Rob DaviesMichael Obafemi was on fire as Swansea msde it two wins out of two and a double against Coventry City with a strong first half display to blow away Mark Robins’ men.
Obafemi scored twice either side of the break to make it four goals in six games with Jamie Paterson opening the scoring with his first goal since his return to action.
Gustavo Hamer pulled one back with 10 minutes to go and whilst Coventry had other chances it always felt like a game Swansea had in their control.
The result caps a good turnaround in form for Russell Martin and his team against two good sides both vying for the play off positions and increases optimism for a strong end to the campaign.
The starting line up saw Hannes Wolf drop out due to personal reasons and Korey Smith took his place in the only change from the win against West Bromwich Albion earlier this week.
Fisher
Cabango – Naughton – Manning
Christie – Downes – Grimes – Smith
Piroe – Paterson
Obafemi
A boisterous crowd of nearly 2000 greeted the away team on a sunny afternoon and it wasn’t long before those fans were silenced when Paterson finished off a great team move.
It ended with Korey Smith receiving the ball on the left, quickly passing to Obafemi outside the box before his sharp pass to Paterson inside the penalty area; his left foot finish kissed the inside of the post on the way in. Champagne football, almost!
Swansea were keen to keep momentum going with Coventry struggling to get any momentum going in attacking terms, and it wasn’t long until Obafemi was celebrating the first of his two goals of the day.
Flynn Downes took control of a goal kick, slipped the defender and strolled towards the penalty area before feeding the former Southampton man. It looked like the pass was a slight long but it didn’t stop Obafemi who slid past the goalkeeper for 2-0.
The away team had Jake Bidwell and Victor Gyokeres in their line up and they would have undoubtedly been keen to show their former employers their qualities.
But they didn’t have a sniff in the time they were on the pitch – substituted early in the second half – and it was Obafemi who was threatening again but was thwarted by a block from the goalkeeper with fans baying for a foul.
The only genuine opportunity for Coventry came from a sloppy back pass from Cabango, with Matt Godden presented with a glorious chances only for Andy Fisher to block one on one.
No changes as anticipated at half time, and soon after it was a third Swansea goal thanks to the vastly improved and in form Irish international Obafemi.
Matt Grimes – praised for his consistency by Russell Martin post match – received a misplaced pass from the opposition and slid in Obafemi who clinically slipped the ball past the goalkeeper for 3-0.
Piroe who was having a quiet game in general netted a fourth but was denied by the linesman who deemed him offside – providing some light entertainment for the Coventry fans as Swans fans cheered.
There was further confusion for the Jacks when Bidwell and Gyokeres were replaced, I think the general concensus was clap for the former and boo the latter. Football fans eh?
As the game closed, Coventry threatened further but missed the target several times when well placed including a shot over the bar from substitute Waghorn after a save from Fisher.
Being critical on an otherwise good all round display, it was over confidence that was letting Swansea down with Christie and Cabango guilty of running the ball under pressure into their own six yard box.
It was that type of sloppiness that saw a ball across the edge of the box which was finished smartly by another substitute Gustavo Hamer to set up a nervy last ten minutes plus the four allocated minutes of injury time.
There was not to be any real concern though as with the help of fresh legs, Latibeaudiere, Fulton and Ntcham the Swans kept the play off chasing visitors at bay to seal a further confidence boosting win.
There was real zip in the play particularly in the first half today and Martin’s team mixed it up with some longer balls which was a refreshing change, much like the victory against WBA at home earlier in the season.
There’s much to build on from the performances and whilst the Swans boss was right to be disappointed with elements of the second half, he has to be delighted overall with what he has seen this week.
Obafemi will also be a real positive as he continues to go from strength to strength, prompting suggestions his form will lead to a recall to the Ireland national team.
Overall a very satisfying week and what a difference a few games make – everything looked so bleak after the heavy defeat at Sheffield United but the two wins this week have brought back some real optimism around the Swansea.com Stadium.
Top half finish is definitely within our reach!
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