Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Ian Mitchelmore

Key Swansea City improvement needed as pundit praises 'cut-throat' decisions that inspired Coventry City comeback

Pundit Sam Parkin believes Swansea City could become major promotion contenders if they address their poor first-half form.

The Swans were significantly below par for long spells at Coventry City and fell three goals behind courtesy of efforts from Jonathan Panzo, Jamie Allen and Viktor Gyokeres.

It was the seventh game running in which Russell Martin's men had failed to score the first goal while they have now been behind at half-time in 11 of their 23 Championship matches so far this season.

READ MORE: Russell Martin left 'hurt' at Coventry City as Swansea City boss slams reaction of players before crazy comeback

"Swansea are notorious slow starters this season," said Parkin on ITV's EFL highlights show. "They've got the worst record in the division in that regard. 11 times out of 23 they've been behind at half-time.

"Huge credit to Coventry, despite not having a lot of the ball, we've come to expect that against Swansea, the amount of attempts Coventry racked up in the first-half, it was a really dominant display and they were really good value for their lead."

Having appeared destined for a second successive defeat, the Swans turned the game on its head at the CBS Arena as goals from Joel Piroe, Jay Fulton and Liam Cullen earned the visitors a dramatic point against the Sky Blues.

The draw meant Swansea have now claimed 14 points from losing positions in the league this term, the joint-most alongside Burnley in the division.

The scale of the comeback was further put into context as Coventry conceded three times in 16 minutes against Martin's troops having let in just three goals in nine hours prior to their late collapse against the Swans.

And Parkin says Swansea will climb back up the table if they can avoid starting matches slowly.

"I've spoken about the first-half record, they're actually equal-best for getting points from losing positions, 14 points they've recovered now," he added.

"If they could start games better, they'd be flying up that table, clearly, because they end games so strongly. I think he (Martin) was bold and cut-throat with his substitutions, I think they made four when they were chasing the game and then Cullen comes on late and gets the equalising goal.

"He got his tactical tweaks bang on today. He will just wish they could string two halves together I suppose."

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.