Conor Gallagher | Hull heartbreak can help strengthen squad's mentality
Conor Gallagher believes Swansea City’s heartbreak at Hull can help strengthen the squad’s mentality and lead to unlocking the team’s potential.
Steve Cooper’s side showed tremendous character to equalise on three occasions at the KCOM Stadium on Friday night, with sub Rhian Brewster then scoring what looked like the winning goal..
But Tigers striker Tom Eaves struck in the fifth minute of added time to break the Swans’ hearts on Valentine’s Day and deny them victory
However, after assessing a frantic night of Championship football, Gallagher feels Cooper’s youthful squad must use these experiences as a tool to progress.
“To score four goals is great, but it doesn’t matter if we’re going to defend the way we did as a team,” said Gallagher, who set up Wayne Routledge’s strike and Brewster’s late goal.
“Conceding four goals is unacceptable and we’ve got a lot of reflecting and work to do.
"There’s a lot of potential there. It’s a young squad. I think the team needs to be mentally stronger in certain stages of games, but it will come.
“We’ve got a great squad. It’s a young squad but I don’t think that matters. We’re all willing to work and do everything we can to win games.
“For some reason, the mentality of the squad hasn’t been strong enough to see out matches. It’s definitely something we’re going to work on.”
The Swans climbed off the canvas three times thanks to goals from Routledge, Kyle Naughton and sub Jordon Garrick before Brewster’s effort.
With the seconds ticking away towards the final whistle, Cooper’s side were denied victory when Eaves tapped home a cross.
Gallagher added: “It definitely feels like a loss. After going 4-3 up, we thought let’s see this out and take the three points on the road.
“Conceding right at the end was heartbreaking but we’ve got to pick ourselves up and improve on our mistakes.
“Every time we conceded, I felt like we were still going to score again. For some reason, we struggled defensively and you have to be stronger in that aspect if you’re going to win football matches.”
