The 19-year-old Scottish youth international made a big impact on his debut for Swansea City last night.
Scotland under-21 international Bobby Wales had a debut to remember for Swansea City as he made a big impact in their Carabao Cup win over Crawley Town on Tuesday night.
The 20-year-old, one of Scottish football's most highly rated young talents, signed a four-year contract with the EFL Championship outfit in the summer after they agreed a compensation package with Kilmarnock, and made an instant impression on Swans fans by scoring one goal and assisting another in a 3-1 win over their EFL League Two opponents.
Wales was an unused substitute in Swansea’s 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough at the weekend, but was handed a debut by head coach Alan Sheehan last night as a 64th-minute substitute, and repaid him by scoring the Welsh side’s crucial second goal just three minutes after his introduction to the field.
Bobby Wales enjoyed a dream start to his Swansea City career following his summer move from Kilmarnock.placeholder image
Bobby Wales enjoyed a dream start to his Swansea City career following his summer move from Kilmarnock. | SNS Group / SFA
Already 1-0 up thanks to Ronald’s early opener, the Scottish striker came off the bench to angle home a left-footed drive, which bobbled home beyond the outstretched arm of Harvey Davies. The away side would halve the deficit with 15 minutes to play through Kabongo Tshimanga, only to be reduced to 10 men just minutes later when Gavin Holohan was issued a straight red card for a challenge on Gonçalo Franco. Wales was then involved once again when his unorthodox assist allowed Ethan Galbraith to blast home to seal the win in injury time.
“I am really happy,” he said. “The goal may not be pretty, but it is good enough if it goes in. I was hoping to get minutes in this game, to try and take my chance, and I hope I managed to take it. I was happy to get the goal, but, more importantly, we got the win. With my name, I think it’s almost fitting that my first goal for the club came at home, and it’s a nice feeling to hear the fans chanting your name. I was obviously happy with the goal, like I said, it was a bit of a bobbly one, but then there’s the assist, as well. They’re calling me Bobbly Wales,” joked the young striker.
Compared to Arsenal icon Dennis Bergkamp following an eye-catching goal for Kilmarnock against St Johnstone in February, the teenage striker already has plenty of experience, having made 44 first-team appearances during his time at Kilmarnock. Nominated for the Scottish Football Writers’ Association young player of the year award last season, he first rose to prominence following a goal-laden loan spell at Alloa Athletic, scoring 12 goals in 25 games on loan at the Indodrill Stadium.
Elsewhere in the Carabao Cup, Scotland international striker George Hirst had a night to forget as his Ipswich Town side were dumped out of the competition on penalties by a Bromley side who sit two divisions below them. Forced to come from behind to rescue a 1-1 draw in normal time, the Tractor Boys were beaten 5-4 on penalties, with Hirst and Ali Al-Hamadi missing the crucial penalties at Hayes Lane Stadium.