TRACTOR BOYS PUT THE BRAKES ON SWANS
SWANSEA City’s three-match unbeaten run came to an end as they fell to defeat against struggling Ipswich Town in an astonishing Liberty Stadium encounter.
The hosts had led in the ninth minute through Janoi Donacien’s own goal, and regularly created chances to extend their advantage.
However, two goals in four minutes via Swans old boy Gwion Edwards and a Mike van der Hoorn own goal ensured the hosts trailed at the break.
They look to have salvaged at least a point when Bersant Celina finished a length-of-the-field team move to level, but Trevor Chalobah’s header ensured it was the Tractor Boys who claimed a first victory of the season.
The result was harsh on the Swans, who enjoyed 74 per cent of possession and had some 15 efforts on goal, but they were taught a lesson of the need to be clinical when on top in games.
While defeat will be a major frustration – Swansea will play a lot worse than this and win – and it denied them a place in the play-off places heading into the international break, few among the home support could complain about the style and manner of the display.
The burgeoning development of the positive, possession game under manager Graham Potter continues to progress and there was a huge plus point in the form of Dan James who – on his first league start at the Liberty – was Swansea’s best player and a threat throughout.
Swansea had set the tone for the opening 25 minutes when they forced Dean Gerken into a save after just 13 seconds. James getting away a strike after Celina had charged down an attempted long ball.
The visitors responded with a chance of their own, Joe Rodon recovering superbly to deny Sears as Swansea waited for a flag that never came.
The Tractor Boys were more than happy to sit and try and counter, but Matthew Pennington – centre-back playing at right-back – was already having major problems with James and the opener came down that flank.
The winger’s cross was too strong for McBurnie, but Roberts retrieved and his low ball was turned into his own net by Donacien.
Swansea were in complete control and zipping the ball about at will.
Mike van der Hoorn glanced wide from a Matt Grimes corner, before the left-back’s smart pass saw James escape again only for the ball to just have too much for McBurnie.
The Wales Under-21 international was at it again in the 24th minute, teeing up Celina, who could only skew well wide.
Then, out of nothing, Ipswich levelled.
Kyle Naughton misjudged a long ball and Sears took advantage to put the ball on a plate for Edwards to smartly head home.
It was the first goal Swansea had conceded in 330 minutes, but it took just four minutes for another Ipswich goal to arrive.
Van der Hoorn was laboured in tracking back as Tom Carroll tried to fill in for him, and reacted too late to a fine Edwards cross and ended up finding the back of his own net in trying to deny Sears.
The Liberty was stunned, but Swansea quickly regrouped and it took a great save by Gerken to deny McBurnie, who had beaten his man with an exquisite turn following good work by Naughton and Celina.
The Kosovo international then looked set to send McBurnie in on goal, but his outside-of-the-foot pass was too strong.
It all meant that despite their 79 per cent share of possession, Swansea went in behind at the break with Potter sending on Joel Asoro for Naughton.
Straight away Joe Rodon had a
header blocked from a Grimes corner, with Celina firing over from a subsequent set-piece.
The home side’s pressure was sustained and Rodon smacked a header against the bar.
Potter introduced Leroy Fer for George Byers as Swansea’s need to commit numbers left them vulnerable to the counter.
Just past the hour and James again left his marker for dead, but there was a familiar tale as the final cross was agonisingly beyond McBurnie’s desperate slide.
Swansea rolled the dice once more, Barrie McKay replacing an out of sorts Van der Hoorn as they switched to a 3-2-4-1 set-up.
It nearly paid immediate dividends as McBurnie and McKay played in Celina, only for Town skipper Luke Chambers to get back and make a crucial inter- vention.
Time was beginning to run out when Swansea produced a goal for the ages to level matters.
There was some consternation when Fer laid the ball off to Kristoffer Nordfeldt in his own sixyard box, but when the Dutchman turned away from his marker after Grimes’ feed from near the corner flag, Swansea were in business.
Celina drove forward, evaded a tackler and drilled the ball into the bottom corner.
The game was now frenetic and end-to-end and there was more drama to come as the visitors won a corner and Chalobah rose highest to guide the ball beyond Nordfeldt into the bottom corner.
Then was one more chance for Asoro, but he fired wide from Carroll’s measured pass.