Coming off the back of last weekend’s 4-1 age grade cup win against the same opponents at Leckwith, today’s victory over our South Wales rivals was deserved and hard earned.
On a sunny day wintry at Landore, the line-up was a familiar 4-3-3.
Jon Beale, who was previously at the academy before moving off to Hull, Swansea Women and then Briton Ferry Llansawel, was assisting Joe Roberts and Paul Whitfield. No goalkeeper sub today and Alex Godfrey played initially for the U16s on the pitch next door before coming across to join the U18s bench. A newcomer to the Swans squad was Archie Quick, a tall defender who recently joined the academy on trial from Gower College, having appeared earlier this year for Wales U16s. No Jack May, although he was present in the stand, no Josiah Kallicharan or Wahab Ojetero. Harlan Perry and Carter Heywood played for the U21s at Nottingham on Friday night. Kai Rhodes made a welcome return to the bench.
Today’s referee was Zak Demetriades, a familiar face at Landore.
Tom Wright; Kaven Bloniarczyk, Brogan Popham, Ben Phillips (s – Archie Quick 75m), Caio Ifans (s – Kai Rhodes 67m); Milo Robinson (captain), Bobby Lewis, Bobo Evans (s – Sol Baker 82m); Billy Clarke, Harvey Gray (s – Lukas Murphy 67m), Callum Jones (s – Alex Godfrey 82m).
The match was played at a furious pace throughout. Cardiff had the clearest early opportunities – Davies, Norris, Moreno and Conaty all firing off target. The Swans were struggling to win balls in midfield and often causing problems for themselves by playing out short balls to our midfield and allowing Cardiff to press effectively and win possession.
Quite out of the blue, we went ahead on 25 minutes when Callum Jones – always a left wing threat – worked his way to the byline and swung in a deep lofted cross that right back Bloniarczyk reached on the far post to volley home smartly from close range.
There was a hold-up on half hour when Conaty went down in a 50:50 tackle with Caio Ifans.
Jones and Ifans both went close again as Swansea started to win the physical battle and allowed Jones and Billy Clarke to play, Prickett being booked for a lunge on Jones before half-time. Callum Jones was denied once more by Cardiff keeper Sam Jones and Bobby Lewis’s follow-up was blocked.
Cardiff’s chances were limited to a header from a corner that bounced off the bar, only for the rebound to fortunately go straight to keeper Tom Wright. That was the only save he had to make during the match.
The home side exerted greater control, Bloniarczyk hitting a snapshot wide from an Ifans break and Bobby Lewis being sent clean through only to flick a left footed attempt wide of both the keeper and the goal. On the hour, Brogan Popham found himself in space on the right hand side, belligerently worked his way into the box and set up Harvey Gray – via Bloniarczyk – for a shot that Sam Jones got his fingertips to, inviting Callum Jones to head home from no more than a yard to put Swansea 2-0 up.
Almost immediately afterward, the Cardiff 8 – named in the Cardiff x account as Tobin, but it looked more like Hilaire-Clarke – tricked his way past challenges in the Swansea area and got a shot away, only for Bloniarczyk to clear the effort off the line.
Coach Roberts took the opportunity to make some changes. It was quite encouraging that, with the game still in the balance, none of the departing players wanted to come off, but each of the replacements settled in, the team reshaped and continued to create chances.
Before he went off, Jones had another open chance that went straight at Sam Jones. Rhodes, who started on the right and switched to the left, was off target after cutting in, but got his reward 5 minutes before the end when a directed ball over the top by Bloniarczyk sent him clear to finish cleanly.
A good, competitive game in which the Swans youngsters beat a determined Cardiff side. Kaven Bloniarczyk had an excellent match, starting out at right back, finishing at left back and so often calm in possession and precise in distribution. He also contributed to all 3 goals. Brogan Popham was tough and creative and also nursed Archie Quick through his opening appearance. Skipper Milo Robinson provided a steady presence in the centre of midfield. Bobby Lewis is proving himself to be a creative presence and continues to progress with experience. Wingers Callum Jones and Kai Rhodes are a handful for any defence and particularly when supplemented by Caio Ifans and Billy Clarke.
A slightly sobering note to close with: despite today’s result, the Landore academy experience continues to deteriorate week by week. The stewarding remains as fine as always, but the absence of a teamsheet, the continued absence of any working tannoy (let along any announcer) and the provision of bare minimum media reporting is poor fare and does not reflect at all well on the academy match administration. The players, parents and spectators deserve better. Without too much effort, it could easily be so much better.
Goalscoring: Bloniarczyk 1-0 (25m); Jones 2-0 (60m); Rhodes 3-0 (85m).