You could sense the frustration around the stadium last night as the swans turned in a predictable performance against a Luton side who worked hard for their win.
Russell Martin looked perplexed post match after witnessing his side do everything but score again last night. "I did not see many problems with the performance in general, they made it hard for us when we did not beat the press. The lads are giving us everything they have got, that is all you can ask. We limited them to very little, we had a lot of the ball but we have got to make more of it. Unfortunately at the moment, it is not quite clicking in the final third and we concede such a poor goal. You cannot concede a goal like that.”
And that sums up the match, the chances that did come and go were not taken, the best in the first half from Michael Obafemi who looked nailed on to score. Obafemi worked hard for the swans last night, he had his chances, but yet again failed to take them. It could be a few more starts will improve his conditioning and match sharpness.
Martin talked about those crucial moments that again were not taken. "But we have to score when we are on top, how many times have I said that? It’s that little bit of quality in the final third. Michael has a brilliant chance, Hannes has a brilliant chance and in another game or two that might have been another outcome as I thought he was great tonight, and Michael did well too. Ben Cabango hits the post from five yards out and Ryan Bennett missed the follow-up, and it means we are really disappointed”
It has to be a story of frustration, it can’t be anything else, both sides put the effort in to either win or not lose the game and when an opportunity arose Luton took it. If there is room for discussion then it has to be the unwillingness to move the ball forwards quicker, especially in injury time when you are 1-0 down. Too many cross field passes and overplay was the swans biggest enemy last night. However Michael Obafemi and Joel Piroe were denied from close range, Hannes Wolf was unable to convert and Ben Cabango was denied by the woodwork. No matter how you look at it that was another game that reflected domination but no goals. The same on Saturday against Hull and the previous Tuesday against QPR.
The fact is this side is good enough to win all of those games, we always see Swansea dominate games, create chances, but failing to take them is the clear issue. With three games played in eight days and no goals scored its clear where the work needs to be done. Nathan Jones, the Luton manager went on a run around the stadium after the game, clearly delighted "It's a massive win, Swansea are such a tough side to play against, so hard to get the ball back against. The tactical awareness was wonderful. We were strong, aggressive, disciplined and clinical. Game-changers came on and won us the game, so it was a complete away performance. To come here and win 1-0 is a wonderful. I loved our performance tonight."
And that just about sums it all up.
Match highlights here âš½ï¸
Swansea v Luton highlights
The teams rated.