Under 23 2 - 2 Swansea City Under 23 - Match Report

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WHAT HAPPENED

Goals from Folarin Balogun and Nathan Tormey sealed a second-half comeback as we fought back from 2-0 down to draw with Swansea City in the Premier League 2.

The last time we faced the Swans we spent much of the game trying to break through their midfield - and the opening exchanges of this encounter proved to be more of the same.

Ben Sheaf fired well over the bar with an ambitious strike from 25 yards, before Bukayo Saka raced past his marker and dragged a left-footed effort wide of the post.

We looked to be in control as the referee’s half-time whistle edged nearer, but following a large break in play due to an injury to the referee, Swansea struck twice in quick succession.

Liam Cullen broke the deadlock with a curling effort into the bottom right corner, before Matthew Blake doubled the visitors’ advantage with a free-kick from 20 yards.

Following the break, we upped our attacking intensity and this instantly saw a number of chances fall our way.

Substitute Balogun’s goalbound effort was cleared off the line by Blake, before Xavier Amaechi’s powerful free-kick sailed just wide of the post.

The pressure continued - and as was the case with most of our play in the second-half, Balogun was right at the heart of it.

The 17-year-old received the ball on the edge of the box and created a yard of space, before firing a deflected effort past Gregor Zabret.

Swansea continued to handle attack after attack, but by the 86th minute, they could hold on no more.

Tormey beat his marker with close control on the byline, before shifting inside and finding the back of the net with a cute finish from a tight angle.

The visitors then went on to play the dying moments with 10 men after Joe Lewis was sent off - but we were unable to score the all-important third, despite Balogun being dragged down inside the area with less than two minutes remaining.