Report | Southampton 3 Swansea City 0
Swansea City exited the Emirates FA Cup as they were beaten by Premier League Southampton at St Mary’s.
Kamaldeen Sulemana’s lofted finish and a brace for youngster Tyler Dibling sent the Saints into the fourth round by a comfortable margin.
Saints keeper Aaron Ramsdale had a quiet evening in the home goal other than a Joe Allen shot that hit the woodwork late on and, while facing opposition from a division above, Swans boss Luke Williams will surely have been disappointed that his side did not really fire a shot in anger against opponents for whom this was just a fourth win in all competitions this season.
But there was the welcome sight of Josh Ginnelly making his first Swansea appearance 478 days after rupturing his Achilles against Sheffield Wednesday in September 2023.
The Swans had shown four changes from the draw with West Bromwich Albion as Jon McLaughlin made his debut in goal, with Kyle Naughton, Myles Peart-Harris and Florian Bianchini alco coming into the team.
Saints, meanwhile, made just the two changes from their defeat to Brentford in their last Premier League fixture.
The opening exchanges were rather subdued until Saints had two chances in the space of 60 seconds at the 10-minute mark.
Kyle Walker-Peters volleyed over at the back post, before Sulemana sent a low shot just wide of the post after the hosts had seized on a loose pass from the Swans in their own half.
Tyler Dibling also fired over before McLaughlin denied Sulemana and Walker-Peters in quick succession.
But the hosts did take the lead in the 20th minute, Sulemana lofting the ball over the advancing McLaughlin after a long punt downfield from Ramsdale had been flicked on.
Jisung Eom had a shot blocked after Josh Key and Peart-Harris had driven play through the middle of the pitch, but the latter’s pass was behind the South Korea international and the move lost its impetus.
But it was the top-flight hosts who were asking all the questions in the final third and they doubled their lead 10 minutes before the break when Sulemana’s movement got him ahead of his marker and he rolled the ball across the box for Dibling to convert from close range.
The deficit remained at two goals at the interval, and McLaughlin did well to haul in an excellent delivery from Ryan Manning early in the second period, before Eom sent a low left-footed strike wide of goal at the other end.
McLaughlin did well again when Jan Bednarek found himself unmarked at the far post, the Swansea keeper standing tall to block his header as the visitors scrambled clear.
But the hosts effectively put the tie to bed when Dibling was given the chance to slot home his second of the night after Josh Tymon and Naughton had been unable to deal with a low ball into the box.
Peart-Harris looked to pull a goal back as he tried to trick his way past a series of defenders, but he was eventually crowded out by red and white shirts.
McLaughlin denied Adam Armstrong twice in quick succession, before Allen struck the post after the Swans had won the ball on the edge of the Southampton area.
Ginelly was introduced a few moments later to make a welcome return on a tough evening for the Swans.
Swansea City: Jon McLaughlin, Josh Key, Kyle Naughton, Cyrus Christie (Liam Cullen 66), Josh Tymon; Matt Grimes (captain) (Jay Fulton 66), Gonçalo Franco (Joe Allen 66), Myles Peart-Harris; Ronald (Azeem Abdulai 79), Jisung Eom (Josh Ginnelly 79), Florian Bianchini.
Unused Substitutes: Lawrence Vigouroux, Žan Vipotnik, Nathan Tjoe-A-On, Ben Lloyd.
Southampton: Aaron Ramsdale, Kyle Walker-Peters, Ryan Manning, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, James Bree, Jan Bednarek (captain) (Nathan Wood 73), Joe Aribo (Adam Lallana 85), Lesley Ugochukwu (Will Smallbone 67), Kamaldeen Sulemana (Adam Armstrong 67), Mateus Fernandez, Tyler Dibling (Cameron Archer 67).
Unused Substitutes: Alex McCarthy, Yukinari Sugawara, Charlie Taylor, Paul Onuachu.
Referee: Tony Harrington
Attendance: