Swansea City Newcastle United Under-18s Lewis Thomas
29th April
Under-18s skipper Lewis Thomas admits finishing top of their group 3 merit division would mark a significant success for the young Swans.
The scholars, unbeaten in their last six league games, face Newcastle at Landore on Saturday morning (11am) knowing victory would see them top the division.
It shows a remarkable change in fortunes for the U18s, who went without a win in their opening 11 games in their first season in Barclays Premier League Division Two. But a two-month unbeaten run has helped push them to the top of the table.
"We did find it very difficult taking the step up to category one football this season," said Thomas. "We can take plenty of positives from recent results. We can see our game has developed since playing in this level of football.
"We have played against some big teams this season and managed to compete against some of the best in the UK. It has given us an incentive to continue that form in our final league game on Saturday."
The young Swans go into the game on the back of a 3-3 draw at Brighton - a game in which they came from behind twice.
And Thomas was delighted with his team-mates' resilience against the Seagulls.
"It was important we did not lose the game last weekend," said the 18-year-old. "To come back twice and draw the game shows not only how much character this team has but also how far we have come since the start of the season.
"It will be the first time we have met Newcastle this season, they are a new opposition for us. It will be exciting new test, hopefully we can do a good job, get the win and finish top."
SWANS U18s (From): Lewis Thomas, Ross Treacy, Jack Evans, Marco Dulca, Causso Darame, Dan Jefferies, Ben Cabango, Liam Cullen, Tom Dyson, Jordan Jones, Matt Blake, Jordan Garrick, Keiran Evans, Mael Davies, Liam Edwards.
