Ricky King | Under-18s must learn lessons and take positives forward

Swansea City Under-18s' coach Ricky King has urged his side to learn the lessons from their defeats, while taking the positives from Saturday's performance against Sheffield Wednesday.

Thomas Woodward’s second-half goal wasn’t enough for the Swans as a Devlan Moses brace and a stunning strike from Jarvis Thornton saw them fall to defeat against the Owls in the Professional Development League on Saturday afternoon.

After a subdued first half with few chances for either side, the second half saw two goals in five minutes with Woodward’s finish from close range cancelling out Moses’ opener just minutes earlier.

Both sides had chances, but when the ball skipped up off the wet turf to hit Woodward in the arm inside his own box, Moses was able to convert from the spot to give the visitors the lead for a second time.

And the three points were sealed for the Owls when Thornton arrowed a superb effort into the net from 25 yards with just minutes left to play.

"I thought we did really well in the first half. Defensively, we knew they would press high and we knew they would be very physical," said King. 

"We were quite comfortable and in control, even in possession we found solutions really well, although we probably didn't create enough chances in the first 45 minutes.

"Unfortunately, in the second half, we got punished for an early mistake. But, following that, the boys did really well to come back into the game.

"The boys stuck by each other, and they found a way to equalise shortly after. But again, just two small mistakes meant we were punished again.

"We did some really good things throughout, I thought we outfought and outworked them but we didn't create enough opportunities to punish them.

"I am really happy with how the boys played collectively, I'm disappointed for them more than anything as I do believe they didn't get what they deserved today. 

"But that's part of the lessons they will have learnt this afternoon. In football, you don't always get what you deserve, and as a young, developmental side, that's always something to consider and learn from."