Alan Sheehan has told his Swansea City players they need to be more creative if they are to make their mark in the Championship this season.
The Swans head coach cut a frustrated figure after his side began their league campaign with a narrow 1-0 defeat away at Middlesbrough, admitting that a lack of attacking invention proved costly in a match decided by fine margins.
"We are frustrated because that was a game that had goalless draw written all over it,” the Swans boss said.
“I thought the first half was fine, we probably created the better opportunities, then in the second half we conceded from a set-piece and we did not really recover from that.
“We lost a bit of our fluidity and structure and went a bit more direct. We made a few changes too but we created nowhere near enough opportunities after we fell behind.
“That was the big learning for us from here, we did not recover well enough from conceding with our decision-making and our final ball.
“We really lacked an attacking threat after they scored. When we went behind, we took a while to recover, to get into our flow again.
“We tried to change the impetus, we made a few changes, but we didn’t create enough.”
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On a hot afternoon at the Riverside, it was a game that rarely caught fire.
Both teams were organised, disciplined, and largely cancelled each other out in a cagey first half.
Swansea carved out the better of the limited openings before the interval — Liam Cullen testing home keeper Sol Brynn with a header from a tight angle, and Ronald flashing an effort narrowly wide from distance — but a moment of quality from a set-piece proved their undoing.
Boro centre-back Dael Fry rose highest just after the restart, glancing a corner into the far corner of Carl Rushworth’s net.
Sheehan felt the match was there for the taking had his side shown greater sharpness in the final third.
He also lamented the fact that one lapse in concentration from a corner was enough to settle matters.
“I thought the first half was okay, two teams kind of cancelling each other out. They scored from a set-piece, that’s the difference. That was probably the only bit of quality either team showed in the final third.
“A set-piece or a mistake was going to decide it – it was very tight. Then we huffed and puffed but we didn’t create enough chances in the second half.
“First games of the season are always tight. In the first half we potentially had the better openings and the final ball let us down, but defensively we were fine. They rarely threatened our goal.
“I think a 0-0 would probably have been a fair reflection.”
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Swansea’s defensive structure was one of the positives Sheehan took away from Teesside.
New signing Cameron Burgess impressed alongside club captain Ben Cabango, who returned to the starting line-up after a disrupted pre-season.
Cabango managed 75 minutes before being replaced by summer arrival Kaelan Casey, with Sheehan confirming the skipper’s withdrawal was due to fatigue rather than injury.
“Ben had a bit of cramp,” Sheehan explained.
“He is such a leader and a warrior for us. We have had Jay Fulton and Arthur Parker filling in there for us and they have done a good job for the team.
“But to have the skipper back was positive, he played really well and defensively we looked very solid.”
There were also full debuts for midfielder Ethan Galbraith and winger Burgess, while fellow summer signings Zeidane Inoussa and Melker Widell joined Casey in making their first competitive appearances for the club from the bench.
Sheehan believes his squad will take time to fully gel but acknowledged that more firepower could be key, hinting that reinforcements in attack remain a priority before the transfer deadline.
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While Swansea were left to rue their missed opportunity, it was a perfect start for new Middlesbrough head coach Rob Edwards, who enjoyed a winning debut in the home dugout.
“I loved it. Really good day for us. [There was] a lot of emotion pouring out at the end because it was a really proud moment for me,” former Wales international Edwards said.
“You are head coach of Middlesbrough Football Club, my family were all there — it was a big moment for all of us and it couldn’t have gone any better.
“We would all love it to be 4-0 but the reality is the Championship is tough and a lot of games are going to be fine margins.”
“But we came out the right side of it. What I would say on that is that second half, Sol [Brynn] has not had a shot to save.
“I thought we were comfortable even when they had the ball. In and out of possession, I thought we controlled the game, so [the win is] thoroughly deserved.”
