Swansea City Under-21s Wimbledon friendly
3rd February
A Botti Biabi strike on 12 minutes gave the Swans development squad victory in a friendly against AFC Wimbledon's Under-21s in London on Tuesday afternoon.
The Scottish striker fired home at the near post after a well worked move down the right flank between Alex Bray and Liam Shephard.
Biabi could have doubled the lead in the second half only to see his chance saved by Joe McDonnell in the Dons net, meanwhile Daniel James and Liam Shephard also had chances for the Swans.
Under-21s coach Cameron Toshack labelled the game a worthwhile exercise and hailed the sides fighting spirit against a Wimbledon side that included first team player Ade Azeez up front.
"The game was a really good test for us," he said. "It was a physical match that had a difficult pitch and weather conditions.
"It challenged us in different ways to what we are used to in our league games but the lads showed fighting spirit and resilience to earn a good win away from home.
"Gary and I are really pleased with Botti's goal, we have been working on creating space and finishing the chances we get so his near post finish was excellent.
"It was a real team performance but Joe Rodon and Keston Davies defended very well against a strong Wimbledon attack that included a number of players with first team experience."
Midfielder Ryan Blair made his first start for the Under-21s since his January transfer switch from Falkirk last week.
Toshack reserved praise for the 19-year-old who played the full 90 minutes at King's College London.
"It was great for Ryan to get his first start for Swansea," continued Toshack.
"He has been with us less than a week but Ryan looks a very accomplished player. He looked strong on his left side and had good vision with his distribution."
"The whole objective was that we wanted to get our players minutes and game time ahead of our next league test away at West Ham next week."
Swans U21s: Gregor Zabret, Liam Shephard (Capt), Raheem Hanley (Aaron Lewis, 75), Joe Rodon, Keston Davies, Ryan Blair, Sam Evans, Adnan Maric (Jack Evans, 84), Botti Biabi, Daniel James, Alex Bray (Jordan Garrett, 60)
