Norwich boss Johannes Hoff Thorup rues first-half display in Swansea loss

Posted Sunday, September 15, 2024 by PA

Norwich head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup rued his side’s first-half display as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Swansea.

Amankwah Forson’s fourth-minute own goal decided the contest at the Swansea.com Stadium to leave Norwich 15th in the Championship with one win from five games under new Danish boss Thorup.

Forson, one of four summer signings named in the Canaries line-up, was caught flat-footed as Eom Ji-sung’s cutback deflected off his boot and past goalkeeper Angus Gunn, and Norwich could not find a way back despite creating opportunities.

“I don’t think we looked comfortable enough in the first half and that’s for all of us to look into,” said Thorup.

“We didn’t have the control of the game, we didn’t take care of our chances and we invited them in with a silly goal to begin with. No matter how you perform, you can always concede a goal. It’s about the response afterwards.

“We created two very good chances five-10 minutes after the goal but the game was too open, there was too much back and forth and we didn’t have the control of the game.

“I liked the second half way better, there are still some areas for us to improve and be more effective and show more quality up-front so we could get at least a point from a game like today.”

Gunn was alert to help Eom’s 25-yard lob over the crossbar as the South Korea international threatened to add to Swansea’s early lead.

At the other end, Josh Sargent twice came close to replying before Spaniard Borja Sainz spurned two late chances from close range to equalise in a second half that was short of action.

The result left Swansea boss Luke Williams relieved to bank his second victory of the season with a win that lifts the Welsh side into the top half of the table with seven points.

“I felt tense throughout the whole game. They created good chances as well but we started well and we were the dominant team in the first half,” he said.

Swansea substitute Florian Bianchini could have sealed the win but he was inches away from latching onto an Ollie Cooper delivery that found its way through to the Norwich back post.

“The last 15 minutes were very, very tense and we showed a lot of character to defend and we showed a little bit of everything that we’re about,” added Williams.