Swans Reserves pick up first point against South Cave

The Reserves got their first point of the 19/20 season campaign under the lights at The Easy Buy Stadium last night in a fair 1-1 draw with South Cave United.

Barton welcomed back plenty of the squad who were missing for the opening day defeat to the hands of Chalk Lane.

#	Player
1	Sam Wood
2	Lee Everitt 🔻 Hay 56
3	Nathan Patchett 🔻 Samspon 64
4	Clay Bryant
5	Matt Graves ⚽
6	Robin Woodforth (c)
7	Aaron Finnis
8	Scott Meffen 🔻 Marshall 46
9	Adam Whall
10	Jack Finnis
11	Harry Finnis
SUB	Mark Hay 🔺 Everitt 56
SUB	Elliot Sampson 🔺 Patchett 64
SUB	Declan Marshall 🔺 Meffen 46
SUB	Liam Coleman
SUB	Bryn Everitt

Both sides started brightly and it was the keepers that shone in the opening stages with Sam Wood pulling off an instinctive save and South Cave’s Keeper tipping a volley from the edge of the box round his far post from Adam Whall’s effort.

Clay Bryant was yet again proving instrumental at the heart of the Reserves defence teaming up with debutant Matt Graves.

It was South Cave who took the lead when getting in down the right flank , keeper Wood initially tipped the effort onto the foot of the post only for the follow up to be put away on the edge of the 6 yard box.

The goal sparked the Ressies into life and Jack Finnis was starting to find success down the left hand side beating his man time after time with just the final bit of quality lacking in the box.

Barton then equalised in the 33rd minute when a corner kick fell to Matt Graves who calmly took a touch before finding the far bottom corner of the South Cave net inside the box from a difficult angle.

Scott Meffen made way for another summer recruit in Declan Marshall in a change of personnel at the break.

It was Barton who looked the more dangerous early on in the second half, an injury to Lee Everitt saw another shuffle with yet another summer recruit Mark Hay coming on.

South Cave were growing back into the game and the game was an even affair, they hit the woodwork when cutting in from side left as did Barton who hit the post and then hit the bar from a curling Elliot Sampson free kick.

Sam Wood was then called into action late on to deny the South Cave forward chance to nick a winner in the 85th minister.

Mark Hay has a thunderous strike blocked late on to see the Swans and South Cave share the spoils.

Manager Liam Graham reflected on his sides performance: “A fair result overall tonight. Both sides would feel aggrieved to come away with nothing tonight. We had to set up slightly different to counter South Cave’s style and set the foundations now to push on and get the first win on Saturday hopefully.

“I thought Clay Bryant and my keeper tonight Sam Wood both had excellent games and as a whole we take a lot from the game.

“Massive thanks to those who turned out to support us again tonight, your support is everything to us.

“Praise to South Cave who unsettled us and never let us settle, wish them all the best for the rest of the season.”