By Fraser Watson
It was the response that Steve Cooper said he knew was coming.
After following their most accomplished display of the season to win at Cardiff last Saturday, with arguably their most inept one at Derby on Wednesday, Swansea City responded in kind this afternoon with a 2-0 win over Barnsley at the Liberty Stadium.
The result, courtesy of Jamal Lowe’s early strike and Victor Adeboyejo’s second half own goal, was enough to move the Swans back up to third and quickly banish the memories of Pride Park.
Cooper was asked in his post-match press conference if he expected such a reaction – and he had little hesitation in answering.
“I did, you know,” he said.
“I saw fire in their bellies yesterday – both in the meetings we had with the players and the work on the training ground.
“Myself and the coaching staff said the boys looked ready and there was a really good vibe.
“It was about offering a little, but it didn’t need much from me today. They were ready to put things right and they did that.”
It wasn’t 90 minutes however, that will linger long in the minds of purists. The toll of the congested fixture list, and the much maligned Liberty Stadium surface, made for a somewhat inevitably scrappy affair.
It was an afternoon where Cooper admitted Swansea had to show a different side.
“I thought the lads were excellent and it was really professional performance,” he said.
“A bit different to maybe what we normally see here but I think that was the conditions. We really committed to it, scored two goals, looked a real threat and they didn’t really get near Freddie’s goal.
“I’m really happy with the response and we’re back on track to where we want to be.”
Lowe’s early strike, a close range volley from Ben Cabango’s looped header, came just 75 seconds in and made it three goals in as many games for the striker, capping a display in which his pace troubled the Barnsley back four throughout.
But it wasn’t just his work going forward that satisfied Cooper.
“I thought Jamal and Andre (Ayew) were a threat , but they also contributed to the defending side as well – and Yann (Dhanda).
“A lot of the balls we were heading away, their centre backs were happy to just put them back in. It’s down to our strikers to stop that happening. Barnsley were really direct today because of the conditions.”
Barnsley boss Valerien Ishmael, to his credit, refused to complain about the surface but admitted Swansea’s more direct approach caught his side off guard.
“It was a strange game today for sure. It’s not possible every time to concede a goal like that after two minutes.
“It’s not the first time and it will be very difficult to come from behind every time.
“I was surprised that Swansea are normally a possession-based team but played completely different. They played a completely different game.
Check out a selection of snaps from this afternoon’s win at the Liberty…
https://t.co/WgnTOQKsYy pic.twitter.com/B2Uo9NLgLh
— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) December 19, 2020
“The ball was more in the air, but I think in the first-half we were there near them. At half-time I told the guys they had to change to take the fight to Swansea.
“We had to accept the awful pitch tonight and we had to go back to basics. I think there was a lot of fatigue, the intensity was not there, we took a lot of wrong decisions and we played too early or too late.”
For Cooper and Swansea, focus now turns to a trip to Loftus Road on Boxing Day, and the manager said it is today’s version of his squad, and not the one that faltered in midweek, who he expects to turn up.
“I am anticipating the attitude we saw today again at QPR. I have said this one many occasions – I couldn’t wish to work with a more professional, committed group of lads.
“They are brilliant to work with and a credit to themselves and the club. They get on really well, they train really well – even the boys who haven’t played. Of course, they want to be playing, but they support the boys who did do the job. “
Jamal Lowe was on the scoresheet again as the Swans made it seven games unbeaten at the Liberty to climb to third in the Championship table.
✍️ Match report https://t.co/gKmPiURGAP pic.twitter.com/IUiNotXjoO
— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) December 19, 2020
“Listen, we will lose games this season. You can see there were some surprise results today. Boxing Day will be the same.
“We can’t let nights like Wednesday define us. It’s the reactions that have to define us.”
Indeed, Cooper is already well accustomed to the fluctuating nature of the Championship, and his side will endure many more highs and lows before the 2020/21 campaign is out.
However, by being number three for Christmas, they head into festive period firmly in the promotion mix.
And if they can continue to react to occasional setbacks like they did today, they’ll stay there.
