The loss of Cabango was pivotal, says Swans boss
Russell Martin believes the loss of Ben Cabango served as a pivotal moment as Swansea City surrendered a three-goal lead in their 3-3 draw with Bournemouth.
The Welshman impressed in defensive situations before being forced off shortly after the restart having been on the receiving end of a reckless challenge from ex-Swan Jamal Lowe in the opening half.
The Cherries put Swansea under relentless pressure in the second half and claimed a point with three goals in the final 18 minutes, two of which came from Wales star Kieffer Moore.
And head coach Martin admitted the lack of height in his defence is an issue that needs to be addressed.
“I’m really proud of the players. For 50 or 55 minutes, I thought they were brilliant. So brave, they caused all sorts of problems for Bournemouth in the first-half in particular,” he said. “They [Bournemouth] had moments in the first half, but you expect that with the squad they have.
“I have nothing but praise for the players for how they were. We get the third goal, they make changes.
“Ben Cabango coming off is a massive moment for us.
“We had probably the smallest back-three playing against the biggest front-three players. They take our most dominant player out aerially, and then it’s some key moments really.
“For the first goal the ball should get played back to Fish [Andy Fisher], we don’t, we dally on it and they score. The penalty is a tough one to take. Kieffer Moore should get sent off in the 73rd minute. I don’t like moaning about refereeing decisions, but he’s elbowed Flynn [Downes].
“Bournemouth threw everything at it, they just risked it all. When we did have the chance to play, the detail wasn’t quite there.
“The third goal, it’s a push on Flynn. These are just clear decisions. We should win the game at 3-0 up. But it’s a different feeling to Reading, it’s not a mentality problem, we’re playing a team who are where they are in the league, fighting for everything.”
Joel Piroe struck twice in the early stages before Cyrus Christie added a third as Swansea led 3-0 until the 72nd minute when Moore headed home. Dominic Solanke then struck from the penalty spot after Ryan Manning was penalised for a handball before Moore lashed home in the last minute.
It was the second time Swansea had blown a three-goal advantage in the space of little more than a week, although Martin’s men are now unbeaten in nine matches with just two games left to play this term.
Meanwhile, Martin has full confidence that Swansea will be able to land their desired transfer targets in the summer following the exit of sporting director Mark Allen.
Shortly after the 1-1 draw with
Barnsley on Saturday, it was revealed that Allen had been put on gardening leave by the club following a difference in opinions with chief executive Julian Winter and the club’s owners.
“Mark’s been really supportive of us since we came in,” added Martin. “We’re really grateful for that. But this is football.
“This decision has been made between Mark, Julian and the owners and we’ve been made aware along the way. He goes with everyone’s best wishes. We will get on with it. People move on. We’ll be ready. I don’t think it changes too much for us.
“As a coaching staff, we’ve been part of every planning session around the summer, every discussion around recruitment, the academy, player pathway and succession planning.
“We’re ready for that and whatever the club decide to do next, we’ll have more discussions about that this week. It will be aligned and in tune with what we need and what we’re doing moving forward.”