Swansea City made hard work of their game against relegation threatened Huddersfield Town who came to the Swansea.Com Stadium with a clear plan to spoil the game. Despite those tactics football eventually won the day but it took a deflected shot from Ryan Manning to take all the points.

The Swans dominated throughout most of the game and had numerous chances to put the game beyond any doubt in the first half. With Jamie Paterson starting and Olivier Ntcham again providing the muscle in midfield the Terriers looked uncertain and unsure throughout this contest. The soft touches around the visitors box presented numerous chances and if there was any frustration it would be the lack of shots on goal. Matt Grimes, Jamie Paterson, Nathan Wood ( below ) and Ryan Manning all had shooting opportunities in the first half. Ben Cabango had a header bounce back off the post and Liam Cullen failed to react to the rebound. It wasn’t an easy chance but he will be disappointed with his effort.

The only real sign of danger came shortly after when Jaheim Headley found himself in space after a flick on but he failed to control his shot and it sailed over the bar. The half was pretty much all Swansea but some of the passing it has to be said was lethargic and slow. It most certainly allowed Huddersfield to regroup and face up to any Swansea threat. It could or should have been at least two goals up for the Swans at the break but there seemed to be a lack of effort about the side after three games in eight days.

The second half saw Ollie Cooper enter the fray with Luke Cundle and this inspired the home side to press on and look for that crucial goal. Cooper was sharp and busy, and when Morgan Whittaker came on the Swans looked much more like a side who could win the game. Morgan does have a lazy style about him and at times he almost looks like he is out of sorts but he shook up the Swansea attack almost immediately. Taking the game by the scruff of the neck he had a shot that flashed just wide as did the much lamented Joel Latibeaudiere. Cooper came close as well as the Swans slipped in to gear.

The winning goal came from Ryan Manning on seventy minutes, a snap shot which hit a Huddersfield defender before spinning beyond Terriers keeper Vaclik. As much as the Swansea faithful want the Irishman to stay he has several offers that far outweigh anything the Swans can offer unfortunately. His dynamism and flexibility to play in numerous positions will be sorely missed next season.

It was a deserved win for sure, Huddersfield looked happy to escape without a drubbing after an impressive run of results. A delighted Swansea head coach Russell Martin praised his team for their patience post match. “The patience we showed in the game, I think if we have a little bit more composure and calm in the first half, we could have more opportunities. But I love the fact the lads were relentless in the second half. It's very difficult against a team who go man-to-man and leave very little space. It becomes about how hard you work in your position and there was loads of good stuff. In this sort of game, if you score early, it changes the way the game looks, but we weren't able to do that. We said it half-time, we have to stay patient and show a bit more care with the ball, not get anxious and the lads did that and the work they put into Huddersfield meant the longer the game went on the more it was in our favour.”

The Swans line up against Preston this Wednesday evening with a 7.45pm kick off and that for sure will be the hardest test in this block of games. More on that game later today.

Swansea City: Fisher; 7 Latibeaudiere, 4 Cabango, 6 Wood, 6 Manning; 7 (MOM) Grimes (C), 6 Fulton 6 (Cundle 59), 6 Ntcham 6 (Cooper 46), 6 Paterson 5 (Whittaker 59); 6 Piroe 6 (Allen 85), 5 Cullen 5 (Darling 80). 5

Subs not used: Sondegaard, Naughton.

Goal: Manning 70

Yellow cards: 🟨 Fulton 5, Cabango 11, Piroe 38, Fisher 90+5

Huddersfield Town: Vaclik; Pearson, Lees, Helik, Headley (Ruffels 73); Hogg (C), Edmonds-Green (Waghorn 84), Rudoni; Kasumu (Koroma 73), Ward, Diarra (Simpson 73).

Subs not used: Bilokapic, Jackson, Lowton.

Yellow cards: 🟨 Hogg 43, Rudoni 90

Attendance: 16,686

Referee: Matthew Donohue : 5/10 : Strangely keen to book the home sides players. Only discipline thereafter saved a red.

Photographs with permission Swansea City AFC

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