Swansea boss Luke Williams left to rue lack of cutting edge
Posted Tuesday, April 02, 2024 by PA
Swansea manager Luke Williams lamented his side’s failure to turn pressure into goals after they were beaten 1-0 by QPR.
A 71st-minute volley from a corner by defender Steve Cook gave the Hoops a priceless victory in their fight against relegation from the Championship.
Rangers are now six points clear of the relegation zone, a point behind the Swans, yet neither club can count themselves safe from the drop just yet.
And Williams’ frustration was evident on an afternoon when his side dictated much of the game at the Swansea.com Stadium.
He said: “We should have got something, but football keeps you honest.
“If you don’t take your chances and you switch off from a set-piece you are always vulnerable.
“We became a cliche today. We started slowly and then became more dominant.
“But domination counts for little if you don’t convert your chances.
“We have a lot of openings that don’t amount to anything.
“We’re happy, we’re enthusiastic and moving in the right direction.
“But we have to be more clinical and better at finishing.”
Williams suggested his side’s shortcomings were mental rather than physical, even though they started the game sluggishly.
Williams added: “If we start slowly it’s not a physical thing, it’s a mental thing.
“We have to start games ferociously and bloody the other fighter’s nose at the earliest opportunity.”
Swansea’s woes were compounded by the loss of influential midfielder Joe Allen in the 34th minute with a toe injury.
“We need a bit more time for that to settle down and then we can try to gauge how long it will be,” said Williams.
“He bent the toe back too far. We don’t think it’s a break, from a brief conversation with him he is not showing the symptoms of that.”
QPR boss Marti Cifuentes told his players to stay humble and refused to entertain talk of safety.
Cifuentes said: “All I know is we need more points when I look at the table.
“We are in a good moment, but at this stage of the season we need to be humble.
“Until it’s 100 per cent certain we will not stop.
“I am proud and happy about the work the guys put in.
“Swansea have quality players and are difficult to play against.
“But our goal came at a great time.
“We started the game well, got into some good situations and created some good chances in the first 10 minutes.
“Then we started to sit deeper and deeper and we had to make some adjustments at half-time.
“After we went ahead it was about understanding what we needed to do to win.
“We did a very good job defending the lead.”
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