The Swans remain in twelfth in the Championship this weekend with only Portsmouth able to leapfrog them, and that will mean an away win at Leicester City this evening (7:45pm) This early kick off somehow ended goalless although it wasn’t for the want of trying, especially in the first half as Swansea City gifted a number of chances to Southampton.

And we saw what has to be miss of the season so far.

It wasn’t until the eleventh minute that the Swans had an opportunity to put their stamp on this game. A corner from their left was easily cleared but it meant the visitors retained possession. We had already seen some dangerous decision making by Swansea players when passing over distances, In fact in one instance an error nearly led to a chance for the Saints to score. Harwood-Bellis unable to get his shot on target. But it was a gift,mthese would be many more.

The Swans struggled to retain possession with little impact from their wide men often misplacing their passes. Zeidane Inoussa forged out an opportunity on sixteen minutes but his shot was blocked by Nathan Wood. That was pretty much the story in a game that seemed to be a struggle for both sides. Not least with a quiet home crowd. On nineteen minutes the Saints had their third corner, Edwards met it and Cameron Burgess had to head clear for corner number four. That resulted in Adam Armstrong seeing his shot blocked.

The home side were now very much in the ascendancy.

When the Swans did have control of the ball it was just a matter of when they would give it away. The mistakes on the ball were often leading to chances for Southampton. Despite that the home side looked slightly the better team after twenty five minutes. On chances at least. It was almost as if the Swans were conserving energy and constructing their attacks casually, very casually. It was noticeable that the kick off time had depleted the home crowd somewhat which was affecting the overall atmosphere. The away fans as they often do being the louder.

Both sides it has to be said were toothless up front.

As we approached the half hour Armstrong again had an opportunity to shoot, he did so but again he didn’t worry Vigouroux in the swans goal. Leo Scienza then found himself with the ball and hit a shot come cross towards Vigouroux which somehow he left and it hit the post. The rebound completely messed up by Archer. That was a golden chance. This was the Saints coming more into the game, and as expected looking the more dangerous. On thirty three minutes Marco Stamenic was booked for a foul, and this had been coming since the game started. If ever a player had been morphed into a Jay Fulton copy then this was the man. It seemed on this showing he has lost the edge his game has been recognised for especially at Olympiacos.

Some bizarre decision making was being made by the official on the Swans right and that has to be mentioned. That would soon bleed into incompetence for both sides on his second half showing. On forty minutes we saw good Saints pressure which if not in this half would surely lead to a goal for the home side ? In full flow they were the better side in the first forty five. The Swans slow play was ineffective and lethargic inspiring the Saints to press on. Josh Key looked like he was running in cement as he was skinned on numerous occasions by the aforementioned Leo Scienza, both times Southampton should have scored. More preposterous passing and defending from the Swans followed. This time Ben Cabango picking up a booking. A free kick on the Swans right was given with less than a minute to go, Scienza took it and Vigouroux palmed it over the bar.

It was desperate defending time for the Swans, they were being ripped apart by the home side. Chance after chance was spurned as Vigouroux kept the scoreline level with two magnificent saves. The Swans had made it to half time without conceding. Overall Southampton had more desire, more effort in their make up to win the game - as the Swans were outclassed and outthought. How they made it to half time at 0-0 is anyone’s guess.

The players sneaked out for the second half with Southampton immediately taking control of proceedings, the space they had in midfield was immediately identified. The murmuring from the home crowd were like voices at a local fete. An expectancy they would see their team win. Even when Armstrong had a half effort on forty nine minutes they merely shuffled in their seats. It has to be also noted that referee, Joshua Smith wasn’t covering himself in impartial glory when he booked Vipotnik on fifty minutes. It was difficult to point to why. Then we saw Vipotnik on the floor after running into Charles as the game got a bit silly. Still though we were not seeing any real Swansea effort or endeavour to win this game.

Referee Smith then started to bore down into his disciplinary checklist by looking to book Stamenic for a second time after a perfectly legitimate challenge on the half way line. It was getting niggly, which in turn was clealry upsetting the home players. Not that the Swans were any better in this half. However, on fifty six minutes the Swans had a corner on their right. That was taken by Tymon but it was easily cleared. The travelling support were loud and had been immense all game. Nearly a thousand placed in the away end.

The game was ‘Madness’ as illustrated by Gonçalo Franco (below) today

The Swans just retained the ball, gave it away, then got it back - all the time looking lacklustre and slightly disinterested. There hadn’t really been that much of a difference between halves and with Stamenic on a yellow surely we would see Yalcouye on and even some spark in attack ? That came when Adam Idah was introduced for Vipotnik. Surely though it was the feed from midfield to the striker that was the issue ? Swapping players in the same position when one hadn’t had any luck all game seemed a bit hopeful.

Talking of which the Swans were playing more in hope than a well planned outfit with a clear idea of what was required. The moves often petered out in the final third with no chance of any threat on the Saints goal. On seventy minutes we saw Eom replace Inoussa and Yalcouye replace Ethan Galbraith. Has Sheehan decided that certain players can’t play together ? The Swans had nobody really who could actually lead this team forwards, their passing deteriorating the longer it went on. There seemed no purpose in what they were trying to do. Having said that fifty fifty balls were not falling the Swans way. Coupled with that the visitors didn’t seem to want to fight to correct that fact. They didn’t possess that spark when the ball was in transition to see what could be earned from switching on to their opponents quicker mindset.

We had fifteen minutes to go.

Then a remarkable passage of play. Vigouroux made a splendid save to his left after another Saints attack, with Casper Jander (below) coming into cooly knock in the rebound it surely would be 1-0 ? He did so beating the Swans keeper but hit the inside of the post, the ball rebounding to him as his outstretched leg just couldn’t meet with the ball. It was most certainly a bizarre moment, and one which will be seen many times beyond this game. Certain things happen in football which can always indicate how a game will finish.

Then Vigouroux went down on eighty minutes. His left ankle the issue. The home crowd not happy at all. This gave Alan Sheehan an opportunity to brief his players for the final ten minutes or so. Whatever that would be compared to the previous eighty we had seen.

Then we saw Casey on for Ronald and Fulton for Stamenic. Sheehan now looking to preserve what he had. We could only hope that a last minute disaster show would not be repeated again. If it wasn’t then it would be a point a piece. A brief minute of Swansea pressure displayed what the Swans do have in their armoury with balls hoisted into the Southampton area. It came to nothing. But it was the best thirty seconds we had seen from the visitors.

Yes, the Swans had been that bad.

The introduction of Casey and Yalcouye was impactive, Casey having two headers on target and surely Yalcouye has staked a place in the starting eleven come this Wednesday ? That game is at the swansea.com against Queens Park Rangers (7:45pm) His industry and commitment a stand out feature. Overall it was most certainly a point won by the Swans, Southampton should have been well clear and have earned the points by the time the Swans exerted late pressure. They weren’t and the points were shared, somehow.

Unfortunately Adam Idah didn’t get as involved as most would hope, his control with his back to goal gave possession back to Southampton, and on two occasions he could have been far more involved in challenging for headers. This wasn’t a game he would be able to run on to chances created by wide men. This was a fixture that required commitment, especially from him but he didn’t take up the challenge. He was left wanting on too many occasions.

It wasn’t a game to remember for Swans fans, but it was a fighting performance with a lot of the Saints chances coming from some poor passing and decision making. It is what it is. And Sheehan now has two home games to look forward to where surely we won’t see the same type of performance we witnessed today ?

⚽️ Saints: Alex McCarthy, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Adam Armstrong (captain), Ronnie Edwards, Leo Scienza (Azaz 84) Nathan Wood, Cameron Archer (Jay Robinson 70), Caspar Jander, Shea Charles, Welington (Ryan Fraser 84) Elias Jelert (Tom Fellows 70).

Substitutes: Gavin Bazunu, Ryan Manning, Flynn Downes, Jack Stephens, Damion Downs.

⚽️ Swans: Lawrence Vigouroux 9 Josh Key 4 Ben Cabango 5 (C) Cameron Burgess 5 Josh Tymon 6 Marko Stamenic 6 (Jay Fulton 85) 6 Gonçalo Franco 6 Ethan Galbraith 6 (Malick Yalcouye 70) 7 Ronald 5 (Kaelan Casey 85) 6 Zeidane Inoussa 5 (Jisung Eom 70)6 Zan Vipotnik 5 (Adam Idah 62) 4

Substitutes: Andy Fisher, Melker Widell, Ishe Samuels-Smith, Liam Cullen.

⚽️ Referee: Joshua Smith : 3/10 : Completely out of his depth again, too quick to card away players, what is generally described as a homer. Needs to evaluate his unconscious bias to be a more impartial official.

Attendance: 27,256
Away : 872

⚽️ Watch the game highlights

Photographs: tag:reuters.com,2025:newsml_MT1IMGOSP000SXI9AW:1175645009 & MT1IMGOSP000SX3G5H. Licensed from Reuters, no reproduction

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