Swans boss Potter ‘proud’ of young team

Posted Sunday, February 10, 2019 by PA

Swansea manager Graham Potter was delighted with the maturity his side showed to grind out a 1-0 victory over Millwall.

George Byers’ first senior goal settled the contest, the 22-year-old firing home a rebound after his initial shot was blocked two minutes before half-time.

Potter’s men almost surrendered their lead in stoppage time when captain Shaun Hutchinson flicked a corner towards the back post, but Jake Cooper arrived a fraction too late and failed to poke it into the net.

And Potter was proud of the way his young side earned the hard-fought triumph.

He said: “When you look at the age of the group and the age of a lot of the players and where they are in their careers, to play against a team like Millwall who do really well at what they do, and make it really difficult to play against, I thought the first half was good without being amazing in terms of chances.

“To have that responsibility, to be the home team that has to find the answers against a team that’s got good players and can beat you on their day no problem, from that perspective it’s really pleasing.

“We had to defend set-plays against a team that are excellent at using their qualities, but also in open play, so it was a really hard-fought victory.

“I’m really proud of the players because it hasn’t been easy. They’ve stuck together and have responded to last week (when the Swans lost 2-0 at Bristol City).”

Millwall remain just two places and four points away from the relegation zone and manager Neil Harris was disappointed with the way his team conceded from a set-play.

He said: “I would never expect my team to concede from a set-play at Swansea, I have to be frank about it.

“I’m disappointed with the players in that respect, it should be us causing the problems at the other end.

“The goal was another freak one where it bounced up off the ground and into the roof of the net.

“You need a bit more fortune in that situation and we didn’t get it down the other end right at the death.

“We hung in there and the chance came at the end, I thought Shaun Hutchinson should have got the header on target and then Jake Cooper got his toe on it but could only put it wide.

“First half we paid Swansea a little too much respect. We were very disciplined an organised against a Swansea side who’s movement and rotation was very impressive.”