Sheehan happy with Swans showing as young stars shine against Newport 

With the opening Championship match against Birmingham City at the Swansea.com Stadium in just under three weeks’ time, the Swans continued their unbeaten start to the pre-season with several of the clubs academy talents playing starring roles. 

Following a similar scoreline victory over Swindon Town on the weekend, Michael Duff’s side can be pleased with how things are going with another commanding performance over Graham Coughlan’s League Two outfit.

After a goalless first half, the Swans showed much more of a cutting edge in the finishing department once play resumed. Defender Ben Cabango scored at the second attempt to break the deadlock, before wide man Ben Lloyd found new signing Josh Key at the back post to double the home sides advantage. 

Joel Piroe added a third from the penalty spot after Joe Thomas had been brought down by a tired Newport defense, before on-form Josh Thomas added his second brace in three days to add gloss to the scoreline. 

A plus point for the Swans has been the emergence and form of academy striker Thomas to the first team fold. The Wales under-21 international once again taking his opportunity, causing problems for the Exiles defense with his pace and direct running, something which hasn’t gone unnoticed amongst the Swans management. 

“As someone who has only been here a few weeks, I can say that aspect [the Swans production line] has been impressive,” said Sheehan.

“Josh Thomas has done really well, he keeps popping up in the right areas, he likes to run in behind and is an aggressive player. 

“Then you have the likes of Ben [Lloyd], Azeem [Abdulai], Joel Cotterill and Joe Thomas who have done really well. They all made a really positive impression. 

“It was another pleasing afternoon, another clean sheet, we scored goals and are getting into good habits. 

“The lads acquitted themselves very well, played with a good tempo and looked like a threat, especially in the second half. 

“Now is a good time to get into winning habits and the habit of getting clean sheets. I think it’s important we do these things properly as we want to be an aggressive team, in and out of possession. 

“It has been a productive couple of weeks but we have got to be firing at the right time because it is that game against Birmingham that we are getting ourselves ready for.

“Everyone has got the challenge of being ready and fighting to be picked for that first game.” 

[Lead image: Swansea City]