HURT AT HOME AGAIN FOR THE SORRY SWANS
SWANSEA City suffered their fourth home league defeat of the campaign as Jed Wallace’s sublime free-kick ensured Millwall left the Liberty Stadium with all three points.
Steve Cooper’s men were worryingly lacklustre against the Lions and desperately struggled to create clearcut chances throughout the contest.
And they were made to pay as Jed Wallace struck home from 20 yards out in the second half to secure a first away win of the campaign for Gary Rowett’s troops.
Having collected seven of the last nine points on offer, Cooper resisted the urge to make any changes to the squad he selected against Cardiff City, Wigan Athletic and Sheffield Wednesday prior to the international break.
The visitors made two changes from their 2-1 win over Charlton Athletic, with Wales international Tom Bradshaw – top scorer for the Lions with seven goals – being the surprise omission as Rowett opted for a more defensively-minded starting XI.
But they were almost undone after just 80 seconds as Andre Ayew drilled into the box from the left, although Nathan Dyer was unable to adjust his feet to nudge the ball goalwards.
However, the away side’s tactical tweak certainly made life more difficult for the Swans when they got into the final third as they struggled to break down the Lions’ stubborn defence.
Swansea’s usual slick style deserted them early on, with plenty of routine passes failing to find the target.
And while the visitors were clearly set up to defend well, they caused problems at the other end.
Jon Dadi Bodvarsson sent a header wide before Freddie Woodman made a stunning one-handed save to keep out a Murray Wallace header, although the Millwall man was offside anyway.
Cooper’s men slowly improved and started to find gaps further up the pitch, although they continued to be the victims of their own downfall, with George Byers and Matt Grimes among those to be guilty of cheaply conceding possession.
Bersant Celina took it upon himself to try and make something happen, with the Kosovan curling an effort into the grateful arms of Bartosz Bialkowski on the half-hour mark.
But both sides had big chances soon after, with Ayew’s drilled effort being punched away by Bialkowski before Ben Wilmot threw himself in front of Connor Mahoney’s shot as Millwall broke at the other end.
Rowett’s men continued to cause problems on Swansea’s left flank, with Mahoney forcing Woodman into a smart stop with his legs before Jed Wallace drilled the follow-up effort inches over the bar.
And Cooper could be forgiven for having a few choice words with his players at the interval.
The head coach sent on Kristoffer Peterson in place of Wayne Routledge, and the hosts started the second half on the front foot, with Dyer’s drilled cross being cleared away from the six-yard box.
Grimes then had an effort deflected over as Swansea won a succession of corners.
The clearest opening fell to Byers, who shot from the edge of the box, although Peterson was not impressed as he was in space inside the area.
Bodvarsson fired over on the turn at the other end before Woodman made a routine save to keep out Jed Wallace’s header.
But it was substitute Peterson who created something out of nothing just after the hour mark as he spun his marker before prodding at goal, although Bialkowski had raced off his line to make a vital block.
The home fans – as well as Swansea’s coaching staff – were livid moments later as referee Andy Davies awarded Millwall a free-kick 20 yards out after Mike van der Hoorn tangled with Jed Wallace.
And the Millwall man stepped up himself to take it, drilling the effort into the top-right hand corner with just 25 minutes left on the clock.
Cooper responded by sending on Borja Baston and Sam Surridge, with Dyer and Celina making way.
Swansea dominated possession late on, but they desperately struggled to create any clear-cut openings.
And it was Millwall who almost went two up as Woodman denied Jiri Skalek before Mahlon Romeo’s deflected strike sailed over.
The hosts did have one final chance though as Surridge played Borja through on goal, but the Spaniard’s dinked effort bounced just wide as Swansea suffered yet another miserable home loss, with their threegame unbeaten run coming to an end in the process.
It means Swansea have now failed to win their first match after an international break for the third time this season.
Cooper’s men take on Huddersfield Town on Tuesday night before hosting Fulham at the Liberty three days later.