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Ethan Galbraith breaks into a smile as he remembers the dramatic closing stages of his team's remarkable turnaround triumph against Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup. That match wrapped up with Galbraith briefly donning a spectator's eyewear amid the pitch-side pile-on.

With the clock ticking into the 97th minute, Galbraith rattled the woodwork with a long-range shot from outside the box, and Cameron Burgess quickly slammed home the rebound before charging toward the home end to mark the goal, with the crowd mobbing the players.

Remarkable Recovery

The victory sealed an extraordinary turnaround given Swansea had found themselves down 2-0 during the second half. During the celebrations, there was some collateral damage. The midfielder recalled, "There was a fan shouting out and we were thinking: 'What's he on about here?' Then we spotted the glasses. It was a bit of banter putting them on. We are on the pitch as athletes but we're humans, too, so to have a laugh with the fans is always good."

Pep Guardiola Test

That win secured a next round fixture at home against Pep Guardiola's side on Wednesday, a club Galbraith pushed hard at the same stage of the FA Cup with the London side in February. He had an excellent perspective when the underdogs took the lead in spectacular fashion, with the attacker's long-range effort from about long distance going in via the woodwork and the Stefan Ortega. It feels criminal that it was deemed an own goal.

"You would have hoped they would've awarded it to him for having a go from that far out," commented Galbraith, who played in the middle before switching to right defensive wing after the team changed shape. That meant getting to grips with City's winger, with whom he swapped shirts, and the winger was among the Manchester squad who complimented the way Orient approached the match.

Guardiola's System

"Fitness-wise they are exceptional but even the fundamentals and routine actions, they can just perform consistently," he explains. "It seems as if they always find their target and they know how to control and neutralize a game. You can think you're holding your own and then abruptly they will just fizz a pass between defenders without you even spotting it. You have to be focused at all times of the game. It demands a resilient mindset and concentration just to stay in the game."

New Chapter

The Welsh side were keen on Galbraith in January and secured his signature to sign him in the summer in a £1.5m deal. He became a favorite as a fans' favourite across a couple of years at Leyton Orient and has swiftly done the same in his new home. At his previous team he reunited with the coach, who four years ago gave Galbraith his debut prolonged spell in first-team action on loan at Doncaster from Manchester United. Then came a spell at League Two the Manchester club, before he departed Manchester United.

Learning Curve

"I was perhaps a somewhat inexperienced going into senior level. I think a lot of players would say youth team games is very different. Sometimes it seems possession is exchanged without much intensity. There's not many hard challenges. Once you start playing first-team football you have to learn quickly."

International Recognition

He has demonstrated that maturation for club and country, excelling for Northern Ireland, who could still reach the international competition next summer via the knockout phase and for whom he has started the recent fixtures, including home and away games against a football powerhouse. The ex-coach, Galbraith's ex- international manager, gave him the ultimate compliment, saying he was Northern Ireland's "little Iniesta or Xavi" given how he manipulates the ball and his ability to spot a game-changing assist.

Starting Out

This represents an incredible journey for the player from the Queens Park estate in the Belfast suburb, just outside Belfast, who used to see his parent, his father, also a engine room operator, play for his father's team.

Old Trafford Memory

The player's single match for United came in Kazakhstan in 2019, a Europa League trip to the host city, where they featured on an plastic turf and the arena covering was closed owing to the weather of freezing cold. "It was a extended travel and it was cold out there," he comments, smiling. "The week before, several youth players and I practiced as a group, so that aided our adjustment. Just to accompany the senior squad and earn some playing time at the end was unbelievable."

Moving On

How hard was it to leave United, the club he signed from his boyhood team aged his mid-teens? "It was quite easy, because I arrived at the moment where I knew I wasn't going to make it at the top level. I'm very appreciative for the years at the club but it reached a stage where I thought I needed to go my own route, move to a lower level and play first-team games. Now I'm gradually working my way back up."

Welsh Adaptation

It is mid-afternoon at the club's training ground but Galbraith has an appointment at late afternoon: a learner's exam, another move in the direction of getting on the road. Before his recent move to the local area, the mid-twenties player was a regular in Swansea's dubbed team minibus, a minibus driven by academy staff, Pete and Howard, which ferries players to and from training and matches.

"My companions include Gonçalo Franco, Ronald, an Ivorian player – a former passenger used to be in it but has begun using his own car. It's enjoyable to spend time with the lads but I'm planning to be the following person out of the minibus and on the road. Franco likes to pull a few pranks; he's frequently playing tricks."

Public Engagement

During his time at his former club, Galbraith would travel alongside followers on the Tube after beginning his trip at the area he lived in. "I tried|I attempted|My aim