KILGETTY football star Liam Cullen netted two goals as Swansea City cruised into the FA Cup fifth round with a 5-1 thrashing of Nottingham Forest – to set up a last 16 tie with Manchester City.

The Tenby-born Wales Under 21s striker scored his second and third senior goals with a pair of excellent left-footed finishes at the Liberty, to earn the praise of Swans’ boss Steve Cooper.

“Culls has deserved that. I said to him not so long ago that it’s just a case of those chances dropping for him, because we know he can take those chances,” said Cooper after the game.

“He’s done that for years in the academy, especially the under-23s recently, and we see him do it every day in training.

“He is a really good finisher and, although he made the finishes look comfortable today, they were not easy.

“That does not surprise us, but we were really pleased they fell for him as he is a great player, a great lad and part of what we are doing.”

Cullen scored 17 times in 21 appearances for the Swans’ development side last season, including a hat-trick against Middlesbrough, and all four goals in a thumping victory over Everton.

His efforts were rewarded with a new contract that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2022 - and he scored his first senior goal in the crucial final-day win at Reading last season.

Appearing as a late substitute for the first team on numerous occasions, he made his first start at senior level for the Swans in November in the 1-0 win over Rotherham at the Liberty Stadium.

In the FA Cup tie against Forest, Cullen fired Swansea ahead when Wayne Routledge broke the offside trap and centred for the Pembrokeshire man to volley home his second senior goal..

Skipper Matt Grimes doubled the lead with a spectacular 25 years drive, but the visitors briefly improved after the break, with Anthony Knockaert halving the deficit from close range.

Forest’s hopes of a comeback did not last long, however, as Ryan Manning tumbled under Joe Worrall’s challenge, and Grimes sent keeper Smith the wrong way from the penalty spot.

Cullen completed a well-taken brace for the Swans with the goal of the day, firing home after some good work from Yan Dhanda and Manning, to put the Swans into a commanding lead.

Swansea finished with 10 men after Cullen limped off with an ankle injury, but substitute Cooper added the fifth goal with a left-footed shot, which found its way through Smith’s legs.

“I was pleased to take the chance, scoring against Reading gave me a taste of what it is like to score, and I wanted to get that feeling back,” said Cullen.

“It’s been a bit of a dry year for me, and I have tried not to think about it too much, to make sure I kept playing my game and keeping calm when the chances come.

“So, it was nice to see them go in. I have been working on getting in the middle, getting in the six-yard box and getting a clean contact on the ball.

“From that far out, that gives you the best chance of scoring. In the past two years I have worked a lot on that in training.”