By Paul Jones
Russell Martin has insisted he was “really proud” of his Swansea City players – even though a 3-1 defeat at Fulham exposed now familiar shortcomings in a season that has yielded just two victories in the first 10 Championship matches.
The Swans have 10 points and are back in 19th position after an Aleksandar Mitrovic hat-trick condemned them to a first defeat in five games.
Head coach Martin was pleased with the way his team held onto possession and created their own openings, including a well taken goal by Jamie Paterson which brought the scores back to 2-1.
But the reality is that Swansea have now conceded 11 goals in their five away games – only Peterborough have leaked more – and they look vulnerable almost every time they lose the ball, whether that be seven or 70 yards from their own goal.
Despite that, Martin chose to stress the positives and said: “I loved our performance in the second half. We showed real courage.
“We had a massive chance but what we lacked was that bit of confidence, that bit of swagger which is what they had.
“But we looked a really good team for long periods.
“I’m really disappointed we lost but I find it hard to be disappointed with the performance. I’m really proud of the players. We went toe to toe with the best team in the division.
“We had some great moments, sometimes you have to accept when they are playing with really high quality and two of their goals were really high quality.
“And the guy finishes it off is deadly and one of the best strikers in the division, if not the best.
“But the first goal is tough to take. We work on trying to get out of the box and he is offside. It’s a mistake.”
That first Mitrovic strike was, indeed, half a yard offside but without VAR in the Championship it was the type of goal that all sides regularly concede.
But it followed a sequence of play where the Swans put themselves into difficulty and that pattern was repeated for the second goal, when the ball was given away by Ben Cabango.
Marco Silva’s side pressed forward quickly down the left and Mitrovic was on hand to meet Neeskens Kebano’s low cross and direct his first time finish inside the far post.
Swansea had not threatened but they forced their way back into the game in the 38th minute when Paterson collected Joel Piroe’s pass and finished well past keeper Paulo Gazzaniga.
But Fulham responded to the setback positively and restored their two-goal lead when Mitrovic completed his hat-trick in the 45th minute with another first-time finish, this time after meeting Denis Odoi’s low cross from the right.
Martin’s men appeared to have little hope pf clawing their way back into the game but they responded well at the start of the second half with Flynn Downes failing to make most of a good shooting opportunity and Ethan Laird directing a deflected shot against the woodwork.
But Fulham regained control and saw out the game comfortably.
“Overall, we played a really good team, with a really good player up front who is deadly at this level,” added Martin.
“We have come up a little bit short but I am proud of my team and my players. We have come a long way in a short space of time.
“We just lacked a bit in the final third, and that was the difference, but we took to the pitch with courage, controlled spells of it and showed our identity and signs of the team we want to be.
“We started really well until they scored, conceding before half-time was disappointing as it was game on at that point.
I simply can’t work out this #SwanseaCity formation. We are so so open. Our full backs are playing as genuine forwards but we can’t get them on the ball. When we lose the ball – and we do often – there is acres for Fulham wingers and full backs to stride into and send in crosses.
— Dean Thomas-Welch (@ITVDean) September 29, 2021
“If we had a little more belief and confidence in the final third, and backed ourselves more, but we have gone toe to toe with the best team in the division and not come up far short.
“They have had a bit more time than us to be where they want to be. They are just out of the Premier League and it clicked for them with two of the goals.
“But we showed a lot of bravery, I thought it was a good game of football, we just lacked that little final bit.
French midfielder Olivier Ntcham was forced off half an hour into the defeat at Fulham after pulling up with a hamstring injury.
The former Celtic man received treatment before being replaced by Korey Smith, but the Swans head coach is hopeful it will not result in a long lay-off.
“He felt his hamstring, it has not gone so it was more of a precaution,” said Martin.
“We did not feel it was right to risk him to play on, and we have to be mindful Olivier has not had a full pre-season.
“But we hope it won’t be too bad and he says it feels okay.”
Fulham boss Silva heaped praise on Mitrovic after the striker took his season tally to 10 goals in 10 league games with three clinical finishe.
Silva said: “For Mitro to score three goals means he had a very good night. But the way we put the ball for him to score was really good.
“No striker in the world can score if the team doesn’t set it up for him and we played well for him to score.
“That is why he is here with us, that is why we renewed his contract and that is why he is playing every time because he is player that knows the competition really well.”
