Phil Sumbler
When Russell Martin was plotting his side’s return to league action following the World Cup break the first two minutes would have looked nothing like we experienced at the Swansea.com stadium yesterday in what proved to be the decisive moments of the game.
From starting the game to almost being a goal down within twenty seconds it was not the start anybody would have wanted with the exception of Norwich boss Dean Smith as Pukki scored the first, and what proved to be only, goal of the game from the corner that resulted from him almost opening the scoring in the first minute.
The Swans have seen many defensive issues so far this season and they were all on show in that opening two minutes as a static looking defence let not just Pukki have the chance but the reality was there could have been one or two who scored the opening goal as we were caught even colder on a cold day in SA1.
The Swans did look to try and get themselves back in the match and played some good football but the reality was that we never really threatened the Norwich goal and are now on the back of no wins in six games since the derby day win over Cardiff back in October.
That will be a statistic that we need to work on heavily in the next three games as we end 2022 because without turning that around the optimistic peeks upwards in October will be replaced with nervous glances downwards at the end of December.
“I feel sick, to be perfectly honest. It was a really poor start,” the Swans boss said in his post match press conference.
“We have paid for a mad two minutes at the start of the game, and a lack of conviction and composure in the box.
“We created so many chances, I don’t think we deserved to lose, and I think we deserved something from the game.
“But you cannot get away with conceding a goal like that to a team that possesses a lot of really top players at this level.
“There were a few scary moments in the first half, and there was a bit of a lack of composure and belief, I don’t know if it was a bit of rustiness.
“I am struggling to understand how we have not scored, and the frustrating thing is how we have allowed a goal like that to hurt us.
“We played against a team that is going to be right up there, and I thought we were better than them. We were dominant, we had control of the game, we looked dangerous.
“If we play like that moving forward I will be really happy, but I feel a bit sick for the players that we have allowed a moment like that to define the game.
“It’s been a season so far that has been interspersed by moments like their goal, we did a lot of work on set-pieces this week and it has panned out exactly as the players were shown. It’s frustrating.”
