How they rated

STEVEN BENDA

The number one had to do plenty of work with his feet and made a smart save to deny Tyrhys Dolan early on. Made some very important blocks and was unfortunate with Sam Gallagher’s strike. Made a calamitous error to concede a penalty though. Encouraging and frustrating in equal measure. Would have had a higher mark had it not been for errors.

BEN CABANGO

Determined to be confident on the ball throughout. A few sloppy passes thrown into the mix along with what should have been an assist for Liam Cullen in the first half. Booked.

RYAN BENNETT

Had a lot of trust put in him by Russell Martin and was tasked with being the chief driver of playing out from the back. Didn’t really put a foot wrong in what was a testing role.

JOEL LATIBEAUDIERE

Conceded a number of fouls and was eventually booked but made his share of defensive interventions. A bit erratic at times, but the next few months will be a major learning curve for the ex-Man City man.

KYLE NAUGHTON

Solid. Exactly what’s you’d expect from the 32-year-old who was composed on the ball.

KOREY SMITH

Too wasteful in possession in the opening half but actually made a number of key passes. Unfortunate to be subbed off through injury.

JAMIE PATERSON

A couple of bright moments when linking up with others in attack, but, generally, Paterson was unable to have much of an impact until he scored his first Swansea goal. Grew into it after that, despite some wasteful moments on the ball.

MATT GRIMES (CAPT)

Gave Bennett some added protection by dropping deep to provide cover while he regularly attempted to be the architect behind breaking through Blackburn’s midfield.

JAKE BIDWELL

Some important defensive headers and generally looked solid in the wing-back role. Got very high up the pitch as the game wore on, which was good to see.

JAMAL LOWE

Often starved of service, meaning his best work came in a defensive capacity and when relieving any pressure on his side. Much improved in the second half and caused problems in the final third.

LIAM CULLEN 5

Spurned a glorious chance to net early on after latching on to Cabango’s sublime through ball and struggled to get into the game. Brilliantly denied by Thomas Kaminski in the second half as he got more involved, but end product lacked.

SUBSTITUTES

Yan Dhanda (for Smith) - Got the ball in plenty of dangerous areas and won a free-kick. 6

Morgan Whittaker (for Cullen) - Some good flashes, but too late to make an impact. N/A

Subs not used: Defreitas-Hansen, McFayden, O Cooper, B Cooper, Joseph.

BLACKBURN ROVERS

Kaminski; Nyambe, Lenihan (C), Ayala, Pickering; Travis, Buckley (Butterworth 80); Rothwell; Gallagher (Davenport 72), Dolan (Carter 83), Brereton Diaz.

Subs not used: Eastham, Magloire, Garrett, McBride.

REFEREE

David Webb

Attendance 10,620