Rob Davies
ByFor the second time in seven days the Swans can quite easily say that refereeing decisions went against them as they lost at a promotion chasing Ipswich Town.
It all started so brightly but the home side turned the screw and blew Michael Duff’s men away before half time in a game that probably should have been out of sight before the interval.
Jay Fulton put the Swans deservedly ahead after an encouraging high press start but Jack Taylor’s stunning strike gave Rushworth little chance before Conor Chaplin put Ipswich ahead five minutes later.
George Hirst scored a penalty after a ridiculous challenge by Harrison Ashby to all but end any hopes of a result before Cullen received a second yellow card (in reality it was again Ashby at fault).
Jamal Lowe netted deep into injury time in what could be considered a brave performance overall against a side with serious momentum but ultimately the long trip brought no points ahead of yet another boring international break.
Duff was forced to just a single change with Patino sitting out his one game suspension for that ridiculous red card against Sunderland allowing Fulton the opportunity to start.
Rushworth
Ashby – Darling – Humphreys – Tymon
Paterson – Grimes – Fulton
Cullen – Yates – Lowe
It was the Swans who surprised the home team with the high press from the front and after an enterprising start it was little more than we deserved as Fulton hit home after good work from Lowe.
And the spell of play was goof for fifteen minutes or so until Ipswich turned the screw and the game on its head as Taylor netted a stunning strike from beyond thirty yards. Little that Rushworth or the at times creaky backline could do to stop something like that.
Perhaps issue that will be of concern to the manager is the way the team crumbled quickly to the game becoming a one way traffic affair. There was little to stop the charge from Ipswich culminating in mistakes at the back from a young Swans defence.
It was a case of limiting the damage caused by wave after wave of Ipswich attacks with Humphreys at particular struggling and only Rushworth to thank for another two going in on the afternoon.
But it didn’t long for the second to come as the impressive Chaplin turned on the edge of the box and finished past the stranded Rusbworth for a leading goal.
In an increasingly inept refereeing performance a few strong challenges from the home team went unpunished as half time came with an opportunity for Duff to regroup his increasingly weary looking troops.
All those words quickly went out the window as Ashby conceded his second spot kick of the campaign and Hirst duly scored past Rushworth for three. Ironically thar was Ipswich’s first penalty award of the season, there should have been a bet on the eventual spot kick coming against us.
The Swans battled and probed in a bid to bring the scoreline a bit closer but despite good efforts the real chance went as Liam Cullen picked up a second booking for our second red xard in a week.
Grimes went down from a tough challenge late on with the manager and team looking worried on what was a tough day at the office in Suffolk.
Jamal Lowe netted a clinical late consolation as Swansea threatened a comeback but there was not enough time and unfortunately for Duff and his men it was zero points on the road.
It’s been a hard seven days for the Swans with two red cards and just a point to show from their efforts. Another painful international break and the Swans will hope for better momentum upon their return with a fixture against Hull City next up.
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At the moment we’re a below average side .We need our injured players back ,Cabango at centre half a new sharp midfielder and a striker.While we continue to play Cullen and Paterson we’ll be stuck in the bottom half of the table