Russell Martin | I am proud our young side came through some tough moments

Head coach Russell Martin admitted there was a sense of relief as Swansea City returned to winning ways against Blackpool, and he was proud that the youngest side in the Championship were able to claim three points.

Matty Sorinola was the key figure for the Swans, opening the scoring with his second goal of the season when he swept home a left-footed volley to reward a thoroughly dominant first-half display.

Blackpool’s Charlie Patino saw red in the early stages of the second half, but the Seasiders levelled matters through Sonny Carey with 20 minutes to play.

But the hosts responded almost immediately as Sorinola’s excellent delivery was put into his own net by Callum Connolly.

The win saw the Swans moved back to within five points of the play-off places at the start of a run of games head coach Martin has identified as key for his side.

It also completed a first league double over Blackpool since the 1978-79 season following victory at Bloomfield Road back in August.

“Tonight, there is probably a bit of relief, but I am proud of the players for getting the win,” he said.

“We were the youngest team in the Championship again tonight, six of the 10 youngest line-ups in the Championship this season have been Swansea City teams so we have young men who are developing and growing all the time.

“We should be out of sight at half-time, we were so dominant, we created loads and we are frustrated that we then took our foot off the gas.

“The crowd could sense it and the one frustration we had with the players was that we did not have that instinct to really kill the game off.

“They had two openings before half-time which were avoidable, and it created a bit of anxiety in the crowd and the players, and it gave them some energy.

“We did not start the second half well, they get a man sent off and we have a chance to go and kill it off, which we don’t take.

“We concede a goal out of nowhere, which causes big anxiety, which I understand and we end up relying on an own goal to win, when we should not need it.

“We made it more difficult for ourselves than it needed to be, but I understand it because you will have tough moments in the Championship and we have a lot of young players.

“I hope the supporters went home happy, because we have won and we hope this can be a springboard for something.”