Here are your Swansea City headlines for Sunday, October 2.
Obafemi wants to put the past behind him
Michael Obafemi is looking onwards and upwards after hitting the winner against West Brom following a tumultuous month after a mooted move to Burnley broke down.
Obafemi had a frosty reception from some members of the Jack Army when he came on against Hull City, but those boos quickly turned to cheers when he struck a dramatic winner against the Baggies on Saturday. For Obafemi, it is all about moving forward and racking up as many goals as he can in a Swansea shirt.
“I’m happy that I got on to get the goal and [Olivier Ntcham] came on and did brilliantly too,” Obafemi said. “I think we all know we could have controlled the game a bit better, but the three points were the most important thing.
“I was happy that I got the goal, and now I just want to continue my form. Obviously, because of what’s happened in the past, maybe it was a bigger goal. But I’m a Swansea player and I’m happy to be here and I just want to make the fans happy and all my team-mates happy as well.
“It was a good feeling to score and the fans erupted, I was just so happy. Our fans are brilliant, they always support us in numbers home and away. They were singing my name, which was nice, I’ve always loved the fans and it’s only onwards and upwards from here.”
McAnuff: Obafemi took big step in earning trust back
Former Crystal Palace, Watford and Reading midfielder turned pundit Jobi McAnuff believes Michael Obafemi has taken a big stride in earning back the supporters' trust after his winning goal at The Hawthorns.
Both Obafemi and Olivier Ntcham were impact subs used by the Swans on Saturday, with Russell Martin stating the former had to earn back the trust of the Jack Army after all that has transpired in the last month. And McAnuff believes goals like the one he scored against the Baggies is the only way to do that.
"A couple of substitutions made a big impact, Olivier Ntcham coming on and scoring a really good goal. Russell Martin, I'm sure that's what he wants," he said on ITV's EFL highlights show.
"Michael Obafemi, he has had some issues, linked with a move away, questions marks over his commitment, Russell Martin saying he needs to earn that trust back, no better way of doing that than coming on and getting the winning goal."
Benda: Penalty save the perfect birthday gift
Steven Benda said saving Karlan Grant's penalty at a crucial moment in the win over West Brom was the perfect 24th birthday present.
With the score at 2-2, the Baggies could have taken a potentially unassailable lead from the penalty spot, but Grant's effort, which was sent down the middle, was saved expertly by the outstretched leg of the German between the sticks.
“I went to the left, but I managed to get my feet to it and thankfully I saved it,” he said. “I always look at penalties before the games, how they take them, where they score and then, in the game, there’s a bit of instinct involved as well.
“Saving a penalty is not a bad birthday gift, I guess. It’s a really nice feeling. I think both teams played well. They played well, we played well. I was able to make a couple of saves and thankfully we got the win.
“The momentum is really important for us. We just need to keep working hard so we can keep this streak going.”
On the game itself, Benda added: “It was a bit of a mad game. I thought we had a couple of great chances in the first half and we probably should have scored more.
“To be fair to West Brom, they’ve got good players and they did well to get back into the game. The subs that came on were incredible, they gave us so much energy and they obviously scored the goals as well. Scoring late goals is the best feeling in football, it was great.”
Under-18s' defensive mistakes prove costly
Swansea City under-18s were made to pay for too many defensive errors in their 5-3 defeat by Charlton Athletic, according to manager Darren Davies. Geoff Bony scoring twice for the young Swans was a big positive, however shipping five goals was cause for concern for Davies.
“We need to be defending better in the box. However, we are continuing to play our brand of football and we continue to play from the back,” said Davies. “The evidence was clear that we were trying to play the right way, in playing out from the back and playing through into the final third.
“They need to give themselves credit, they showed the spirit and the DNA of this community and club. They went until the very, very end. But we didn’t defend well. I think if we had defended the box well, we could have won the game comfortably.
“It’s not always about results, it’s about development. So next week, we’ll be going away and working on our defensive structures.
“Going forward, we played some good football in the back third, particularly in the first half. We’ll be working on box defending and finishing.
“They’re young boys and it’s part of the game to put the ball in the back of the net, we had a couple of one-vs-one chances which we should have capitalised on.”
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