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World Cup break wrap-up!

We are just about to head into an unprecedented month-long stoppage for the World Cup. Leagues all over the globe, including the Championship will pause their season due to the World Cup being played, something almost never seen before. With our break in games falling between November 13th and December 11th, there is no better time to take a deep dive into how our season has gone so far. 

We started the season slowly, only winning one of our first seven games. However, we found some form early in September and continued to perform in October, finding ourselves in the playoff positions. As of November 2nd, we are 6th in the Championship with eight wins, four draws and six losses. We are in the perfect position to push ahead towards promotion once the season resumes. In the meantime, let’s take a look at some of our best games of the season so far.

Swansea City 2 vs Cardiff City 0 

Without a doubt, this game has to be discussed first. A South Wales derby always leads to a crazy game and is marked on the calendar by supporters, staff and players of both clubs. Tensions are always high, especially this year after our historic double against Cardiff last season. And boy did this game deliver for Swansea fans.

A red card in the 7th minute for Cardiff gave as the upper hand early on and we took full advantage. Academy product Ollie Cooper scored our first in the 38th minute before Michael Obafemi scored in the 67th minute. In the end it was a comfortable victory for the Swans and was a fantastic day for our fans. 

Watford 1 vs Swansea City 2 

There’s nothing better than a stoppage time winner is there? At Vicarage Road in early October Ben Cabango stepped up to be the hero, scoring the winner eight minutes into stoppage time. Watford got the jump early, taking the lead from a nice finish from Ismaila Sarr. But we fought back, first through an Olivier Ntcham strike, then on the Cabango header that was beautifully assisted by Ryan Manning. Heart stopping games like this are what we live for!

West Brom 2 vs Swansea City 3 

This game was absolute chaos! It took an incredible effort by the whole team to leave this game with three points. Matty Sorinola gave us the lead early in the 6th minute before West Brom found their footing, scoring twice in the second half. Olivier Ntcham pulled us back level in the 71st minute before we unfortunately gave away a penalty. Goalkeeper Steven Benda stepped up under intense pressure to save the penalty and Michael Obafemi secured us the win in the 89th minute. This game was a true rollercoaster and we needed our whole team to dig deep in order to prevail. 

There are quite a few new faces on the pitch this season and they have helped transform our play for the better. Let’s have a look at some of these new players and how they’ve gone so far this season. 

Ollie Cooper

We have to start with our new golden boy! Cooper is no stranger to those around the club, he first began playing here in under 12s and has slowly progressed his way into the first team. Cooper went out on loan to Newport County last season and played extremely well there. He contributed nine assists whilst playing over 30 games for a team that was pushing for promotion. The experience has helped him grow plenty as a player and has positioned him to have the contribution he’s had this season. 

Cooper has played 13 games so far in his first real season amongst the first team. He’s brought his boundless energy onto the pitch where he is constantly looking to progress the ball forward. Amazingly, Cooper has contributed three goals and one assist so far which is fantastic for a player of his age. We hope to see him continue to develop for the rest of this season and beyond. 

Harry Darling 

The new centre-back has been amazing for Swansea this season. Signed from MK Dons this summer, Darling has quickly established himself as a regular in our three-man back line. The 23-year-old has been rock solid in defence and has even gotten on the end of three goals this season. Darling looks to be a player that will feature heavily for our side in the coming years and if he keeps playing as well as he has been this season, he might just help us reach the top flight. 

Matty Sorinola 

Sorinola has joined us this season on loan from Royale Union Saint Gilloise in Belgium. The wingback has featured for us prominently so far this season, appearing in 17 games so far. Another former MK Dons player, Sorinola has been a bright spark for us on either flank this year getting back to help our defence while also being creative near the box. He has found the net once this season while also assisting two times. Strong play from our wingbacks is vital to our system and Sorinola has performed brilliantly so far.