Toshack: We must be clinical
Cameron Toshack has urged Swansea City Under-23s to have more of a clinical edge when they face Chelsea in Premier League 2 on Friday (7pm).
The young Swans travel to the EBB Stadium – home of non-league Aldershot Town – aiming to close the gap on the teams above them in the top flight of development football.
The under-23s have produced positive performances in their two most recent outings against Liverpool in the Premier League International Cup and Everton in PL2, but been made to rue not turning their strong spells into goals.
And Toshack has called on his players to put things right in Hampshire this evening.
“In the last two games we’ve played, we feel that we’ve had more than our fair share of chances to win, but it’s all about putting the ball in the back of the net,” the under-23s coach said.
“It’s a key part of these young players’ learning. It’s great to play the way we do and dominate teams in certain moments of games, but you win games by scoring goals and making things difficult for the opposition.
“That’s something we’ve been speaking about and, hopefully, we can look to put that right over the course of our next few games.
“If we can maintain our performance levels whilst also being more clinical at key moments, I’m sure the outcome will be a lot better for us.”
The Swans return to action after an 11-day break having seen last Friday’s Premier League Cup clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
Toshack is fully aware of the threat that Joe Edwards’ Chelsea pose, but insists his players are looking forward to the challenge and being back on the pitch.
“Training and working towards games is crucial but, at the end of the day, these young men want to be playing football matches,” he added.
“We were all disappointed to make the trip to Wolves and for the game to be cancelled, but that’s gone now and we’re looking forward to the Chelsea game.
“They will be a very difficult opponent but, if our men are to make the step-up and play in a first-team environment, they have to be capable of challenging and competing with the elite young players that they have at their disposal.
“I know Joe quite well. We’ve had a number of games over the past four or five years at under-18 and under-23 level. He always sets his teams up very well with talented young players. It will be a very good test for us.”
The game will be streamed LIVE on swanseacity.com this evening. Tune in at 7pm to see the young Swans in Premier League 2 action.
