Swansea City secured their place in the second round of the Carabao Cup with a solid 3-1 victory over Gillingham at the Swansea.com Stadium. The Swans took control of the match, with goals from Ronald, Liam Cullen, and Azeem Abdulai ensuring a comfortable win.
Ronald opened the scoring midway through the first half, delivering a precise low strike into the bottom corner to put Swansea ahead. The Brazilian winger’s energetic performance on the left flank was a standout, building on his impressive showing as a substitute in the previous match against Middlesbrough.
League Two Gillingham were dealt a significant blow when Euan Williams was shown a red card, reducing the visitors to 10 men. Swansea capitalized on their numerical advantage, with Liam Cullen doubling the lead late in the game. The forward turned in a well-placed cross from Josh Key to give the Swans breathing room.
Although Gillingham managed to pull one back through Oliver Hawkins in the closing stages, Swansea sealed the victory in stoppage time. Azeem Abdulai, who had been solid throughout the match, scored his first goal for the club, capping off a strong team performance.
The win not only sees Swansea advance to the next round but also marks their first victory of the season. Head coach Luke Williams made six changes to the side that faced Middlesbrough, giving opportunities to several players, including full debuts for Žan Vipotnik and Nathan Tjoe-A-On. Jisung Eom also impressed during his lively cameo, adding to the positive takeaways from the match.
Swansea will now look forward to Wednesday’s draw for the next round of the EFL Carabao Cup, hoping to build on this momentum as the season progresses.
Team Lineups
Swansea City: Lawrence Vigouroux; Kyle Naughton (Josh Key 67), Ben Cabango, Kristian Pedersen, Nathan Tjoe-A-On (Josh Tymon 66); Matt Grimes (captain), Jay Fulton, Azeem Abdulai; Ollie Cooper (Gonçalo Franco 73), Žan Vipotnik (Liam Cullen 67), Ronald (Jisung Eom 72).
Unused Substitutes: Nathan Broome, Harry Darling, Dan Watts, Josh Thomas.
Gillingham: Glenn Morris, Max Clark (Oliver Hawkins 46), Max Ehmer (captain), Jack Nolan (Aaron Rowe 46), Jonny Williams (George Lapslie 60), Jayden Clarke (Jacob Wakeling 78), Robbie McKenzie, Euan Williams, Shadrach Ogie, Joe Gbode (Marcus Wyllie 66), Alex Giles.
Unused Substitutes: Jake Turner.
Referee: David Rock
Attendance: 6,019
Post-Match Reaction
This is what Swans Head Coach Luke Williams had to say after the match.
Match Highlights
Watch highlights of the Swans cup win over League Two Gillingham.
Feature Image Credit: Swansea City Football Club