Rob Davies
One would scarcely believe that just a few weeks ago the Swans would come out of a tough run of games with four wins on the bounce and five victories in six games but that’s exactly what they’ve achieved after today’s success against Sunderland.
It seems a while ago that there were concerns about a possible relegation scrap but that’s where Russell Martin’s men were after an underwhelming start with late goals conceded in abundance.
But there’s a new found steel in this Swansea City team and they needed every bit of that against an energetic Sunderland in the second half to further cement their credentials as a team that can perhaps do a bit more than just mid-table this term.
Harry Darling impressed as Martin rang the changes with four in all from the game at Watford and two of those players brought in scored – showing how important it is to have strength in depth at this level.
Darling and Cooper were on the scoresheet before Jack Clarke pulled one back in a nerve-wracking second half which saw Mowbray’s men press to little avail.
Martin told Wales Online: “I’m really pleased for H. He’s had to be patient because Woody and Ben have been outstanding.
“The same as Kyle [Naughton] in between them who helps us so much with so many aspects of the game, especially the young guys either side of him.
“I think the most pleasing bit with us from Harry today was how he defended the box in the second-half. He defended really robustly. With some people, it just takes a bit longer to adapt to a different environment and level.
“We know what he’s going to be and what he’s capable of, but Woody and Ben have just been really top so it’s been difficult for him. But a brilliant performance, I’m really pleased for him to score.
“We’re too tired to feel anything at the moment.
“I’m immensely proud of the players, staff and the fans. To get the three wins is an incredible return. If anyone had said at the start of the week that we’d get nine points, we’d probably be the only people who would believe we’d be capable of that.
“They’ve shown immense courage and energy. The last two games certainly showed today in the second-half. We started the game with brilliant energy and were so aggressive. We looked a threat.
“But we just couldn’t sustain that energy, it started creeping in in the last 15 minutes of the first-half. They [Sunderland] played on Tuesday, it’s very different. We got back to the stadium here on Thursday morning at half three, it’s not easy. That showed, for sure.
“The second-half was a bit more painful and I don’t think we’re overly satisfied with the performance, apart from the first half an hour. I still thought we had some brilliant moments in the second-half when Olivier [Ntcham] came on and we changed Joel’s [Piroe] position a bit.
“Their goalkeeper has made more saves than Steven [Benda]. They’re a really good team by the way. I really like them, Sunderland. They’ll cause a lot of teams problems this year.
“The lads showed huge resilience, togetherness, determination and desire to protect what we had. We’ve won four games in a row in this league, and after the start we had to the season, that’s no mean feat.”
Swansea have a week’s break now before a tough trip to Burnley.
