Olivier Ntcham may have taken your votes on Monday night as man of the match but the player himself said afterwards that the game was an opportunity for everyone to show what they could do and restore some confidence back in the camp.
That last few words of the previous paragraph may just be confidence back amongst the fanbase as the confidence in the camp never really seemed in doubt and whilst Ntcham, Piroe and Christie may have stolen the headlines it was a good all round team performance that saw us leave the Hawthorns on Monday night with all three points.
From a defensive line that stood firm against a West Brom side definitely devoid in confidence to a midfield that fought for every ball – none so much demonstrated by a great ball win from Wolf on the edge of our own area that started the move that led to Piroe’s opener.
It is the kind of performances that the Swans will need to see in the next two home games as we wait to see how we fare against two promotion chasing sides in Coventry and Fulham who both visit the Swansea.com stadium in the next few days as the games continue to arrive on a frequent basis.
Midweek/weekend clashes are the norm at the moment – at least up until the international break – as the Swans look to put together a run of form for the remainder of the season that will set them in stead for a season that, by Martin’s own admission, should be very different next time around.
From Ntcham’s point of view he is just happy that the Swans can show what they are capable of especially away from SA1 where results – and performances – had certainly been below par prior to Monday night.
“I think it was good for the team. We haven’t had great results away from home, so that was good to show how we want to play,” Ntcham told the official website.
“That game was an opportunity for everyone to show what they can do. I’m really happy with the result.
“We showed a lot of togetherness. The manager asks us to do stuff in training and it all went really well in that game, and we played the way we want to play.
“That was a good reaction to the previous games, for us to get a clean sheet.
“I think the clean sheet was really important for the confidence of the lads, the coaches and for everybody.
“The fans were so loud – it sounded like there were thousands of them.”