A hard fought and entertaining affair today in which our youngsters had to dig deep to withstand a fair amount of 2nd half pressure and emerge with a 1-0 win over QPR.
Our line-up: Kit Margetson; Arthur Parker, Filip Lissah (sub Jada Mawongo 46m), Richard Faakye; Thomas Searle (sub Sam Parker 46m); Jacob Cook, Dan Watts, Callum Deacon (sub Ramon Rees-Siso 78m); Thomas Woodward; Rohan Davies (sub Geoff Bony 60m), Iwan Morgan.
The OS report describes the key events, so here are some specific observations:
We operated a familiar 3-4-1-2 formation but coach Darren Davies adapted extensively to incorporate our substitutes, Dan Watts playing no less than 3 different roles in the game – centre midfield, supporting attacker and left wing back. Watts and Jacob Cook make a strong middle duo, both creative and hunting down opponents when not in possession.
Watts has shown he can be a danger with set pieces and he proved this again today with an excellent 20 yard curling free kick that eluded goalkeeper Cant on 22 minutes to put the Swans 1 up.
Arthur Parker and Filip Lissah had steady outings in defence, confident on the ball and constructive distribution. Half-time substitute Sam Parker made an instant impression with some darting breaks down the right.
QPR improved with their own substitutions. Lawrence was presented with a goalscoring chance with his first touch, but chose to pass instead. For all their pressure, QPR didn’t come as close again. For much of the 2nd half, it looked as though the next goal would be crucial, fortunately we resisted all efforts QPR made to break through.
On the whole, we actually created the better chances – Rohan Davies having a snap shot parried onto the post on 49 minutes. Geoff Bony was denied a breakaway goal in added time by a finger tips save. Iwan Morgan always looked a threat.
One-time Swans academy striker Keiran Petrie showed plenty of pace up front, but exhibited nothing in the way of finishing and was replaced after the interval.
It was clear that a number of the players on each side knew one another, notably our London contingent – our skipper Richard Faakye was with Crystal Palace at the same time as QPR’s centre half James Leonard.
No substitute goalkeeper today. Hopefully this doesn’t mean Evan Watts has had another injury setback.
Although they created little in the way of clear cut chances, the visitors displayed quite a positive outlook, often deploying as many as 5 players upfield when defending their own corners.
QPR were coached by former Burnley and Watford midfielder and Jamaican international Micah Hyde.
The entire game was played in constant driving rain, but there was no let up from either side. A well won victory for our U18.