Heroic ten-man Swansea earn a cruical point against wasteful Brentford

Credit: Swansea City AFC

Swansea City were reduced to ten men after a second bookable offence from Kyle Naughton with 20 minutes to go, but the Swans earned a point despite being a goal down.

Heading into the match, both teams would probably have been happy with a draw, with Swansea unbeaten in the league in five and Brentford unbeaten in 17. Swansea also had the best defence in the EFL 92 only conceding 13 goals in 24 games.

Unfortunately, viewers from home were welcomed with a very cagey first half from both sides, with chances few and far between. There were a few shots off target but nothing troubling for the goalkeepers.

Brentford were the better side in the second half and the Swans were in trouble after Naughton was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 68th minute. The Bees were piling on the pressure, but a wonderful save from Freddie Woodman and a block from Marc Guehi kept the Swans in the match.

Moments later, the pressure was too much for Swansea and after failing to clear their lines, Brentford took the lead after a towering header from Ghanaian international Tariqe Fosu.

Up to this point, ten-man Swansea had only managed one shot on goal. Despite this, Steve Cooper stuck to his guns and left the side unchanged and utilised a back four. Just four minutes after conceding, Cooper’s faith was rewarded as an untouched Conor Hourihane set-piece found its way into the back of the net. Hourihane’s goal on his league debut was most welcome as it seemed that Swansea were down and out.

For the remainder of the match, Swansea put their bodies on the line as Brentford bombarded the home-side’s goal, but a combination of fine saves and heroic defending meant that both teams shared the spoils.

Brentford will look back on this match and hope that the result won’t be season-defining. With 21 shots and 65% possession the Bees will feel that this was an opportunity missed, they will have to put the result behind them and look towards their next league fixture.

Swansea will most definitely see this result as a point gained rather than two points dropped and both teams maintain their unbeaten runs heading into the next round of fixtures. With Woodman and Guehi particularly impressing, it was a game for the defenders to shine in a difficult game.

One notable positive that Swansea can take from this draw is their capability of digging in deep and not giving up. The commitment and dedication shown by all players after going down to ten-men really showed that the team can really challenge for promotion back to the Premier League and are capable of competing against fellow rivals in the league.

Evidently, Brentford left their shooting boots at home, but the Bees won’t be too disheartened after extending their unbeaten run to 18 games and could quite easily have added another win to that list.

Next up for second-placed Swansea on Saturday is a long trip up north to visit Rotherham United who recorded an emphatic 3-0 victory against Middlesbrough on Wednesday evening while Brentford host bottom of the table Wycombe Wanderers.

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