Harry Darling has come out in defence of his goalkeeper Andy Fisher again but this time to praise him for what was his best performance in a Swans shirt since his arrival at the club fifteen months ago. It hasn’t been plain sailing for Fish but yesterday he most certainly made some crucial saves which earned the Swans a point.

Another defensive mishap by the Swans saw Fish called in to action in the first half smothering and deflecting a sure goal when Gustavo Hamer intercepted a poor pass. In the second half a similar save saw Mathew Godden thwarted. It’s all good news for Swansea as they too could have taken the points in what was never a dull game in the 0-0 draw. Speaking of Andy Fisher’s performance Darling said “All credit to Fish, he’s a really good pro and he stuck at it. He knows he’s made a few mistakes but it’s about how you bounce back and he has bounced back really well.I think the big frustration this season is that we know the levels we can and have hit, we just haven’t done it enough. We can’t do anything about that now, all we can do is keep improving for the next game and be ready for next season. We want to perform well every week so we can build for next season.”

The result gave the Swans seven points from a possible nine over the last three games with Wigan Athletic away to come on Bank Monday ( Kick Off 3pm ) These games have papered over the cracks somewhat and it doesn’t cloud over the need for major squad surgery this summer. And that includes a goalkeeper, but the performance of Fisher yesterday was pleasing. His manager Russell Martin felt the same. "I'm really pleased for Fish today, the courage he showed and the clean sheet for him and the team. Two clean sheets in three now. We're consistent in the way we behave with the players and we also appreciate how tough it is to play in this team, especially as a goalkeeper. Steven Benda had a tough time last season but the way he's come back is incredible. He's been a big loss for us, so for Fish to come in and fill his shoes at that point was difficult. He was such a big presence for us and he's had such growth off the pitch as a person”

Being a goalkeeper is a lonely role when you are the focus of being responsible for losing games, and Fish has had a few of those games recently but this performance we hope builds his confidence going in to the last six games of the season.

Photographs with permission Swansea City AFC

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