Swansea City concluded their pre-season schedule with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Charlton Athletic.
The Swans had to come from behind to defeat the Addicks after Harry Darling's own goal gave the hosts an early lead at The Valley. But Joel Piroe and Ryan Manning both struck in the second-half as Russell Martin's men tasted victory.
Here are the key talking points to emerge from the contest with the League One outfit in London.
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Style epitomised
As early as the first few seconds of Swansea's opening day clash with Blackburn Rovers last year, the style shift at the club was evident.
Martin has regularly stated that there will be painful moments as players get to grips with his methods, and they conceded what was arguably the most calamitous goal of his reign to date in the win at Charlton. Harry Darling's pass back to Andy Fisher went straight into his own net following a miscommunication between the former MK Dons pair.
It typified just what can happen when the sharpness or focus isn't at its peak in this system. Fortunately, it happened in a pre-season fixture that ultimately had nothing riding on it which could make it something of a blessing in disguise ahead of the Championship opener at Rotherham United.
Players need to be bold and take risks for Martin's methods to work. As a result, mistakes will continue to be made, as Darling's howler highlighted. Eliminating those errors will be crucial though, particularly against Championship opposition, and one of the biggest challenges this season will be to stick to the principles, even when the going gets tough.
"There were a few too many scary moments in the first-half, but we are trying something different, we have worked really hard on it," said Martin after the game. “The goal sums up that little period, but after that initial 10 to 15 minutes we got to grips with it and played some good stuff, even if we did not threaten as much as we should have.
“But we showed real resilience to respond, and we have to accept that when we play this way and we ask the players to be brave, then there are going to be moments that are a bit scary. When the temperature of the game goes up, if there’s anxiety, or the opposition fans get vociferous, it is how we deal with that that will define us.
“We need courage to be able to follow those moments with good actions and good intent, and I felt we did that today brilliantly."
Cool head key
While showing some impressive patterns of play, Swansea were far from their best in the opening half. They also carried precious little threat for long periods in the first 45. There was clearly frustration, as Jamie Paterson demonstrated when he rifled the ball into the advertising boards after Swansea conceded a corner just before half-time.
It was understandable, particularly given the joy Corey Blackett-Taylor was having on Swansea's right flank. However, that changed after half-time as Swansea took control of the match and should have had more than just two goals to show for their efforts. And one man who was key to their turnaround was Kyle Naughton.
Summer signings Harry Darling and Nathan Wood are just 22 and 20 years of age respectively and have been drafted in to improve Swansea's ability to play out from the back while also helping to shore up the backline.
But, at Charlton, it was Naughton who proved how vital experience is in a young squad. The 33-year-old repeatedly used his impressive range of passing and body feints to get his side out of trouble and into more encouraging situations.
His composure was as admirable as ever, and even during the scary moments mentioned by Martin, Naughton - who signed a one-year contract extension earlier this year - was not once flustered. The Swans have tried out a range of different formations during pre-season, one of which sees Naughton playing in a move advanced role.
He operated further up the pitch during the first-half at Charlton, although he was deployed at the heart of a back three in the second-half - as was the case at Plymouth Argyle earlier in July. Swansea's style can naturally make their own fans anxious at times while it can also be conducive to giving opposition supporters confidence if things aren't as precise as they are required to be.
But in Naughton, the Swans have a man who is more than capable of blocking out the background noise to continue in his pursuit of fulfilling the instructions laid out to him by the coaching staff.
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Starlet ready to prove his worth
Cameron Congreve wasted no time in making an impact after being summoned from the bench late on.
The academy product replaced Michael Obafemi in the 80th minute and registered an assist for Manning's winner just five minutes later. As he showed on his debut at Blackpool, Congreve clearly isn't afraid of attempting to make things happen.
His piece of skill to bamboozle his marker before teeing up Manning was simply majestic while it served as a moment that showed how much confidence he has running through his veins at present.
"Cam showed with the moment when he came on, the assist, that he's got fantastic attributes," said Martin. "I think we've shown that we are really open and willing to play young players, especially guys who understand the club. I think it's really important to have that with the fans and the business model of the club. We're excited by a few of the young players. It's just picking the moments when they're ready."
It's been a remarkable few months for Congreve who has five competitive first team appearances to his name and has just signed a new contract extension with his boyhood club. And while there is stiff competition when it comes to his position, his efforts in pre-season have ensured he is firmly in the thoughts of the coaching staff for the season ahead.
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Martin's big calls for Millers
With the pre-season schedule officially completed, the full focus is now on Saturday's clash with Rotherham.
Barring injury or, heaven forbid, any dramatic transfer twists, there are several players who know they will be starting against the Millers. Matt Grimes, Joel Piroe, Kyle Naughton, Harry Darling, Andy Fisher and Michael Obafemi are among those whose names are undoubtedly already on the team sheet for the contest at the New York Stadium.
And while head coach Martin will already have an 11 in mind to tackle Paul Warne's men, there are still some places for grabs this week. Ben Cabango and Joe Allen are both bidding to prove their fitness, although, with 46 league fixtures plus cup matches and international games to be played this season, there is a real desire to ensure both players are not risked in any way.
Manning and Olivier Ntcham will both be pushing to start but may be required to settle for a place on the bench while Congreve has done his chances no harm with his summer efforts. It's clear that Swansea need to bolster their wing-back options, and Matty Sorinola operated on both flanks during the course of the clash with Charlton.
You would suspect he's also a nailed on starter while Joel Latibeaudiere has a strong chance of being included in the 11. But there is plenty for Martin to ponder as he gears up for the beginning of his second campaign at the club.
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