Benda hungry for more league starts

Steven Benda is targeting more appearances for Swansea City Under-23s after making his first start in Premier League 2 on Monday.

The German goalkeeper, who arrived in SA1 from 1860 Munich last summer, played the full 90 minutes as the young Swans enjoyed an impressive 3-1 victory over league leaders Leicester City at Landore.

It was only Benda’s third appearance of the season - and his first in Premier League 2 - after Gregor Zabret dropped to the bench through illness.

Nevertheless, the young shot-stopper is confident he made the most of his unexpected opportunity, and is hungry for more chances going into the latter stages of the campaign.

“I’m so happy that I’ve finally got my chance,” he said. “I’ve been working so hard.

“I always knew if I got my chance, I had to take it by playing well and I think I did.

“I think the boys played brilliantly. Everyone was fighting for each other. I’m gutted not to get a clean sheet, but it was a good win against the league leaders.

“I’m hoping to get more opportunities now. I’m just going to go back into training, work hard and show the coaches what I can do. We’ll see what happens from there.”