Swansea City were deserved 2-1 winners last tonight after a second half that sprung in to life after seventy five minutes. The winner was a sweet strike from Bashir Humphreys to take the Swans to fifteenth in the Championship table.
Jamal Lowe scored again after the Swans high press snatched back possession on two minutes for Lowe to slot home after some defensive nonsense from the visitors. That gave the Swans confidence and they really should have extended their lead over the next twenty minutes. Yates had a few chances and the Swans peppered the Canaries goal but hardly threatened it.
It wasn’t all sweetness and light for the Swans, in fact after they scored and then Norwich equalised the game became a battle of wills until the break. That said despite the fairly long periods when both sides seemed on par with each other the game was on a knife edge until the Swans ‘at last’ took the game by the scruff of the neck. Two very likely penalty shouts were waved away by referee Nield ( more about him below ) the first a rash challenge on Jamie Paterson which would have been a free kick any where else on the pitch. The second a handball on the Norwich goal line from a Jerry Yates header.
As the second half progressed the Swans managed to wrestle back the advantage Norwich were gaining, especially after an open goal was missed by Idah whose header went high and wide. The smallest crowd for some time at the Swansea.Com Stadium were responding well to the efforts put in by the Swans, however there were periods, much the same as the football that got a reserved response. The lower than usual turn out won’t be remembered, it will be the football that won the game that will. A more cohesive Swans, yes, but again there are still glaring issues. Humphreys just isn’t suited at left back, he was exposed on three occasions in the first half and again in the second before switching to centre back. That was a forced move, and from there on in Bashir looked comfortable and at ease. The real concern is Ben Cabango having to retire early after being brought callously down in the second half.
Ollie Cooper and Jerry Yates ( he also had a goal chalked off ) could have got the winning goal before a mad scramble in the area in the final ten minutes produced Bashir Humphreys glory strike. Displaying a composure beyond his years he first brought the ball down and then fiercely struck him his first professional career goal for Swansea. All told it was a deserved win, for sure Norwich could have snatched the winner as much as the Swans but their resilience has to be questioned. Especially in front of goal and indeed being able to play the ball about as they do at the back. For the third time in three games it’s Lowe to score, Swansea to win. Who else noticed that ?
Michael Duff was delighted with the win. "They are a really good team, but I thought we played some really good football in the first half and we scored from a high press again. Their goal came from a poor press but sometimes that can happen when you are looking to get high up the pitch. Second half we had to sit in for a little bit, you look at the quality of the subs they bring on, but I don’t remember Carl making too many saves. We had more than twenty shots, and then the work-rate, the players sticking together and defending the box, that gave us the platform to go on and win the game. We had one off the line with Jerry, where I don’t know how it did not cross the line, then we had the goalmouth scramble.
Norwich manager David Wagner commented after the game. "Obviously the result is very disappointing. Performance-wise, first half we were not good, second half we were much better. Second half we have to kill the game. We had enough very good opportunities until seventy five minutes. After that they put pressure on us with set-pieces. If you don't kill the game, then one situation can cost you. It's very frustrating that we were not clinical in both boxes today and have not won a game we had opportunities to win at 1-1."
Swansea City: Carl Rushworth, 6 Josh Key, 7 Ben Cabango 7 (Josh Tymon 64), 6 Harry Darling, 7 Matt Grimes (captain), 7 Jerry Yates 7 (Mykola Kuharevich 89), 5 Jamal Lowe, 7 Jamie Paterson, 6 Charlie Patino 6 (Jay Fulton 72), 6 Liam Cullen 5 (Ollie Cooper 72), 6 Bashir Humphreys.6
Unused Substitutes: Andy Fisher, Kyle Naughton, Liam Walsh, Harrison Ashby, Cameron Congreve.
Norwich City: Angus Gunn, Jack Stacey, Ben Gibson, Gabriel Sara, Kenny McLean (captain), Shane Duffy, Jonathan Rowe (Christian Fassnacht 78), Adam Forshaw (Przemyslaw Placheta 58), Dimitris Giannoulis, Hwang Ui-jo (Adam Idah 58), Tony Springett (Onel Hernandez 58).
Unused Substitutes: George Long, Liam Gibbs, Sam McCallum, Danny Batth, Kellen Fisher.
Referee: Tom Nield 3/10 : Managed okay in the first half, went berserk with cards in the second. Missed an obvious penalty, possibly two. Was a yard behind the game as the second half wore on, hence his poor decision making. His fitness has to be questioned. Hopefully his assessor will give him the appropriate feedback. Poor game.
Attendance: 14,572
Away : 142