Swindon’s youngsters please coach

SWINDON Town assistant coach Scott Marshall praised his young side’s desire after beating Newport County 1-0 to top their Papa John’s Trophy group.

Stand-in captain Jordan Lyden secured the home side’s victory and the prize for finishing top is a tie at the County Ground later this month.

Town’s defence comprised of five teenagers and they managed to secure a deserved clean sheet.

“We’re very pleased with the result tonight,” beamed Marshall. “There were a lot of pleasing things in there.

“The performances of the young boys coming in as well as the other boys who maybe haven’t played as many minutes in the league games.

“But they all showed how hungry, competitive, and fit they are.

“I think they will have enjoyed getting that 90 minutes under their belt.”

The EFL Trophy is a great way to rotate the squad, with gaining promotion back to League One obviously the goal for Ben Garner and his team.

But it gives much-needed minutes to fringe players, who can showcase their skills and compete for places.

“This is a great competition to give young lads an opportunity to play,” admitted Marshall.

“It’s not easy to get young lads into the first team group, but they have come in and done well here.

“We’re able to get to know more of the lads this way and we’ve included them a lot in the training when opportunities have presented themselves.

“They probably enjoyed their first senior experience - it’s a good competition to do that.”

He added: “I think if you use it well, it can help these boys in the future.

“They’ve all worked hard and trained well. That bodes well for the future.”