Swansea City 1-2 Sheffield United – A tale of two halves for the Swans

Swansea City were beaten again this evening at the Swansea.com Stadium but it was very much a tale of two halves for the Swans who produced a very good first half only to see it all slip away in the second as the Blades left SA1 with three points in their pockets.

After the poor display against Cardiff last weekend there was much pressure on Luke Williams and his Swansea side that they could deliver at home after four games without a win in which we had shipped eleven goals into the bargain.

Williams bought back into the side Myles Peart-Harris and Florian Bianchini into the side that started on Saturday with Joe Allen and Jisung Eom dropping to the bench against a Blades side that arrived in SA1 knowing that they could return to the Championship summit with the right result.

The Swans started brightly.  Well, in reality by our standards we started very brightly with Liam Cullen maybe unlucky not to put us ahead inside two minutes.   A good move from Ronald down the left saw the winger square the ball for Cullen who hit the ball well but it was straight at Cooper in the visiting goal – maybe half a yard either side and the Swans would have had the dream start.

We didn’t have to wait long for the opening goal of the game though when Bianchini gave the Swans the lead with his first goal for the club.  A well delivered Matt Grimes free kick from the left was met with a header from Cabango and whilst Cooper got a good hand to it it just came to Bianchini who had the easiest tasks of heading into an empty net.   Even at that early stage it was what the Swans deserved.

And we continued to dominate the first half in what was an excellent first forty-five minutes for Luke Williams side.   Josh Tymon tested Cooper inside the first fifteen minutes as well and the Swans had registered four shots on target in that early period – more than we sometimes manage in a whole game.

There was always the feeling that Sheffield United looked dangerous on the break but the Swans were strong defensively and, for once, winning the ball back in midfield and very often turning that won ball into a quick attack.  Peart-Harris was having a very good game on the right hand side and the Swans were constantly looking to attack – both phrases that have not been used in abundance this season.  Indeed, Peart-Harris could have won the Swans a penalty as he seemed to be pulled back by Norrington-Davis in the area but the referee signalled no penalty when it certainly looked like the Swans man had been impeded.

As the game moved towards half time there were chances being created but the Swans were unable to convert them and you couldn’t help but wonder as the referee signalled the end of the opening 45 as if the missed chances would come back and haunt us, especially as the Blades were always likely to step their own game up in the second half.

As Chris Wilder sent his side out early for the second half he also made a triple substitution taking off Gilchrist, Harrington-Davis and Brooks and sending on Seriki, McCallum and Campbell in their place.   And just two minutes later he got his reward as Rhian Brewster hit home the equaliser with a shot that Vigouroux could only palm into the back of the net.   It was harsh on the Swans for the way they had played the first half but will also indicate why the Blades are dreaming of the Premier League again after their relegation last year.

If that was a bad start to the second half it got worse three minutes later when Harry Darling was shown a straight red card for a challenge on the halfway line.   Whilst Sheffield United were clearly incensed by the challenge, the replays suggested the defender was a little unlucky but you could see why the decision was made.   With the game now balanced, the Swans a man light and forty minutes plus to go what did the remainder of the game have in store.

Sheffield United could and should have been ahead just a few minutes later when Sam McCallum shot high and wide when free in the area and the collective sigh of relief could be heard around all parts of the Swansea support as all the good work of the first half threatened to disappear in the early stages of the second half.

Sydie Peck and Ronald were both booked around the hour mark for two separate tackles as the game was becoming more than a little stop start but also had that feeling that it could boil over at any point.   The Swans had adjusted slightly to the loss of Darling by replacing Cullen with Naughton and were definitely trying to hold on whilst the Blades certainly had in their sights the goal that they needed to move back to top place in the Championship.

The chance for that goal though was soon gifted to them by a dreadful defensive decision from Josh Key.   The defender turned his back on the ball as he let it bounce and as Tyrese Campbell looked to pounce Key took his legs from him and the referee was never going to do anything but point to the spot as a result.   Burrows needed no second invitation as he sent Vigouroux the wrong way from the spot.  All the good work of the first half was now behind us and there was still more than twenty minutes to go in the game.

The noise levels had increased in the Swansea.com with the home support very much critical of the referee but the penalty was stonewall and the red card was one that we would want given to the opposition and easy to see why it was given at the time.  As the clock ticked past seventy minutes it was Brewster who departed the field to be replaced by Brereton Diaz who re-joined the Blades on loan this week.  Not what the Swans wanted to see with the game slipping away from them.

The Blades almost wrapped up the points in the 80th minute when Vigouroux was called upon to make a good save from Campbell who had latched onto a pass to go slightly clear of the home defence and the stark reality of the second half was being highlighted by the Blades 60% possession and the Swans having no shots at all after the break.   It is easy in this game to put that down to being reduced to ten men after fifty minutes but we should not lose sight of the fact that we have found the net just nine times in twenty-eight second halves this season.   You can also see the difference between a mid table and a promotion chasing squad by the substitutes and the effective luxuries that Chris Wilder has available that are just not there for Luke Williams.

As the Swans prepared to introduce Sam Parker a free kick on the left was wasted by a ball that was too floated and too long for Tymon and that signalled the change as Peart-Harris made way for Parker.  It was all to make no difference though as the Blades were running out the clock with some ease against a side that seemingly had been beaten despite all the efforts of the first half.

The six minutes of stoppage time was never likely tonight to make a difference and whilst the Swans did what they could to try and push forward it was all an effort that was going to generate no results as Sheffield United held out for the three points they came here hunting for.

It is difficult to be too critical this evening for a defeat against the league leaders and the first half was as good as anything we have seen this season.  As we wondered though at half time, would the missed chances in the first half cost us dear and the answer was they did.   The first five minutes of the second half turned this game on its head and ultimately meant that strong first half performance will count for nothing as we left with no points again.

The biggest loss of tonight though will be a suspension for Harry Darling – surely now the move in the market for a centre half will be stepped up, especially as Andy told us how important the three games starting tonight were.

Disappointed but there were some positive on sight tonight and we haven’t said that much recently.

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