Vitor Matos salutes travelling Jacks and character of squad following Sheffield United fightback

Head coach Vitor Matos saluted the travelling Jacks and the character of his players after watching his side come from 3-1 down to secure a draw against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

The Swans had looked to be set for defeat on their travels when – after Zan Vipotnik’s 20th goal of the season had cancelled out Gustavo Hamer’s opener – goals from Harrison Burrows and Tom Cannon put the hosts two goals to the good.

But Idah’s expert finish from a Jay Fulton pull-back narrowed the deficit, before the substitute then showed good strength and composure to pick out Jisung Eom for a close-range finish.

After an international break which had scattered his squad across the globe and limited preparation time for the trip to south Yorkshire, Matos praised the manner in which his players responded to the spot they found themselves in.

But he also voiced his gratitude for the hundreds of Swans fans in the away end, who continued to vociferously back their side, with an impromptu rendition of the Welsh national anthem arriving just as Eom struck to put his side back on terms.

“The first compliment I want to pay is to the away fans,” he said.

“I think it is massive what they did today, after going 3-1 down and suffering, it was the moment where we needed them most and they just stood completely behind the team.

“We needed that, it might have been one of the toughest moments since I have been here with injuries, players coming from internationals and having a lot of games coming up in a short period.

“So to still be able to compete in this situation is important and is part of the culture we are trying to build here.

“This togetherness between the fans and team is part of this, and then the players themselves were massive.

“Thursday was the first day we had the squad together, and we had to find a way to get the balance between fresh legs and the dynamics of the team.

“It is not easy and the character the players showed and put in was massive, that is what we want, that kind of mentality and character. 

“We need know to build again, build ourselves from this moment to find the confidence because if we can do that here, then there is no reason we cannot show it in the next games.”

Matos also confirmed midfielder Ethan Galbraith is set to miss the remainder of the season due to a calf injury.