Swansea City's Under-21s sealed top spot in their Premier League Cup group with a commanding 3-0 win at Birmingham City on Friday evening. Ben Lloyd scored a first-half brace before Thomas Woodward added a third after the break to extend the young Swans' unbeaten run in the competition. The senior side, currently second in the Championship with 23 points from 12 games, will look to match this positive result when they host Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
Lloyd opened the scoring midway through the first period, finishing from a pass by Milo Robinson. He doubled the lead just before half-time, converting a lay-off from captain Yori Griffith. Birmingham thought they had pulled one back through Tobe Ugorji, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
Swansea goalkeeper Evan Watts was called into action to deny a powerful strike from Griffith, his own teammate, in a moment of confusion. At the other end, Birmingham's Tyrese Warmington made several saves, including one from a deflected Lloyd effort early on.
Woodward wrapped up the points in the second half, finishing from a Kai Rhodes pass after coming on as a substitute. He almost added another soon after, but his low drive was gathered by Warmington. Manager Anthony Wright made several changes, with Rhodes, Kaven Bloniarczyk, Jack Fanning and A. Jones all entering the fray.
The result means Swansea's development side finish first in Group C, having also beaten Birmingham 3-0 in the reverse fixture in August. They remain undefeated in the Premier League Cup this season, a run that also includes a 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town in September. Their next fixture in the competition will be a home tie against Colchester United U21s in the round of 32, scheduled for the week commencing December 9th.
This positive news from the academy comes as the senior squad, sitting second in the <a href="/standings">Championship table</a> with 23 points from 12 games, prepares for a key <a href="/fixtures">home match against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday</a>. The senior side's form reads three wins and two losses from their last five outings, keeping them firmly in the automatic promotion chase. They are just two points behind leaders Middlesbrough, having recorded seven wins, two draws and three losses so far this season. The team has scored 16 goals and conceded 13. Their recent results include a 5-0 defeat at QPR last Saturday and a 1-0 home loss to West Ham the week before, following victories over Millwall, Norwich and Lincoln.
Swansea City U21s: Watts; Clarke, Dabrowski, Robinson, Parker, Heywood (Fanning 85); Davies (A. Jones 78), Griffith (c), Rees-Siso (Rhodes 61); Lloyd, Woodward (Bloniarczyk 85). Subs not used: Collins, Asemokhai, Bowen.
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