Olivier Ntcham makes the difference as Swansea City secure three points at Oakwell

In a game that needed an extra spark, the second half introduction of Olivier Ntcham was crucial to the Swans’ seventh win of the season.

This wasn’t a classic by any stretch of the imagination, with the Swans dominating in both halves, Barnsley were just passengers in a possession-based game played by the visitors.

The first half saw the Welsh side control the tempo, unwilling to give the ball away cheaply as they assessed Barnsley’s style of play under new boss Poya Asbaghi, who took his first game in charge on Wednesday evening.

The best, and quite frankly, the only chance of the half fell to Joel Piroe just before the interval as his slightly-scuffed effort flashed just wide of the post.

In the second half, problems continued for the Tykes as they couldn’t get the ball off the visitors who were cautious and slowly building their attacks.

With Flynn Downes, Korey Smith and Matt Grimes on the field, Swansea were playing with three holding midfielders which is great for seeing the game out, however, the Jack Army wanted to see their side push for the winner which was in sight.

It took 64 minutes before Russell Martin finally made the needed change and brought on the creative and powerful Ntcham. The Frenchman has been an impact sub multiple times already this season, most notably against Luton Town where the Swans rescued a point after being 3-0 down at half-time.

As soon as he came on, the midfielder was hungry for the ball, wanting to carry the team forward with his physicality and his eye for goal.

Finally, the Swans took the lead through Ntcham himself. Just 10 minutes after coming on, the former French under-21 international got on the end of a low cross from fellow substitute Ryan Manning which rewarded the Swans for their patience and hard work.

Ntcham was involved again just minutes later. Picking the ball up in midfield, his pass fed Piroe who then set up Jamie Paterson for his seventh goal of the season.

Then, in added time, the Frenchman almost bagged an assist as his knock-down fell kindly to Liam Cullen, however, his shot was fired over the bar.

With over 800 passes and 80% possession, on paper, it seemed to be an easy victory for the Swans, however, they would’ve struggled to return to South Wales with all three points without the introduction of the excellent Ntcham.

Swansea boss Russell Martin spoke to Sky Sports after the match regarding the influential Frenchman.

“Olivier injected a lot of forward momentum and plays with such a swagger and confidence. He gave the team a lift for sure and Ryan Manning also showed his composure for the cross. It was a really nice move and a great goal. It was a really dominant, controlled performance with lots of purpose and patience.”

Since his arrival at SA1, the former Celtic player has shown that he possesses quality on and off the ball and that his determination to impress the fans is clear to see with his effort and energy despite lengthy spells on the sideline due to injury.

The Swans return to the Swansea.com Stadium on Saturday against strugglers Reading as they look to close the gap between themselves and the play-off places.

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