Jarred Harvey | It was a real battling performance

Jarred Harvey applauded his side’s battling attitude in their dramatic 3-2 victory over Plymouth Argyle in the Professional Development league Cup on Saturday.

The Swans lead by two goals at the break. Morgan's Bates' added another goal to his tally whilst Ramon Rees-Siso converted a penalty after half hour played.

Plymouth got themselves back into the game after goals from Billy Devlin and Joe Hatch had levelled the proceedings in the closing stages.

And it looked to end all square, but Josh Pescatore's free-kick in stoppage time snatched a dramatic win for the Swans, who were last year's finalists in the competition.

And Harvey had praise for goalkeeping coach Paul Whitfield, with the squad scoring three from three set plays.

"The game poised a different challenge for the boys with their direct style of play and physical attributes. However, for the majority of the game we stood up to the challenge and adapted well to the tough conditions," he said. 

"It wasn’t long before Ramon Rees-Siso netted from the penalty spot, followed by a set play headed home by Morgan Bates. The rest of the half was about defending long balls and withstanding the pressure which we dealt with comfortably.

"The second half we started strong and creating a lot of chances, and instead of putting the game out of sight for Plymouth, it was a lapse of concentration that let them back into that game followed by a second deep into the 80th minute. 

"We were determined not to let the game slip away from us. A free-kick 25 years out saw Josh Pescatore finish with an excellent strike into the corner of the net.

"Although we didn’t take our chances in open play we were able to show another side of our game scoring from three set-plays, and credit has to go to goalkeeper coach Paul Whitfield for this as his attention to detail and tireless work in ensuring the boys are best equipped both defensively and offensively on the training pitch paid off.

"It was a real battling performance and I feel we got what we deserved. However, there is still a lot of learning to be done to eradicate the errors but that’s our job, and we will continue to work hard on helping the players in their development."