Swansea City head coach Steve Cooper hailed the resilience of cancer survivor Jack Evans after he made his debut for the Welsh side in a 6-0 Carabao Cup thrashing of Cambridge.
Cooper saw his team set up a third-round tie away to Premier League Watford thanks to goals from Kristoffer Peterson, George Byers, a Sam Surridge brace, Jordon Garrick and Wayne Routledge.
But it was the appearance of 21-year-old midfielder Evans, who made his first Swansea appearance as a second-half substitute, which was the story of the night.
Evans was diagnosed with cancer last summer but has since been given the all clear.
Cooper said: “It was the best part of the evening in the grand scheme of things. Jack came on and did well, which he would want to hear first because he is only interested in football.
“It’s amazing and I am sure he was in a dark place not so long ago. I think everyone should be really proud of him and no one more so than his family.
“We certainly are as a football club and there will be more to come from him. He’s an amazing man and so determined to do well.
“He demands the best of himself and even with the tough time he has been through his expectations are high. We wanted to give him an opportunity, but it’s not about sentiment.”
Swansea scored five goals before the break with hapless Cambridge all at sea.
Peterson opened the scoring after 47 seconds. Byers made it 2-0 before Surridge struck twice either side of Garrick’s first Swansea goal.
In the second half, Evans appeared off the bench and Routledge completed the scoring.
Cambridge head coach Colin Calderwood: “We were washed away early on in the game. The first attack was a goal and that set the tone for the rest of the game.
“We couldn’t cope and couldn’t stop Swansea at all. We came up against a team at a very good level.”
