S25/26 | The Official Match Thread | Swansea City 1 Portsmouth 0 | Att: 18,163 | 09/12/25 | The EFL Championship | The Swansea.com Stadium

[Muteswan]

Some random thoughts from your Spanish correspondent, freezing his nuts off tonight in the Swansea com stadium.
This was a tense, tense match played between two teams desperate for points. You could feel the tension from minute one. Pompey came primarily for a point, and hoping for more via a fluke or mistake. They slowed the game down at every opportunity, and fouled relentlessly, aided and abetted by yet another blind ref. Where does the EFL get them from?
Our players:
Vig 7 - competent, classy, didn't have to do too much.
Galbraith 8 - the boy oozes class in everything he does, how did we manage to sign him?
Cabango 6 - got caught out once or twice tonight, could have had red for one poor rugby tackle foul, but put a shift in.
Burgess 7 - good solid defending, nothing fancy, nothing dangerous
Tymon 8 - another gem of ours, put in a great display despite receiving some cynical fouls
Stamenic 8 - gutsy display, really got stuck in breaking up attacks, he's a big unit and one or two Pompey players felt his wrath tonight, like a bulldozer on steroids
Franco 6 - a little bit anonymous
Widdell 5 - the boy tries hard but it's not quite clicking for him at the moment, he's losing possession and losing 50/50 battles too often for me
Ronald 6 - as I've said often, he is SO frustrating. Gets into good positions so many times then f*cks it up. Doesn't hide though, puts a shift in
Eom 7 - he's a bit lightweight sometimes in physical battles but he's got talent and a football brain. Lovely right foot which is going to score goals this season
Idah 5 - is it him or is it lack of service? We were counting in the stand, it took him 18 minutes before he had his first touch of the ball. He drifts around like a ghost, doing f*ck all, he has no presence in the match. He needs to change, or we need to get rid.
Subs
Vip 7 - when he came on, you immediately felt we had a threat up front. Worked his socks off but got no clear cut opportunities
Cullen 8 - been highly critical of him lately but he made a massive contribution tonight. A sweet and oh so valuable goal, and he worked hard for the team
Yalcouye 6 - was looking for the ball but didn't get much of it, he worked relentlessly though. This boy has class and he will contribute more
Inoussa 6 - didn't see much of the ball but looked threatening, gave Pompey something to worry about on their left. Outrageous foul on him in last few minutes
Casey 7 - looked solid when he came on, good defender, certainly gives fresh legs to our defence in last ten minutes

Vic Tomato 9 - I like the way he sets the team up, motivates them and uses subs effectively. Fantastic.

This was an invaluable victory and a gritty performance. And to all the trolls on here tonight, go f*ck yourselves! We got another three points and another clean sheet! STID

Excellent review. Safe journey home.

 

[Jackareme]

I think a lot of posters have unreasonabe expectations. Winning championship games is hard, winning by multiple goals even harder.
This is why there is about 12 points between the relegation zone and the play offs.
Edging close games is the difference between the top and bottom. Togetherness and confidence carry average teams a long way. Luckily we are gradually developing reserves of both, and we will be able to give every team a game.
Kudos to VM -we are way more competitive after only 1 week and with none of his assistant coaches to help.

 

[Treehuggerjack]

Very True. Idah Position wasn't great at times. No rant from me about him as no point at moment. I just want wins and we evaluate we're we are at and get safety. Who knows if he was a good signing or not.

I feel the same now as I felt about vipi last year. Idah is irritating me at the moment but I hope he turns into another vipi but with slightly different attributes

 

[Treehuggerjack]

Excellent review. Safe journey home.

Great write up

 

[Ronald Parp]

Only had a quick flick through here and not seen any footage of the game. So what's the summary, an ugly but vital win?

Not even really ugly, just lacking quality. I’m sure everyone is delighted with the points so you can ignore the super fans berating those commenting on the rubbish game in real time. Some okay moments, good subs by the manager at the right times, now it’s time for the players to step up and show what they’re made of. Job done.

 

[Dr. Winston]

Yalcouye looked lively to me. Give him a chance had he come on earlier i think we would have seen the best of him. Definitely should be in the matchday squad

I liked the way he and Inoussa appeared to have set up a "shortarsed substitute" pairing and teamed up on a number of players to hassle them off the ball. Both players have earned themselves more game time. Inoussa especially should be getting some of the game time that Ronald is.

 

[Cooperman]

Not even really ugly, just lacking quality. I’m sure everyone is delighted with the points so you can ignore the super fans berating those commenting on the rubbish game in real time. Some okay moments, good subs by the manager at the right times, now it’s time for the players to step up and show what they’re made of. Job done.

This is two consecutive games where the subs have delivered a positive impact. I’ve no idea when we last said that.

 

[BendJack]

I think a lot of posters have unreasonabe expectations. Winning championship games is hard, winning by multiple goals even harder.
This is why there is about 12 points between the relegation zone and the play offs.
Edging close games is the difference between the top and bottom. Togetherness and confidence carry average teams a long way. Luckily we are gradually developing reserves of both, and we will be able to give every team a game.
Kudos to VM -we are way more competitive after only 1 week and with none of his assistant coaches to help.

You're absolutely right! Edging is tough - especially when you're in the zone!

 

[jack_lord]

Pego summed up my thoughts. What was bizarre was that there was some kind of expectant atmosphere/buzz that we would score when Vip came on.

 

[Copamundial]

It’s pretty obvious to me that some contributors to this forum are the type who’ve got Swansea City wallpaper, bedding, curtains, PJ’s, slippers the lot.

They simply fail to have any balance in their posts, I’ll be delighted if we pick up another thirty points irrespective of how we play but please don’t try and tell me that there are
signs of improvement in how we’re playing.

 

[LeonWasTheDogs]

I think a lot of posters have unreasonabe expectations. Winning championship games is hard, winning by multiple goals even harder.
This is why there is about 12 points between the relegation zone and the play offs.
Edging close games is the difference between the top and bottom. Togetherness and confidence carry average teams a long way. Luckily we are gradually developing reserves of both, and we will be able to give every team a game.
Kudos to VM -we are way more competitive after only 1 week and with none of his assistant coaches to help.

Most teams in this division are well organised and Pompey were no exception. They seemed better off the ball than Oxford were and effectively closed off our passing lines. Of course then it was down to us to find a way around/through them and we didn’t move the ball quickly enough to be a threat first half. A bit better 2nd half and the subs gave us more energy and helped us get up the pitch quicker.

What pleased me was we stayed patient and kept chipping away. Just a few weeks ago we’d have given up and lost our shape. We’ve got a bit more desire and energy about us too. I don’t want to read too much into wins against ‘only’ Oxford and Portsmouth, but there are some early good signs. I still think we lack the individual quality to threaten the better sides though.

 

[monmouth]

Only had a quick flick through here and not seen any footage of the game. So what's the summary, an ugly but vital win?

Yep. Not one for the purists but thoroughly engaging as a contest, won by a superb goal from a player that when he came on my heart sank . He did the business alright and deserves plaudits for it.

 

[monmouth]

You cant be watching very well the signs are there some passages of nice triangles, more effort to get players into the box and the nimbers you quotd show improvement Xg up by.05,total big chances doubled from 3 to 6....I wonder are you relates to Sheehan?
Nice guy but should never had the full time gig
Watch the inside Swans videos of Sheehan and Matos ,Their approaches in the dressing room are chalk and cheese.

Its still early days ffor Matos,he was unlucky with his first 2 games but we have just secured our first back to back wins this season and we no longer look like we are going to concede a last minute goal.
To me we look a better watch than earlier this season and we appear to be developing a pattern of play.
But then we all have our own opinions

I agree totally. Baby steps and Matos explains exactly that in his comments. First thing is togetherness, then solidity and work to come to improve with the ball and hurt teams in different ways. The poster you are replying to is a new account WUM, so I'd take no notice.

 

[SwanseaBoy123]

Im curious. And this is a genuine question. What is it that is making you feel uneasy? Yes, we have not gotten rid of bad habits and we still might have an off day. But considering the time Matos has been with us, what is it 2 weeks and 1 week of full training, he has shown more identity and passion in the team than Sheehan had all season. And Matos has literally arrived without any of his backroom staff. Your not gonna suddenly erase all bad habits from players overnight. Its gonna take time. Imagine we will sit deep here or there or not get into certain areas. But it's clear we are showing signs of improvement. Ignore the results for a second. We are pressing and making the teams have no time. More aggressive off the ball too. It will take time but there are improvements.

He mentioned against West Brom that we sat too deep in the 2nd half, but then he's brought a CB on at home to see a game out twice now. What message does that send to the players?

Attacking from open play there is absolutely nothing again especially against 2/3 weakest sides in the league at home.

I touched on the underlying number in my other post and they are very similar to Sheehans last 4 games.

 

[jackharris]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1998689550114197971