Phil Sumbler
The history books will tell you that Swansea City lost this game in the last minute but the reality of the situation is we lost the game because of our inability to create chances or score goals. Almost nine hours of football have passed since we last scored and that tells you as much as you need to know as the last minute Millwall winner does.
When you go into a game on the back of four consecutive outings without finding the back of the net it is fair to say that the pressure is mounting especially when you then add in the fact that poor performances will lead to poor crowds so it was therefore no real surprise to see the volumes of empty seats around the Swansea.com Stadium as the game kicked off.
Josh Key, Liam Cullen and Gonçalo Franco all returned to the starting line up from the eleven that started in midweek at Sheffield Wednesday but it made little difference in the early exchanges as the Swans randomly passed the ball about a lot in midfield but rarely looked like actually making any impact on the first forty-five minutes.
The kind of people who compile those “match centres” such as those seen on the official website must be loving the football that is served up by Luke Williams and his coaching staff as it means the “action” needs very little updating with both sides serving up a first half that was totally uninspiring to watch and certainly not one that either set of supporters will look back on with any fond memories when they think back on games gone by at the end of the season.
The Swans solitary shot on target was low and hard from outside the area and was easily dealt with by the Millwall keeper whilst Vigouroux was called into action once and dealt with any danger equally easily. A half-time score of 0-0 should not be a surprise to any Swans supporter given the current nature of the football that we serve up. Whilst much of the criticism for our current predicament can be aimed at the ownership and their frankly shambolic transfer dealings we cannot lose sight of the fact that the team is being coached to play negative football and negative football is what we are being served up.
Was the second half going to be any different? Well, it started brightly with a low ball into the area earning us an early corner whilst a hopeful Liam Cullen punt into the area caused more panic than it probably should have and was palmed away by a retreating Jensen in the Millwall goal.
The Swans made the first change of the game when Liam Cullen was taken off to be replaced by Joe Allen and as we headed into the last twenty minutes of the game the pattern was as similar as anything we have witnessed in the same month and the definition of insanity was certainly on the lips of a fair few people in the stand as the questions started as to whether we would ever score a goal.
Millwall’s response to our singular substitution was a triple one of their own which included the departure of one of the Swans summer targets Macaulay Langstaff and almost immediately the nature of the Swans football was summed up by a low ball from Peart-Harris which was as pathetically weak as it was completely ignored by the two Swans players in the area who just stood and watched as Millwall had the easiest job to clear the ball away. By this point the clock had ticked past five hundred minutes since the Swans last strike – a Liam Cullen goal against Bristol City at the end of September.
Josh Key came close to breaking the deadlock with just under fifteen minutes to go but his powerful shot was saved by Jensen – denying the Swans defender the honour of breaking that streak without a goal.
Luke Williams made a double substitution soon after with Franco and Vipotnik making way for Cooper and Bianchini and just a minute later Peart-Harris was presented with a clear chance on goal but he elected to trickle the ball at goal when the only call that should have been available was a powerful shot on target. Welcome to Swansea City and the 2024/25 variety. The stats will tell you it was a shot blocked but the reality of this moment was it was a pass to the defender that was easily cleared.
A free kick a minute later presented what was a very real chance of danger with Matt Grimes and Harry Darlig both over the ball. There was only ever one outcome in who was going to pull rank and take it and there was only ever one outcome from the free kick itself as Grimes gently hit the ball into the wall and yet again the keeper was left with nothing to do as the ball was cleared. Ten minutes remaining – were we going to be treated to the rare sight of the net having the ball in it?
With five minutes left there was no excuse at all for the Swans not taking the lead. A Matt Grimes ball into the area was met by the head of Bianchini who was totally unmarked in the six yard box but his header went pitifully wide and the chance wasn’t so much lost but totally wasted by a player who cost us plenty but is another example of our dreadful transfer dealings over the past few years.
The Swans were on the front foot and another panic was created by Ronald whose ball into the area looked as it may break for Bianchi but his touch was again soft and as the ball rebounded to Joe Allen it was well blocked by Jensen. The Swans were looking for a goal but to wait until the last ten minutes of the game sums up the negative manner in which we approach games.
Swansea City’s lack of goals were punished in the last minute of the game when the visitors took the lead with a goal that was as gifted to them as it was simple. A backpass from Grimes saw Vigoroux clear to the left but his ball was cut out by Azeez and as he ran into space his ball into the area was finished clinically by De Norre to pretty much seal the points for the visitors and ensure yet another poor afternoon from a Swans side who are destined to have a long hard fight ahead of them this season.
There will be no surprise to learn that there was no action of note in the four minutes of stoppage time – a Matt Grimes free kick i the third of the four was as easily dealt with as anything that we provided during the course of the afternoon and as the final whistle sounded at the Swansea.com Stadium the frustration of the crowd was clear to hear, well from those that were left in the ground anyway.
Five games and seventy five minutes since we last scored a goal and this is a team that is not just in decline but has gradually declined systematically over the past few years and is now paying the price for a poor transfer policy, a severe lack of funds being used where it matters most and the complete ignoring of our requirement to get in players who can score goals.
This is simply not good enough – eight goals in twelve matches tells you exactly that. If the talk after the game again is about domination then the desire to change the definition of this word will overspill because whilst possession is clearly our dominant area it is possession without a purpose and without pace, creativity or goals then it means nothing. And ultimately that is what we got out of today.
Worrying times.
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