Harry Darling hails “unreal” south Wales derby win
Harry Darling hopes Swansea City's players gave the Jack Army an afternoon to remember after goals from Liam Cullen and Jamal Lowe secured a 2-0 victory over Cardiff City in the south Wales derby.
The Swans produced a performance of real energy and intensity, roared on by a sold-out Swansea.com Stadium, with Cullen putting the hosts ahead before Lowe sealed victory with what was virtually the last kick of the game.
The Swans have now won five of the last six meetings between the two sides, and remain the only team to have completed a south Wales derby double.
And Darling was delighted to deliver for the Jack Army, and also praised head chef Chris Watkins for a passionate pre-match speech delivered just before the players left the dressing room.
“It was unreal. I think you can see from the scenes and the celebration after the second goal how much it means to everyone,” said the centre-half.
“We knew how much it meant to the fans and the club. We had Chris the chef give us a team talk and speech and, although we didn’t need any more motivation, it was unreal to hear that at the start of the game.
“We’ve had the countdown from him over the last two weeks, so we knew the game was coming around. He was just saying how much it means to everyone, we already knew that, but to hear it before the game gives you the extra motivation you need.
“It helped us start the game really well. We want to play our game and implement our playing style, and I thought we did that.
“The clean sheet was massive. We have deserved that in recent weeks, I think we’ve conceded sloppy goals, or set-pieces. So to get the clean sheet was great.
“Everyone that started and came off the bench, it was such a great effort from everyone.
“The fans were brilliant. From the games I’ve been here, these are the ones you look forward to because of the fans.
"They really give us a boost of energy and they did that all game, and I think you could see from the performance that it really helped us.”