USA youth international will bring physical presence to Hibs forward line

Hibs signing Colton Swan played a starring role in Charleston Battery’s stunning play-off comeback as the USL side marched into the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday, with the target man hitting the net at a crucial moment in a truly spectacular turnaround. Battery came from 3-0 down to secure a 3-3 draw with Hartford Athletic, before winning their second successive penalty shoot-out to win their semi-final in front of a sell-out home crowd of just over 5000.

Swan, his team’s top scorer, came off the bench to net with a glancing header from a corner kick as Charleston mounted a late comeback. His goal made it 3-2 with less than eight minutes remaining.

Half-time substitution changed game

Battery, who had been three down after just over half an hour, struggled to get back into the game until Swan was introduced at half-time. Leading the line, the 6’2” target man was instrumental in his team gaining a foothold in the straight knock-out tie.

It still took until ten minutes from the end of regulation time for Emilio Ycaza to find the net, sparking a scoring frenzy that saw Swan and then – in the eighth minute of injury time – Kiril Pakhomov score to send the home fans wild. Battery went onto win their second straight penalty shoot-out to set up a home clash with Louisville, Charleston reaching their third conference final in four years.

Six-figure signing Swan is scheduled to arrive at Hibs virtually as soon as his season in the US second tier is over, having signed for the Easter Road club in the summer. The USA under-20 international, is considered an exciting prospect who could develop into a genuine threat in the Scottish Premiership. Quick for his size and useful with his feet, he will bring an obvious physical presence to a Hibs front line in need of reinforcement.