Darren Davies hails dominant performance from under-18s

Swansea City Under-18s coach Darren Davies hailed the mentality of his squad after they came from behind to beat Reading 3-1 at Landore on Saturday.

The Swans had trailed early on as Taylan Harris opened the scoring with 10 minutes played, and the Royals held on to their advantage going into the break. 

However, substitute Yori Griffith levelled almost immediately following the restart, and the Swans went on to dominate the remainder of the contest, with fantastic goals from captain Josh Carey and Geoff Bony completing another fine comeback to underlining the fighting spirit of a young home side. 

"I thought we dominated the game today. I thought that we were the better team in the first half, and we had the bulk of the possession," said Davies.

"However, we looked too open in transition, and we looked vulnerable in those moments and we conceded.

"We spoke about that at half-time. We also spoke about staying in their half for longer and being more composed on the ball whilst in possession.

"I think the boys played extremely well in the second half, we played out from the back and we played through into the middle of the park. We were really positive and assertive in how we approached it and that was really pleasing.

"We went into the front third, had some good actions and good movement in those areas. The boys are buzzing and are happy with themselves.

"The start to the second half was another real positive and the boys went in with a positive mentality. Yori [Griffith] scored within minutes of coming on, and we had some other under-16 lads get some good game time.

"Thomas Woodward started, and he’s been great for us. We also pulled Jacob Cook over from the under-16s' game for some more game time. 

“It was great to have them involved and there’s obviously a pathway there up to the under-18s, just like there is in the under-21s."