Clean sheet as pleasing as attacking play for Cooper

Swansea City enjoyed a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Birmingham City, and head coach Steve Cooper was every bit as happy with the clean sheet as he was his side’s attacking play.

The Swans enjoyed their second shut-out of the season, with the Blues not registering a single shot on target during the Championship encounter.

And Cooper was particularly pleased with how his side handled Birmingham’s noted abilities from set-pieces, and area where Swansea have had difficulty in previous seasons.

“We really respected Birmingham’s way of playing, I went to watch them against Barnsley on Tuesday and we got it right with how we thought they would set up,” he said.

“They are good at what they do, they are a little more direct, but we dealt with it really well. We kept the ball in play, we made it a fast game and we limited them to long throws.

“We gave away a few cheap free-kicks, and we knew anything within 60-70 yards of the box would be put in there, so I am happy with how we handled that.

“You can look at the game and see we made a load of passes, scored three goals and dominated possession. But I was equally happy with how we defended as it was a big part of the gameplan.”