Report | Swansea City U21s 3 Caerau Ely 1
Swansea City Under-21s progressed to the third round of the Nathaniel MG Cup with a slick performance in victory over Caerau Ely at The Old Road.
Former Briton Ferry man Mitchell Bates opened the scoring at his old stomping ground, with Kyrell Wilson adding a second for the Swans in the first half.
Ten minutes into the second period, Welsh striker Iwan Morgan continued his fine form by grabbing his third goal of the tournament so far.
Caerau Ely had closed the gap to two goals after a curling strike from James Williams, but it merely proved a late consolation.
The Swans made a slick start, pressing high through the pace of Liam Smith and Wilson.
And they did not have to wait long to take the lead as Bates’ ball down the middle deceived the keeper and the ball rolled into the net.
Swansea threatened again seconds later, Joel Cotterill driving upfield to find Wilson, whose shot was blocked away for a throw-in.
They twice worked Wilson in down the right-hand side but the 18-year-old saw his attempted balls to Morgan cut out.
But the Swans did double their lead approaching the half-hour mark.
The goal came via a superb move with Sam Parker the instigator, driving infield and linking with Wilson, who chipped the ball over the Ely keeper from close range.
The game became stop-start with a few niggly challenges from each side, one of which saw Wilson go into the referee’s book.
Caerau Ely saw a header cleared off the line from a corner a few moments before the interval, but the Swans retained their two-goal lead at the break.
The young Swans started the second period with control in the Ely half, and it led to the third goal of the afternoon for the men in white.
A clever mazy run from skipper Cotterill took play into the box, and his delivery found Morgan in stride for the tap in.
However, the Cardiff-based outfit were able to respond as Williams found the net with a curling effort that was just beyond the reaches of Evan Watts in the Swansea goal.
Tom McLean's header nearly set up a frantic finish as he glanced wide, before Kian Jenkins saw a deflected strike head straight into the gloves of Rhys Jones.
Josh Carey then sent a great ball across the six-yard box that just evaded Morgan, but the hosts still ran out winners to advance to the next stage.
Swansea City Under-21s: Evan Watts, Sam Parker (Cameron Llewellyn 72), Kian Jenkins, Joel Cotterill (Captain), Kai Ludvigsen, Richard Faakye, Kyrell Wilson (Maliq Cadogan 45), Mitchell Bates (Aimar Govea 72), Iwan Morgan, Filip Lissah (Josh Carey 60) , Liam Smith (Thomas Woodward 72)
Substitutes: Remy Mitchell, Ben Blythe.