Ethan Galbraith cannot help but smile. He is recounting the final seconds of Swansea’s epic comeback win against Nottingham Forest in the last round of the Carabao Cup, an episode that culminated in him briefly donning a supporter’s spectacles, having retrieved them from the wreckage of a pitch-side pile-on. As the game ticked into the 97th minute, Galbraith cracked the upright with a billowing strike from 25 yards and Cameron Burgess promptly leathered in the rebound before hurtling off towards the East Stand to celebrate, fans mobbing the players.
It capped an extraordinary turnaround given Swansea trailed 2-0 midway through the second half. Amid the delirium, there was some collateral damage. “There was a supporter sort of calling out and myself and Keysy [Josh Key] were thinking: ‘What’s he on about here?’” says Galbraith. “Then we saw the glasses. It was a bit of banter putting them on. We are on the pitch as footballers but we’re humans, too, so to have a bit of craic with the fans is always good.”
It was a victory that secured a fourth-round game at home against Manchester City on Wednesday, opponents Galbraith ran close at the same stage of the FA Cup with Leyton Orient in February. Galbraith, an athletic midfielder, had arguably the best view in the house when Orient took the lead in spectacular fashion, Jamie Donley’s first-time shot from about 45 yards going in via the crossbar and the City goalkeeper, Stefan Ortega. It feels criminal that it went down as an own goal.
“You would have hoped they would’ve given it to him for taking the effort on from that distance,” says Galbraith, who started in midfield before shifting to right wing-back after Orient changed shape. That meant getting to grips with Jack Grealish, with whom he swapped shirts, and the winger was among the City players who paid tribute to the way Orient attacked the game. Now Swansea have a chance to showcase their quality against Pep Guardiola’s side.
“Athletically they are very good but even the basics and simple things, they can just do it over and over again,” Galbraith says. “It feels like they never miss a pass and they know how to control and take the sting out of a game. You can think you’re all right and then suddenly they will just fizz a pass through a line without you even seeing. You have to be switched on every second of the game. It takes a strong mentality and concentration just to stay in the game.”
Swansea pushed to sign Galbraith in January and beat off competition from rivals to secure him in the summer in a £1.5m deal. He established himself as a fans’ favourite across two seasons at Orient and has quickly done the same in south Wales. At Orient he reunited with Richie Wellens, who four years ago gave Galbraith his first extended run in senior football on loan at Doncaster from Manchester United. Then came a loan at fourth-tier Salford City, before he permanently left Old Trafford.
“I was probably a bit naive going into men’s football. I think a lot of players would say under-23s football is very different. Sometimes it feels like: ‘You have it, we have it.’ There’s not many tackles or duels. Once you start playing [men’s] games you have to learn quickly.”
He has shown that maturation for club and country, excelling for Northern Ireland, who could still reach the World Cup next summer via the playoffs and for whom he has started the past five games, including home and away fixtures against Germany. Ian Baraclough, Galbraith’s previous international manager, paid him the ultimate compliment, saying he was Northern Ireland’s “little Iniesta or Xavi” given how he manipulates the ball and his eye for a killer pass.
It has been quite the ride for the kid from the Queens Park estate in Glengormley, just outside Belfast, who grew up watching his father, Stuart, also a midfielder, play for Ballyclare Comrades.
Galbraith’s sole appearance for United came in Kazakhstan in 2019, a Europa League trip to Astana, where they played on an artificial pitch and the stadium roof was closed owing to temperatures of -15C. “It was a long trip and it was cold out there,” he says, grinning. “The week before, myself and quite a few of the young lads trained together, so that helped us acclimatise. Just to travel with the first team and get a couple of minutes at the end was unbelievable.”
How hard was it to leave United, the club he joined from Linfield aged 16? “It was quite easy, because I got to the stage where I knew I wasn’t going to make it at first-team level. I’m hugely grateful for the time I spent there but it got to the point where I thought I needed to go my own route, drop down the leagues and play men’s football. Now I’m slowly working my way back up.”
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It is mid-afternoon at Swansea’s Fairwood training base but Galbraith has somewhere to be at 5pm: a driving theory test, another step towards getting on the road. Until recently moving to Sketty, the 24-year-old was a regular in Swansea’s so-called fun bus, a minibus driven by academy staff, Pete and Howard, which ferries players to and from training and matches.
“It’s myself, [Gonçalo] Franco, Ronald, Malick Yalcouyé – [Melker] Widell used to be in it but has started driving. It’s nice to spend time with the lads but I’m hoping to be the next one out of the minibus and driving. Franco likes to pull a few pranks; he’s always up to all sorts.”
While playing for Orient, Galbraith would blend in with supporters on London’s Central line after starting his journey at Brentwood, where he was based. “I tried to keep a low profile but the Orient fans used to see me on the tube quite a lot,” he says.
“Sometimes they would notice the club tracksuit and I’d end up just talking away with them. It was nice to have those fan interactions. They loved it.”
