The Swans need to just start winning football games right now since they fell to a strong team once more.
Swansea City, who suffered a disheartening 2-1 loss to Ipswich Town at the Swansea.com Stadium, have still yet to win a league game at home under Luke Williams.
The visitors won the match thanks to goals from Nathan Broadhead and Conor Chaplin, the latter of whom scored just after Jerry Yates had leveled the score.
Following yet another painful day for the Swans, these are some of the main talking points that emerged.
Swansea’s weaknesses on defense exposed once more
Despite all the encouraging indicators of development in recent weeks, Swansea’s defensive statistics right now are truly very concerning.
Under Williams, the Swans have given up a staggering 20 goals in nine games in all competitions.
In addition to being a very concerning number in and of itself, that number is only nine short of the total number of goals given up in the 21 games played under Michael Duff.
Only Rotherham United and Blackburn Rovers have let up more goals overall this season.
Of course, there are limitations to this. They have faced four teams seeking for promotion to the Premier League and one Premier League team in those nine games under Williams. It’s perhaps appropriate to mention that this is a squad trying to adjust to a new football style.
Additionally, a number of important players from Williams’ defense group have sustained injuries. Specifically, Josh Key has been a major loss.
However, the caliber of some of the defense that has been seen in recent weeks is still unacceptable. Yes, they have faced some excellent teams, but Swansea has occasionally been too vulnerable due to a worrying lack of resiliency.
The Swans are only four points above the relegation zone, so it seems like we’re quickly nearing the time when words about improvement and positivity have to give way to tangible outcomes.
A fixture list provides some solace.
It’s possible that Swansea’s recent brutal run of games against the top teams in the Championship has slightly distorted the view of their present situation.
It has undoubtedly made Swans supporters’ recent run of six losses in seven games across all competitions a bit easier to take. Overall, though, they have been inspired by how their club has battled against the top teams in this league.
Well, the squad doesn’t have many points to show for it, but Williams could think that’s enough to defeat some of the weaker teams, many of which are now lurking.
Until the conclusion of the season, Swansea really still have to face all six of the clubs below them.
Regarding the next games, Williams stated, “I look at the games we have played against the teams who are not in the top four and we had a really good chance to win those games.”
“I have no doubt that if we raise our game, we have a great chance to win games before the season ends.”
Swans supporters get what they want.
The loudest applause of the afternoon from the Jack Army, aside from Yates’ goal, may have come from the appearance of substitute Mykola Kuharevich, who was given an opportunity to play after starting the previous four games on the bench.
If we’re being really honest, he didn’t really make much of an effect other from a misdirected header. However, expecting too much from a guy who has just played 11 minutes of Championship football since October may be a bit unrealistic.
It’s unclear how much this cameo will add to or lessen the recent uproar from fans. It did appear to split a lot of supporters, in fact.
However, it is obvious that Williams will benefit from some early competition as he attempts to chart a path to more stable footing in the Championship standings.
When questioned about the Ukrainian’s performance, he responded, “He worked hard for the team and maybe had a couple of half-chances.” “I need to watch back more and see the actions he made, the movements he made and how I can assess the performance better.”
Burns jeers at Jack Army.
One could have assumed Kieffer Moore would be the most likely antagonist for the Jack Army given his recent success.
When the striker returned to South Wales, he was met with an expected cold reception and spent a significant portion of the afternoon being reminded of his affiliation with Cardiff City.
However, Wes Burns, his Wales teammate, was ultimately the one who seemed to launch war on the locals.
After coming off the bench and hitting the post deep into stoppage time, Burns was oddly spotted with an Ayatollah at full time, celebrating his team’s triumph.
Burns does have a link to Swansea’s adversaries, having begun his career there as a young player, even though it wasn’t exactly what many would have put on their bingo card for the day. Not to mention that he was born and reared in the nation’s capital.
I guess his actions make a bit more sense now that I know that.
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