Saturday 25th September 2021
Swansea.com Stadium
15:00

SWA Swansea

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HUD Huddersfield

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25th September
Joel Piroe

Joel Piroe’s sixth goal of the season saw Swansea City secure a first home league win of the campaign against Huddersfield at the Swansea.com Stadium.

The Dutchman took his tally to half dozen in just nine appearances when he finished off a flowing team move in the 17th minute.

The former PSV Eindhoven man could easily have had a couple more goals to his name, while Jamie Paterson and Flynn Downes were also unable to take presentable chances.

But it did not matter in the final analysis as Russell Martin’s side ended a run of three consecutive draws and were rewarded for another encouraging display.

Martin had made four changes from the draw at Luton, with Ben Cabango, Jake Bidwell, Olivier Ntcham and Piroe coming into the side in place of Ryan Bennett, Rhys Williams, Liam Walsh and Michael Obafemi.

Swansea started brightly with Ethan Laird and Ntcham heavily involved, while the hosts also got some joy out of a high and energetic press.

Flynn Downes

It was a familiar pattern to recent home assignments, the Swans dominating the ball against opponents happy to drop deep, deep into their own territory and defend in numbers.

But this time the dominance got a deserved reward. Piroe turned away from his fine to feed Paterson, who calmly lofted the return pass into the path of the onrushing Dutchman for him to loft over the keeper.

It was the Swans first home league goal in 216 minutes, and a second should have followed barely two minutes later.

Ntcham seized on a shocking pass from Huddersfield keeper Lee Nicholls and the ball fell to Paterson on the edge of the box.

The midfielder set himself but dragged wastefully wide of the left-hand upright.

But the goal forced Huddersfield to alter their approach and they did have a better spell after conceding, with Ben Hamer punching away a threatening cross from Ollie Turton.

However, the Swans were soon on the front foot again, Laird turning his marker this way and that before seeing his pull-back cleared after surging into the box.

Piroe went close to a second 10 minutes before the break, getting away from Matty Pearson and turning his man, only for his final effort to tamely land in the gloves of Nicholls.

Kyle Naughton

But he forced the Terriers keeper into a magnificent stop a few moments later, Ntcham laying the ball onto the striker whose low left-shoot shot looked destined for the net until Nicholls somehow clawed it away.

Regardless, the Swans remained ahead at the break but they were threatening again soon after the restart with a rapid counter and resulting corner seeing Flynn Downes force Nicholls into a sprawling low save.

Cabango made a fine tackle to prevent substitute Josh Koroma racing into the area for the visitors before Harry Toffolo headed over from a corner.

Swansea got through that spell and began to reassert their authority just before Liam Cullen and Korey Smith provided fresh legs in place of Piroe and Paterson.

Huddersfield came again, Kyle Naughton doing superbly to cut out a Lewis O’Brien cross with blue shirts waiting.

O’Brien then fired wide from distance before the same player was felled by a wonderful covering tackle from Downes as the Terriers pressed forward again.

Smith just failed to pick out Bidwell in the final minutes before Cullen was denied by the offside flag after Nicholls had fumbled Jay Fulton's effort in stoppage time.

But it did not matter as the Swans claimed the three points.

Swansea City: Ben Hamer; Ben Cabango, Kyle Naughton, Ryan Manning; Ethan Laird, Flynn Downes, Matt Grimes (captain), Jake Bidwell; Olivier Ntcham (Jay Fulton 76), Jamie Paterson (Korey Smith 69); Joel Piroe (Liam Cullen 69).

Unused Substitutes: Steven Benda, Brandon Cooper, Joel Latibeaudiere, Liam Walsh.

Huddersfield Town: Lee Nicholls; Matty Pearson, Tom Lees, Levi Colwill; Ollie Turton (Josh Koroma 61), Jonathan Hogg (captain) (Mipu Odubeko 83), Lewis O’Brien, Harry Toffolo; Danel Sinani, Sorba Thomas; Fraizer Campbell (Duane Holmes 64).

Unused Substitutes: Giosue Bellagambi, Alex Vallejo, Scott High, Naby Sarr.

Referee: Gavin Ward

Attendance: 17,091