s

Coach Anthony Wright felt Swansea City Under-21s had deserved their 2-0 victory over their Bristol City counterparts following an improved second-half showing at the Swansea.com Stadium.

The development side extended their winning run at the home of the Swans – which stretches back to the start of the 2022-23 campaign – thanks to Ben Lloyd’s first-half strike after good pressing work, and a second-half thunderbolt from Glory Nzingo.

The first half had been an even affair, with goalkeeper Evan Watts making some key saves for the hosts, but the Swans had by far the better of the second period as they claimed the spoils in the Professional Development League encounter.

“I didn’t feel like we were really ourselves in the first half,” said Wright.

“We needed some good saves and some last-ditch defending to keep us in the game. 

“In the second half we were a lot more ourselves, we were a lot more confident with the ball and showed belief in what we were doing.

“We were also better off the ball, we were too passive in the first half, but in the second half we pressed in units as we had asked them to.

“At half-time we went in 1-0 up, which was a bonus, and we told the players to go and express themselves, and to play with freedom and there were a lot of positives in the second half.”

And Wright had particular praise for keeper Watts, who denied Billy Phillips, Marley Rose and Tommy Backwell among others.

“Evan is a big prospect for us and today he has shown that in everything he has done,” he said.

“His distribution and his decision making on when to play short and when to play over was excellent.

“He was terrific, and more importantly he has made five or six top saves for us which has helped us get over the line.

“But, as I keep telling him, that’s his job. Well done to him, but that’s what we expect from him because he is at a good level.”