By Paul Jones
Steve Cooper and Thomas Frank failed to see eye-to-eye after their teams went toe-to-toe before Swansea City rescued a point in an eventful 1-1 draw at home to Brentford.
The two head coaches – who shared a heated touchline during two play-off matches last season – were in another intense debate at the end of this contest as they walked onto the field towards referee John Brooks.
The official had sent off Kyle Naughton for a second yellow card with 69 minutes gone, before Brentford went ahead through Tariqe Fosu-Henry and then conceded a disputed equaliser scored by the Swans’ Conor Hourihane.
Both bosses viewed the key incidents – and the game as a whole – very differently, with Franks claiming his side were utterly dominant and that Hourihane’s equaliser should not have stood because of a foul on Brentford keeper David Reya.
Cooper was angered by an elbow thrown toward the face of Andre Ayew by a Bees player, and also claimed the contest was an even one.
“It was an okay game I thought, until the red card,” said the Swans head coach.
“They did have a good chance that Freddie saved, but there wasn’t any real clear cut chances, apart from that.
“The red card, whether it is or not, I’m not sure, I’m certainly not complaining about it at the moment, we go 1-0 down and showed great character to get back into the game.
“It was a great delivery from Conor, an area that we talked about in the game plan. The goalkeeper’s starting positions we felt was an area we could hit, and Conor’s put it where we planned to, and it’s brilliant to get ourselves back in the game.
“They had all of the ball to be fair and that will increase the possession stats and things like that, but we showed good resilience to get a point. We’ll take it and move on.
“There weren’t many chances in the game. Both team got into good areas without really hurting each other.
“Maybe we could have been more creative at times but that’s easier said than done. We’ll aim to do better in that with the next game, but I’m really happy with the character and resilience of the lads.
“I thought the whole team put a shift in. We had to show a bit of heart and soul when we went down to 10-men and we did that.
“Games aren’t always go the way you want, but sometimes when you’re down to 10 men, it’s about digging in.
Conor Hourihane’s first goal for the club ensured 10-man Swansea City extended their unbeaten run and climbed back into second place in the Championship table with a hard-earned point against Brentford.
✍️ Match report 👉 https://t.co/UiUGSy74vN pic.twitter.com/ZA8GTjqALN
— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) January 27, 2021
Franks said: “I don’t know how we didn’t win this game, I’m very pleased with the performance. All I did the whole week to the players and the press was praise Swansea, because I mean it.
“They have done a top job and there’s a reason they’re second in the league.
“They are a well coached and well drilled team and when we come here and absolutely dominate from minute one until the last minute, it is very impressive.
“We had 12 shots to one after 70 minutes which is crazy for a top game.
“Of course, when it is 11 versus 10 you have to go on and win but that is why football is such a beautiful game. There is such small margins and then suddenly it is two points dropped.
“There was frustration because it could have been a big win but we have to take the praise of this game forward.
“I think the top six are all competing for the top two and if you start thinking you are good then another team will go past you.
“These six teams will take it right until the end. Last year Leeds were the bets tea in the division but this year there isn’t one team that stand out. Its going to be interesting.”
Frank’s side dominated for large spells at the Liberty Stadium and finally found the breakthrough thanks to substitute Tarique Fosu-Henry’s header after Naughton saw red for two bookable offences.
But Hourihane hauled the Swans back into the contest against the odds with a wicked free-kick from out wide that evaded everyone before finding the back of the net.
The dramatic draw moved the Swans back into the top two on goal difference, while it is now 17 matches since the Bees last tasted defeat.
