Phil SumblerThe match stats said it all at the end of last night’s game. More than 80% possession and more than 800 completed passes told a story of Swansea City dominance even if it was almost into the last 15 minutes of the game before that dominance counted in the scoreline.
So it was little surprise that Russell Martin was a happy man at the end of the game as he reflected back on one of the most dominant displays of any Swansea City side in the past few years.
He watched his side maintain their shape and structure throughout and remained always in line with his (and now their) belief of how the game should be played as eventually they waited for the chance to come which it did through Ntcham and Paterson.
The Swans boss was full of superlatives when he spoke to the press after the game to reflect back on a win that took his side into the top 10 and ever so gradually closing in on the play off places in the division.
“I am really pleased and proud of the guys, it was a really dominant and controlled performance,” he said.
“There was loads of purpose and loads of patience, but a real understanding of their roles, each other’s roles and the concentration and level of detail.
“We had the discipline to keep the structure and not get frustrated or anxious, it was brilliant to watch.
“I enjoyed the first half, I know it might not have been that exciting for the neutral, but I felt we were putting a lot of work into their legs and taking energy out of Barnsley as the half wore on and they got deeper and deeper.
“We had a couple of half chances but the message at half-time was to maintain that level of intensity and detail and concentration.”
Although Barnsley are at the wrong end of the table from their perspective there was the potential for a new manager bounce with Poya Asbaghi in charge of the home side for the first time and Martin felt that the difference being made was there to be seen already
“They were really hard to break down, they have clearly done a lot work out of possession in particular and they stuck at it and worked hard,” said the Swans boss.
“We limited any scary moments by being so disciplined, they had a couple of moments early in the second half where they pressed high and the crowd got energy, but there were not many of the game.”
