Practice makes perfect for Liam Cullen

Liam Cullen revealed how hours of training ground practice helped make a perfect strike to earn Swansea City a point at Coventry City.

The forward registered his third goal of the season at the CBS Arena, stepping up in the 93rd minute to dispatch a free-kick into the bottom corner of the net to ensure it ended 2-2 in the west Midlands.

Wales international Cullen made use of Joe Allen clearing a space in the Coventry wall to expertly find the gap and beat keeper Brad Collins.

And Cullen explained the effort that had gone into preparing for moments just like that, with kitman Shaun Baggridge staying out after training with him as the striker honed his technique. 

"I was delighted it went in, it's something I have always worked on," said Cullen of his free-kick.

"From when I was 18 or 19, myself and the kitman Shaun have been out there after training pretty much every day while I practice free-kicks.

"I haven't taken too many for the first team but I wanted to take more responsibility and be willing to be the one wanting to get hold of the ball.

"As soon as we had the foul I picked the ball up straight away, the lads asked me if I wanted it and I didn't want to give it up to anyone else.

"It was great it went in, and it was great to see all those hours of hard work pay off when it matters in a game, but the most important thing was it got us an important point away from home against a good side."

The draw saw the Swans bounce back from the disappointment of the heavy defeat at Southampton on Boxing Day.

And Cullen admitted it was vital he and his teammates responded in the right fashion.

"It was important there was a reaction from us as a group, and I think there was one," he said.

"We were really disappointed with Boxing Day, it was a low point and we know we were not at it, myself included.

"We had to take ownership of that, we needed to put it to bed and hopefully this result can be the start of something for us heading into the new year."