Grimes happy to feel penalty pressure

Matt Grimes is happy to carry the pressure of penalties on his shoulders after the midfielder sent the Swans on their way to another home win.

Grimes showed composure from 12 yards to send keeper Darren Randolph the wrong way as Graham Potter’s side saw off Middlesbrough 3-1 at the Liberty.

It was Grimes’ second penalty success in four games, with the 23-year-old having scored in the FA Cup defeat to Manchester City.

The Swans had failed to score from four of their seven penalties this season prior to Grimes’ recent successes, with Potter’s side now having converted five from nine.

And the midfielder is happy to step up and continue taking penalties should he get the nod from Potter.

“I was confident when I struck it and, thankfully, it hit the back of the net,” said Grimes. “Penalties aren’t easy, but I’m happy to put my hand up and take responsibility for them if we get any.”

Victory last weekend followed up the midweek win over Brentford, with Potter’s side up to 13th ahead of Tuesday night’s home clash with Stoke City.

And Grimes believes the team go into the game buoyed by their recent performances and results.

“In football, it’s all about momentum. We’ve got another home game against Stoke on Tuesday and we’ll go into that full of confidence,” said Grimes.

“Hopefully, we can carry on with these performances and picking up results.

“We’re just going to take every game as it comes, keep improving our performance levels and, hopefully, that will shoot us up the table.”