U18 Professional Development League 2
Team: Taylor, Shaqeel, Adjetey-Brew, Sandiford, Balogun, Wiles, McAvoy, Neziri, Wright, Edouard-Marisson, Scarlett
Subs: Fittall, Moore, Majesty, Ikoraha, Boddy
With the sun making an appearance and Rayan Kolli trotting around the perimeter of the adjacent pitch, two minutes in, the Swans took the lead.
After the initial attempt had been blocked, Alex Godfrey was on hand to follow up from close range.
At the other end, Josh Wright turned in the box, and his shot was deflected behind for a corner.
Mr Cross booked Reyess Shaqeel on ten minutes, after he had brought down Alfi Hughes.
The visitors doubled their lead a few minutes later. Bobo Evans took hold of a loose ball before firing it low beyond Kasey Taylor.
Swansea went further ahead after 16 minutes, courtesy of Lukas Murphy’s strike into the far corner.
Rangers’ first shot on target was provided by Kemuel Edouard-Marisson, when his low strike was grabbed by the keeper.
The away side made it four shortly after.
With the ball bobbling in front of him, Lukas Murphy’s attempt was bravely saved by Kasey Taylor.
For the R’s shortly after, James McAvoy’s deep cross was tipped over for a corner.
The Swans increased their lead in the 38th minute. After Callum Jones had bombed down the wing, he then managed to direct his shot inside the far post.
Close to the break it became six, when an unmarked Lukas Murphy tapped in Alex Godfrey’s cross in the six-yard box. Half-time: 0-6, whilst behind us, the U16’s were 6-0 up at the break.
Two changes were made for the commencement of the second half, which saw Giovanni Ikoroha and Kyreece Moore replace Reyess Shaqeel and Tom Wiles respectively.
Swansea soon had the ball in the net after the home side had given it away, but it was ruled out for offside.
Rangers pulled a goal back following James McAvoy’s superb cross, and Leon Scarlett rose to head the ball into the net.
Then, as the R’s looked to reduce the deficit further, James McAvoy got the ball to Josh Wright, but his back-heel lacked power, and Jakub Nowak grabbed it.
However, Rangers did get a second when Leon Scarlett’s angled shot came off the far post before entering the net.
After the Swans had scored a seventh goal, James McAvoy made way for Harvey Boddy.
Cory Adjetey-Brew did well to get past his marker, and after his shot was blocked, the referee for some reason, halted play to give a free kick to Swansea?
The final change saw Nkhai Majesty introduced at the expense of Shaquille Sandiford.
Harvey Boddy went on an excellent run through the middle, which then concluded with his attempt being blocked by Kaven Bloniarczyk.
For the away side, Bobby Lewis’s shot forced Kasey Taylor into going down and pushing the ball away for a corner.
It finished 2-7, but Tom Charles’ side battled throughout and had a much better second-half.
I was told that the U16’s had a decisive 9-0 victory on the adjacent pitch.
Steve Russell