Mitchell Bates proud to captain Under-21s against former club

Mitchell Bates spoke of his pride after captaining Swansea City Under-21s in their 6-0 Nathaniel MG quarter-final victory against his old club Briton Ferry Llansawel at the Old Road on Monday evening.

Kian Jenkins had given the Swans an early lead, before the hosts had Morgan Hutin sent off for a bad tackle on Bates.

The visitors pressed home the numerical advantage, with Ruben Davies and Jenkins scoring in the final minutes of the opening half.

The Swans controlled the game from there, with Davies getting his second and Kristian Fletcher taking his tally to eight goals in eight games thanks to a quickfire double in the closing stages.

For Bates it was a special evening as he was handed the armband at his old stomping ground, with plenty of friends and family watching on, while his brother was among the Ferry substitutes.

"I was proud to captain the side, as it was my first time I've been captain in a competitive game, and to do it against my old side made it very special," he said.

"It was a big family affair, it was weird playing against my brother!

"Also, a lot of the Ferry side are in my friendship group, we speak loads, so I'm sure there'll be a few messages flying back and forth."

And the midfielder was particularly pleased with how the Swans pressed home their advantage and kept a clean sheet.

"Overall, it was a brilliant win considering the conditions, but that plays in to our development," said Bates.

"We came in to half time 3-0, and that was just another boost to come out in the second half even stronger and keep going for more, and we did that.

"As a team, we put in a shift and we made sure not to concede, so that's another bonus for us.

"Sometimes we don't put teams to bed, there have been situations where we have let opposition back into the game on occasions. But we made sure not to do that, and we dominated."