It happens a lot would be the recollection from the Sheehan era. Unfortunately It still happens is the comment on Vitor Matos’s stewardship to date. And that’s conceding goals at the end of games and halves. Having got themselves into a position to take a point away from the New Den an added time winner from Millwall undone all the Swans hard work.

The first half looked a lot like one of those forty five minutes or so we see the Swans inflict on their opponents now and again this season. The away side under pressure looking dumfounded and clueless for the first half an hour of the game and a keeper in Lawrence Vigouroux (below) who would not let Millwall pass. Save after save in scrambled situations, bravely saving and putting his body wherever it was needed was the story of the first half. He was quite simply superb. He carried that on into the second half saving numerous efforts which would have given Millwall the three points. However when they did score an added time winner he misjudged what looked the easiest save of the day to make. It’s hard to be anything but sympathetic on this performance, one which had the Chile number one not been on his game would have been lost when referee John Busby signalled the break in this fixture.

The Swans were all at sea in the first half, only getting into proceedings as the first half finished with numerous spontaneous efforts. The Millwall onslaught and the Swans lack of any idea how to respond was the worst half we have seen this season. With numerous changes made by head coach, Matos it really did look like he had made a few decisions too much by bringing in Ishé Samuels-Smith and dropping Melker Widell, Josh Tymon and the unfathomable Inoussa to the bench.

Millwall opened the scoring when Samuels-Smith failed to close down a cross which Mihailo Ivanovic controlled and turned on to put his side a goal up. It had been coming. And if it matters in football these days it was deserved.

The Swans survived the half and with the same side going into the second half and with a few tweaks an immediate reward came from a cross in which Ben Cabango (below) fired home from close range. The following ten minutes saw a Swans side that looked like it could win the game as they pressed and countered anything Millwall had. However, once we saw Widell, Tymon and Inoussa in the game it all started to drift. With Vigouroux in top form keeping the Swans in it there was always a chance to get a second. But herein lies the problem. The Swans haven't scored more than two goals in any league game this season and find it exceptionally difficult to close down and win games.

That happened today.

The pressing we saw from Widell against West Brom was lost on Vipotnik throughout the time he was on the pitch. Labouring effort, in fact pointless energy expelled as he jogged around and when closing in on the opposing keeper just jogging away. He was very unconvincing amidst the rumours of West Ham being of interest. A rumour unfounded and never truthful. Without a league game for two weeks and just the FA Cup to concentrate on this was a very mixed showing today. Not entirely bad of course but this isn’t a side yet that can get themselves out of the bottom half of the table just yet. The recall of Ollie Cooper from Wigan comes with slight concerns as to the future of the likes of Malick Yalcouyé this month. Vigouroux earns all the plaudits but the winning goal on ninety two minutes from Caleb Taylor easily stretching over Marko Stamenic to head down and into the Swans net should have really been expected. It happens too often. The exact same situation happened at the swansea.com in the home game earlier on in the season time wise. These sleepy moments will condemn the Swans to an up and down remainder of the season. That said Vitor Matos has turned the squad around this past thirty eight days (it seems like far longer than that) he has inspired players and has introduced a new found resilience. The Swans are eight points above relegation and nine from the play offs. It’s been a decent end of year moving into 2026. But these continual errors at the end of halves of games have to stop.

It will be the reason why the Swans find themselves in and around the whole mix be that looking above or below. And that is so frustrating.

⚽️ Lions: Max Crocombe, Zak Norton Sturge (Joe Bryan 78), Tristan Crama, Jack Cooper (captain), Caleb Taylor, Thierno Ballo (Aidomo Emakhu 78), Billy Mitchell, Mihailo Ivanovic, Camiel Neghli (Derek Mazou-Sacko 77), Femi Azeez (Alfie Doughty 86), Macaulay Langstaff.

Unused Substitutes: Steven Benda, Dan McNamara, Ryan Leonard, Ajay Matthews, Raees Bangura-Williams.

⚽️ Swans: Lawrence Vigouroux 9 Ethan Galbraith 6 Ben Cabango 6 (C), Cameron Burgess 6 , Ishe Samuels-Smith 6 (Josh Tymon 60) 5 Jay Fulton 7 Goncalo Franco 7 Malick Yalcouye 7 (Melker Widell 60) 5 Ronald 5 (Zeidane Inoussa 73) 4 Jisung Eom 7 (Marko Stamenic 73) 5 Zan Vipotnik 6 (Bobby Wales 88).

Unused Substitutes: Andy Fisher, Kaelan Casey, Ollie Cooper, Sam Parker.

⚽️ Referee: John Busby : managed the game well, and kept the card count down from his recent showings. 6/10.

⚽️ Attendance
14,242
Away
1,361

Photographs exclusively licensed : MT1IMGOSP000QGGP8E & MT1IMGOSP000QGHC8R Reuters