LOWE’S FINE GOAL IS DUE REWARD
HERE are the talking points to emerge following Swansea City’s draw with Bristol City on Saturday afternoon.
DEAN HOLDEN’S HONEST ADMISSION
Steve Cooper was furious with referee Oliver Langford after the West Midlands official awarded the hosts a spot-kick seven minutes from time.
After the match, the Swansea head coach even revealed that he had spoken to his players about the official in a pre-match meeting.
Nakhi Wells went on to convert from the spot-kick to earn the Robins a share of the spoils, leaving Swansea without a win since their 2-1 triumph over Millwall before the international break.
And Bristol City boss Dean Holden admits his side were the recipients of a soft penalty against the Swans.
When asked if he saw the incident, Holden responded: “I did, yes. I’d have been disappointed if it was given against us, I have to say.
“But having said that, we had a stonewall penalty on Tuesday night on Tyreeq Bakinson which wasn’t given, and they do say it evens itself up, but I didn’t expect it to even out four days later I have to be honest! It is what it is.
“We kept pushing, we went with four strikers on the pitch at the end of the game to try and win, I’m not going to try and protect a 1-0 defeat and get away with it, we needed to get back into it and I’m pleased that we did.”
SUMMER SIGNING SHINES AGAIN
Ryan Bennett was immediately thrust into the limelight at Coventry City when he was handed his first start for Swansea against the Sky Blues.
Bennett fully proved his worth against Mark Robins’s side, and he continued from where he left off at St Andrew’s Trillion Trophy Stadium in the draw with Bristol City.
The former Wolves man made three tackles, a tally bettered only by Jay Fulton, an interception, five clearances, the best of any Swansea player, while also making two key passes.
Following the departures of Mike van der Hoorn, Ben Wilmot and Joe Rodon, Swansea were in desperate need of fresh blood at the heart of their defence.
And they seem to have found a gem in Bennett, who could well have joined Brendan Rodgers at Leicester City on a permanent basis not too long ago.
Marc Guehi also deserves immense credit for his performance at Ashton Gate.
The Chelsea loanee is wasting no time in showing that, even at just 20 years of age, he can already operate at a higher level than the Championship.
THE MAN SWANSEA SORELY MISS, AND WHO MUST NOW PLAY
Morgan Gibbs-white enjoyed a fine start to his Swansea career after joining on loan from Wolves for the campaign.
He netted the winner on his competitive debut against Preston North End at Deepdale before playing a key part in both of Swansea’s goals against both Wycombe Wanderers and Millwall.
Swansea have missed the Englishman’s creativity since the news emerged that Gibbs-white will be out of action until January at the earliest due to a foot injury.
Cooper’s defensive-minded approach at Ashton Gate, with Fulton starting in place of Viktor Gyokeres, almost reaped the maximum rewards until the penalty controversy unfolded.
But after missing the last two games, Kasey Palmer must now be champing at the bit to prove his worth in a Swansea shirt.
The Bristol City loanee was ineligible to face his parent club but will be hopeful of playing some part at the very least against Stoke City tomorrow night.
Palmer recently admitted that his preferred position is the No. 10 role, which makes him a like-for-like change for the injured Gibbs-white.
His guile in the final third could be just what Swansea need, particularly after the visitors fluffed their lines on numerous occasions when they got into attacking positions against Bristol City.
LOWE’S EFFORTS ARE REWARDED
Jamal Lowe endured a frustrating night against Coventry City before being replaced just after the hour mark in Birmingham.
And it looked set to be a similar theme for the summer capture at Bristol City as his final ball let him down when he did find himself in dangerous positions.
However, Lowe struck gold in the second half when he drilled beyond Dan Bentley to put his side ahead with what was his second goal of the campaign.
The former Wigan Athletic man appears to be at his destructive best when operating in a wide position, which means the going can sometimes be tough for Lowe when deployed centrally.
With Gibbs-white or Palmer supplying him, the hope is that Lowe will only continue to add to his goal tally as a result of the hours he’s put in on the training ground.
“I thought Jamal looked a real threat,” said Cooper. “In the first half especially he made it difficult for their back line.
“I am really pleased for him. He works really hard at his game.
“We are playing him more central than he has ever played because that is where we see his development being.
“We do a lot of work on his finishing and he is hungry to learn. He always wants to do more. If anything you have to stop him doing too much.
“It was a great finish on his left foot, and it was no more than he deserved, to be honest. I am really pleased with that.
“It was a brilliant finish. He has that in his locker, and we want to unlock a bit more of that as he is going to be a good player for us, now and in the future.”