Derby County 2–0 Swansea City: Control Without Cutting Edge Costs Swans Again

Swansea City were beaten on the road again this afternoon in another performance where you would say our general play was enough to take at least a point back to South Wales but when you have multiple shots on goal but none of them really threatening to score a goal it was an afternoon where the stats told a different story to the reality.

For all our possession this was one of those games where our lack of goalscoring prowess (Vipotnik aside) shone through and the inability of many of our midfielders to find the right pass at the right time was there.

The positives of our recent form remain and the Swans are not a bad side overnight but what this match showed was that any thoughts that we have of the play-offs is way off as this is not a play off chasing squad and will need additional reinforcements in the summer if we are to deliver any of the ambition that the owners are said to have.

First Half: Swans dominate but unable to penetrate

Swansea City walked off at half time at Pride Park knowing they had controlled almost every meaningful part of the opening 45 minutes, even if the scoreboard refused to show it. This was a half defined by authority, patience and a growing sense that Vitor Matos has built a side that understands exactly what it wants to be. The only thing missing was the finish.

The tone was set almost immediately. Swansea made just one change from the side that dismantled Sheffield Wednesday a week earlier, with Jisung Eom stepping in and Gustavo Nunes dropping to the bench. Even with Andy Fisher and Jay Fulton also among the substitutes after signing new deals, there was no sense of disruption. The Swans settled into their rhythm straight away, moving the ball with confidence while Derby barely had a touch in the opening exchanges. The away end sensed it too, their noise matching the team’s early composure.

If Derby were going to threaten, it was only because Swansea allowed them to. Ben Cabango twice conceded soft free kicks on the edge of the area, the sort of needless fouls that invite trouble. The second of them forced Lawrence Vigouroux into a sharp low save from Ward, but even then the Swans scrambled clear and reset without panic. Derby’s best ideas came from dead balls and even those felt improvised rather than incisive.

In open play, Swansea were miles ahead. Ronald, lively and direct, repeatedly found pockets of space and asked questions of Derby’s full‑backs. One early cross was too high to trouble Vickers, but it was a warning of what was coming. The real spark, though, came from the left. Josh Tymon was outstanding, winning possession, driving forward and linking beautifully with Franco and Eom. One flowing move saw Tymon break from deep, feed Franco and watch Eom meet the resulting cross on the volley, only for Ward to block what looked a goalbound strike. It was the first moment Derby’s fans shifted uneasily in their seats.

The Swans’ midfield dominance grew with every minute. Franco, in particular, was relentless. He pressed, pinched the ball, and kept Swansea moving with purpose. Matos’ philosophy was clear: when Swansea went forward, they went forward with intent, runners everywhere, angles constantly shifting. It was football with clarity. It was football with belief. As the document puts it, “when we go forward we seem to go forward with purpose and there is plenty of movement from the team.”

Chances followed. Liam Cullen curled a free kick just wide from 25 yards, Vipotnik almost punished a dreadful back pass from Clarke, and Eom delivered a gorgeous free kick that Vipotnik was inches away from glancing in. On another day, the Slovenian’s touch finds the corner and Swansea are celebrating. Instead, the ball flashed past and Derby breathed again.

Derby’s frustrations began to show. Ronald was fouled twice in quick succession, challenges that might have drawn cards under a stricter referee. Agyemang eventually went into the book for a lunge on Stamenic, who later picked up a yellow of his own that will see him suspended for the Bristol City match. But the pattern of the game never changed. Swansea kept the ball, kept the pressure on and kept Derby pinned back. At one point, possession was over 75 percent in Swansea’s favour, a statistic that reflected exactly what the eyes were telling you.

Derby’s only real moment in open play came when Brereton Diaz broke through, but the flag was up before Vigouroux made the save anyway. It summed up their half: half‑chances, half‑threats, nothing that truly unsettled a Swansea side in control.

The Swans finished the half as they had played most of it, working the ball wide, delivering dangerous crosses and keeping Derby guessing. Ronald fizzed one ball across the box that just evaded Eom, and Tymon’s later delivery fell to Stamenic, who dragged his shot wide. The goal never came, but the intent never faded.

When the whistle went, it was Derby who trudged off relieved. Swansea had been the better side by a distance. They hadn’t forced Vickers into a save, but they had dictated everything else. Matos will have walked down the tunnel knowing his team were close. Very close. The performance was there. The control was there. The only thing missing was the moment to match it.

Second Half: Swans lack of creativity costs them dear

Swansea City walked out for the second half at Pride Park knowing they had controlled the opening 45 minutes, yet within two minutes the entire tone of the afternoon shifted. Derby, who had barely laid a glove on the Swans before the break, came out with purpose and won an early corner. What followed was the kind of gut punch that has become all too familiar on the road. The delivery caused chaos, the first header was blocked by Galbraith, and the ball dropped kindly for Rhian Brewster. Of all people. The former Swansea striker needed only to swing a boot and Derby had the lead. After dominating the first half, it felt like a cruel twist, and you could sense the frustration ripple through the away end.

To their credit, the Swans didn’t fold. Ronald won a free kick moments later and Eom’s delivery caused enough trouble for Vipotnik to flick it on, with Stamenic stretching to meet the loose ball. He couldn’t generate the power he needed and Vickers gathered easily. Replays showed Stamenic had strayed offside from the initial cross, but the flag stayed down. It summed up the afternoon. Even when something broke our way, it didn’t quite break enough.

Galbraith then had a free kick in a promising position but struck it straight into the wall. Another half-chance gone. Yet the Swans kept pushing. Tymon’s corners were dangerous, the build-up play was patient, and the intent was there. What was missing was the spark. Derby were organised, disciplined, and increasingly comfortable defending their box. For all our possession, they were rarely stretched.

As the hour mark approached, it felt inevitable that Matos would turn to his bench. The game needed fresh legs and fresh ideas. Before the changes arrived, Galbraith tried his luck from distance, but the deflection didn’t fall kindly and the offside flag went up anyway. It was that kind of afternoon.

Nunes and Walta entered the fray on 65 minutes, positive substitutions that signalled Matos’ intent to chase the game. But just as the Swans looked to build momentum, Derby struck again. Another corner, another header, another moment that left Swansea players appealing in vain. Agyemang rose unchallenged and powered the ball past Vigouroux. The bigger question was whether the corner should have stood at all, with the Swans keeper appearing to be impeded in the build-up. Nothing was given. Derby had their second. And Swansea had a mountain to climb.

The scoreline felt harsh. Even Derby fans would have admitted that. But football doesn’t reward possession or territory. It rewards moments, and Derby had taken theirs. Swansea, for all their tidy play, had not.

The second goal drained the energy from the Swans. The crisp movement of the first half faded and the belief seemed to ebb away. Walta fired high and wide. Nunes tried to inject life into the left flank and forced Vickers into his first meaningful save of the afternoon with a curling effort. It was a reminder of what Swansea were capable of, but it came far too late.

Matos made further changes, bringing on Yalcouye and Widdell, and later Fulton, but Derby were in full game-management mode. They slowed the tempo, broke up play, and made substitutions designed to shut the door completely. Swansea probed but never truly threatened. Crosses were cleared, shots were blocked, and every loose ball seemed to fall to a Derby shirt.

Cabango, one of the few Swansea players who could leave the pitch with real credit, made two vital interventions to prevent Derby adding a third. Vigouroux also produced a sharp save from a downward Agyemang header, though he looked less convincing moments later when he misjudged a strike from Banel and had to scramble to push it behind.

By the time six minutes of added time were announced, the contest had long since drifted away. The Swans had run out of ideas and Derby were content to see out a win that keeps their play-off hopes alive. A late free kick from wide on the right was wasted, much like so many promising positions throughout the afternoon.

The final whistle confirmed a 2–0 defeat that will sting not because Derby were the better footballing side, but because Swansea had enough of the ball to make something happen and never did. The lack of creativity that has haunted the club for years resurfaced at the worst possible time. One decent effort from Nunes aside, Vickers had a quiet afternoon.

There were positives. The first half control. The work rate. The intent. But once again, away from home, Swansea came up short. And until they find a way to turn possession into genuine threat, afternoons like this will continue to slip away from them.

Wrapping Up: We know our shortcomings and they were all there today

As was said right at the beginning of the report we have been a goal shy squad for several years now and nothing really has changed this season.   Vitor Matos has done a great job to steer us away from the trouble at the bottom of the table but whilst the optimists will have told you at the start of the day that the Swans were just five points off the play offs, the distance between the squad and the top six is much bigger than that.

We will end the season likely around the sixty point mark which is more than enough to suggest that we have strong foundations for next season but for all our recruitment we don’t have many goals in this squad outside of the main man up front.  Until that is changed then we will have more seasons like this one.

It will be another afternoon where we will be hearing about a familiar story but the result at the end of the game was reflective of the fact that the match pattern showed that Derby made their chances look dangerous and forced our defence to think and our keeper to take action and we didn’t.

And that is why we return to South Wales empty handed once again.

This article first appeared on JACKARMY.net.