Swansea City dominated yesterdays game at the Swansea.Com Stadium in a 1-0 win that could have and should have been a lot more. The chances created were not as many as in recent games but Nathan Wood forged himself a golden opportunity in the first half and Ben Cabango hit the post. Two defenders getting forwards aggressively and causing the opposition huge problems.
The stats for this are reflected in how precisely and creatively Swansea City managed the game against a team who came to spoil and frustrate in the hope of a breakaway goal. A tactic that has worked on several occasions this season. It was the type of fixture we have seen the Swans throw away, or even concede late on earlier in the season. Yesterday another step forwards was made.
Considering the position the Swans find themselves in another decent attendance with few away fans witnessed the game. A Ryan Manning ( below ) shot in the second half brought home the points again as Swansea kept another clean sheet. Swansea City stats and information is on the left in this report.
The overall match summary displayed a lack of finishing of good chances in front of goal for Swansea City, however overall it displays the dominant feature of the game for the home side. Shots from Joel Latibeaudiere, Ollie Cooper, Joel Piroe and Ryan Manning all featured in keeping the Terriers minds concentrated. Set pieces as well improved.
As we see in the vast majority of Swansea City games possession and retaining possession were the main factors in this win. The control of the game for Swansea came from a determined approach to keep the ball and when losing it to get it back quickly. Olivier Ntcham was instrumental in this.
Many of Swansea City’s lost games this season have come from poor defensive decision making. Yesterday we saw Swansea players make ‘team’ decisions off the ball. Jay Fulton, Ben Cabango and Andy Fisher all resilient and giving up a yellow card for the greater good of the group. This displays a mindset and group mentality required to win games and force the opposition back or disrupt them.
Match official Matt Donohue has a history of dealing out cards in games. He penalised the Swans more often than he did Huddersfield for similar fouls. Psychologically he is seeing a smooth and well oiled passing machine in the Swans on display, so when they disrupt play by being more aggressive it is noticeable on the eye. This is an area he needs to work on to remove the judgement on him regards discipline on the pitch.
Overall it was a ‘deserved’ win and the main players were evident throughout or when they were introduced to the game. Ryan Manning again with his work horse ethic took the plaudits for his commitment and goal which Swans manager Russell Martin concede he will be a huge loss next season. Manning has so far refused to sign a significantly improved contract at Swansea and is out of contract in the summer.
Yesterdays game saw the defence, minus Joel Latibeaudiere come out on top of the match ratings. A sign that the overall mindset of the defence is improving greatly. Also three clean sheets in a row confirms this. In the past three games the Swans have looked the better side, and most certainly in the last two. The Coventry City home game on Good Friday could well have gone the other way earlier in the season, but another clean sheet there displayed a better understanding of the Swans defensive duties. Eight goals scored and only two conceded in this run of five games. In fact out of those five games four of them have been clean sheets.
The Swans are now five games undefeated and despite the loss to Millwall away which came about as a result of a keeper error they are seven points from a play off spot. The issue ? Too little too late with four games to play. The test from these forthcoming games though is bigger than what has gone before. The first one coming on Wednesday night at home to Preston North End who are desperate for play off points.
Swansea City: Fisher; 7 Latibeaudiere, 4 Cabango, 6 Wood, 6 Manning; 7 (MOM) Grimes (C), 6 Fulton 6 (Cundle 59), 6 Ntcham 6 (Cooper 46), 6 Paterson 5 (Whittaker 59); 6 Piroe 6 (Allen 85), 5 Cullen 5 (Darling 80). 5
Subs not used: Sondegaard, Naughton.
Goal: Manning 70
Yellow cards: 🟨 Fulton 5, Cabango 11, Piroe 38, Fisher 90+5
Huddersfield Town: Vaclik; Pearson, Lees, Helik, Headley (Ruffels 73); Hogg (C), Edmonds-Green (Waghorn 84), Rudoni; Kasumu (Koroma 73), Ward, Diarra (Simpson 73).
Subs not used: Bilokapic, Jackson, Lowton.
Yellow cards: 🟨 Hogg 43, Rudoni 90
Attendance: 16,686
Referee: Matthew Donohue : 5/10 : Strangely keen to book the home sides players. Only discipline thereafter saved a red.
We hope you enjoyed this post match break down.
Below are the results from this weekends fixtures