Phil Sumbler
The Swans may have been made to wait until the last twenty minutes of the game to grab the goals to get the three points at Huddersfield but Luke Williams was keen to point out it showed a ruthless side to his team the way they scored four in that twenty minute spell.
Goals from Jamal Lowe, Ronald, Jerry Yates and Liam Walsh were the statistics that showed the domination of the Swans at the end of the game as they not just grabbed a goal but they pushed on for more and could easily have had at least another one before the final whistle as the pressure increased on the home side who now have just two games to save their Championship status.
For periods of the game it looked like another one of those games may pass by where the Swans have masses of possession but fail to show an attacking prowess but that final burst as the Swans turned on the style turned a sixty-eight percent possession statistic into something more meaningful with nineteen shots at goal seven of which were on target.
It is worth though also reflecting on action at the other end where the home side failed to extract a save from Carl Rushworth in the Swansea goal leaving them facing a massive fixture next week against Birmingham where defeat will send them down to League One with a week of the season still to spare.
The win gave the Swans a third successive league win and with fifty-six points now on the board the relegation fears that were rife a few weeks ago seem a distant memory and closing in on a sixty point tally that would be a more than reasonable return given the trials and tribulations of what has been the worst season for some time in SA1.
It was little wonder then that Williams was full of praise for his team at the end of the game as he made his post match comments “I think it was the attitude and the approach to the game by the players that really gave us victory in what was actually a really tough game,” said the Swans boss.
“I thought the opposition were excellent really. They’re fighting so hard for their club and we knew this was going to be a really, really tough game.
“Of course, when we make the breakthrough, it’s difficult for them because they need to push really hard to get back on level terms and maybe this left more space at the top of the pitch and we capitalised on that.
“But that’s what you need to do, you need to be ruthless in football, and we showed that side today.
“The opposition and the fans made a hostile atmosphere, but we stood up to that, we played football calmly, but we still had the aggression there to compete and that’s why it’s a good day.
“Defensively, I’m so happy, I’m delighted, the way the boys put their bodies on the line. They did everything that is good about defending. They stood up, didn’t turn their backs, blocked shots, put their bodies there to be in the correct position before things happen.
“I’m so happy with that. There’s a few players in this Huddersfield side that I’ve worked with and I know the quality they have, so for them not to have a shot on target against us … that’s two games in a row the opposition hasn’t had a shot on target, and I respect them so much for that.
“To be able to achieve that in back-to-back Championship games is some achievement.”
