Steve Cooper delighted by reaction to early setback

Steve Cooper praised his Swansea City players for a “brilliant reaction” as they shook off conceding an early goal to ease to a 3-1 win at Birmingham.

Cooper’s side had trailed in just the fifth minute as Lukas Jutkiewicz nodded the Blues into the lead, but the Swans quickly stamped their authority on the game to secure an interval lead.

Rhian Brewster and Ben Cabango rewarded good spells of pressure with close-range finishes in the box, before Jay Fulton’s second-half effort gave the Swans breathing space as they claimed a vital victory.

The result moves Swansea to within one point and one place of the Championship play-off places, and Cooper was delighted with how his side responded to the early setback at St Andrew’s Trillion Trophy Stadium.

“The three points are really important at this stage of the season, so the result was excellent,” said the head coach.

“It was a difficult start, we never want to concede, particularly from a set play early on, so we were not happy with that, but it was a brilliant reaction from the boys.

“Goals can rock you, but the mindset was brilliant. I thought Grimesy and Jay Fulton controlled the game from the middle, we got a foothold in the game and were good for the two goals and taking the lead.

“I thought we were excellent first half in terms of our possession and our positioning, we looked a real threat.

“We were moving Birmingham around and looking for the moment to create chances and get set-pieces, and we got the two goals.

“I really liked us in the first half and then, in the second half, the message was to keep it going, to play in their half and keep trying to create chances and we did that.

“We scored from a set play and then it’s difficult. Legs are so tired, it is game after game and the boys have played a lot of games, but we kept the ball out of the net.

“They have scored the most headed goals in the league, so we had to be on it for that last phase of the game, and we were.

“I am happy with the performance, I am happy with the result, and we will dust ourselves down and get ready for the game at the weekend.”