Alan Sheehan | It was a real team performance
Alan Sheehan acknowledged it may not have been the prettiest of contests, but he was delighted to see Swansea City find a way to secure victory over Derby County at the Swansea.com Stadium.
Jisung Eom scored the only goal of the game with 11 minutes remaining, arriving at the back post to meet Josh Key’s cross and end the visitors’ run of four wins in a row.
Caretaker head coach Sheehan had predicted the game would be a “dogfight”, with both teams knowing a victory would provide a considerable boost to their chances of securing their second-tier status for another season.
So it proved and, while there was no shortage of effort, it proved be a tense and cagey affair with little in the way of clear-cut chances.
But the Swans showed the resolve to secure an 11th clean sheet of the season, and Eom’s close-range finish saw them claim three important points.
“We spoke about it being a dogfight in the week, I had watched their last four games and they have found a way to win games that makes it really difficult,” said the Irishman.
“They are physical in how they play and how they defend, and we found it really difficult to create any tempo in the game.
“You have some passages of play, but when that breaks down you are having to defend long throws, set-pieces and crosses into your box.
“We were wary of that, I wanted us to be as physical as possible because I knew it would be fine margins.
“We made a change, and Josh Key and Jisung create that bit of quality to make the difference because I always felt it was going to be really tight today.
“It was a difficult game, and we have won a game in the Championship which is not an easy thing to do.
“We defended really well as a team, kept a clean sheet and showed that character and resilience we talk about. It was a real team performance.
“We would have loved to create more, but we stood up to the challenge.”