We stood up to be counted

Steve Cooper would have been a happy man last night having watched his side deliver a good performance to bring a 1-0 lead back to the Liberty in their play-off semi-final against Barnsley.

Andre Ayew’s first half goal proved to be the difference between the two sides on the night but, in an entertaining game, the Swans were strong defensively with some excellent performances at the back keeping a dangerous looking home side at bay.

So it was little wonder that after the game, Cooper was talking up his team and saying that they stood up to be counted, something that they did during the ninety minutes and will now look to complete the job at the Liberty on Saturday.

The Swans had to withstand some intense Barnsley pressure particularly at the start of the second half but they did it well and a perfect game plan saw them slow down the play the longer the game went on to nullify the threat from the Tykes.

Speaking after the game, Cooper said “I am pleased with the effort tonight,

“We knew what the game would be, we felt it would go a certain way and away from home you have to respect that and stand up to it and match it.

“I thought we did that. We got a real moment of excellence with Andre’s goal and we managed to continue to be strong defensively.

“We could have shown a bit more quality on the ball at times, but I get it, the fans were back in tonight and there was a good atmosphere.

“Barnsley are a difficult team to play against with the way they play and there is that psychological thing where you are trying to protect the lead a little bit.

“We did that, there were not many chances in the game and it was a night where you had to be prepared to fight for everything.

“Freddie made some good saves, Marc and Ben – two 20-year-olds – were excellent at the back and have a great role model in Ryan Bennett.

“It was just a good effort from the boys, it was not a typical Swansea game but you have to respect that and you have to deal with it.

“Andre has then made the difference and we know he can do that, we’ve seen it plenty of times.”