Swindon Town under-18s manager Sean Wood has said it is “great for the boys to put a run together” after his team made it three consecutive wins in the Youth Alliance League.
An early goal from George Alston gave Town the lead heading into the interval, before two substitutes in the form of Miles Obodo and Conor Britchford-Stanley combined for the second.
This victory came despite a far from normal week of build-up: “We’ve had a lot of illness in the camp this week, it’s been a really different week to what it would normally be,” Wood stated.
“A lot of the boys have come back in on Thursday and Friday, so it’s been a bit disjointed. I think they were a little bit tired towards the end, but we defended the goal really well today.
“The performance was ok, but the clean sheet was really big for the group.”
The two sides were facing each other for the second week in a row, last week seeing Swindon come away as 3-1 winners in the group stages of the Youth Alliance Cup.
Despite the results going the same way on both occasions, the style of each contest was far from the same.
Wood said: “It was different from last week. We didn’t have as much control of the ball, but we defended the goal well. We were resilient in how we did that.”
He continued by commending the impact of the changes made before the second goal, saying: “Miles (Obodo) came on at half-time and made a real impact in the game. It was brilliant to see him cross the ball with his left foot.
“It’s been something he’s been working on, and it was brilliant for Conor (Britchford-Stanley), who’s returning back into the group after injury to get a goal today.”
There was no shortage of strong tackles and physical battles across the pitch, as well as some decisions by the referee that were questionable at times, but Wood had nothing but praise for how his team dealt with it.
“We discussed it at half-time. Those decisions within games we can’t control. We have to control how we play and how we defend.
“There were some difficult moments and challenging physical battles across the pitch, but after the week that we’ve had, I think the boys really dealt with that well today.”
🎙️ #STFC U18s Midfielder, Conor Britchford-Stanley on today's 2-0 victory against Forest Green Rovers U18s:
— Swindon Town Football Club Academy (@academystfc) October 19, 2024
After going winless in their four league outings, Swindon have now made it three wins on the spin and climbed up to sixth place in the table.
It’s clear that momentum is being gained, and Wood credits that to the development of the team at what is still the start of a long season.
“I think we’re starting to learn and pick up on some of the moments within games that we’ve struggled with at the start of the year,” he expressed.
“In terms of a whole performance, we’re showing good learning across two halves of football. Being home, being away, what different challenges and different opposition bring, being able to deal with that and ultimately putting together a performance that gets three points.”
The work put in leading up to every Saturday is something Wood didn’t fail to understate, saying: “It’s great for the boys to put a run together.
“They work ever so hard Monday to Friday, along with the staff, to make sure that we put in good performances on Saturdays, and it’s always good if they get a win.”
