Swansea City could not break the deadlock against a weakened West Ham side with the teams settling for a goalless draw on Sunday night at Liberty Stadium.
Swansea were the better side throughout the match, with the visitors attacking only briefly in both halves. Alan Curtis started the match again with three attacking-minded players, but Gylfi Sigurdsson, Andre Ayew and Bafetimbi Gomis were unable to score at least once. The best chances the Swans had came through Jack Cork’s volley from 20 meters from the goal which forced an astonishing save from Adrian, and Sigurdsson’s shot which James Collins blocked, both during the second-half.
West Ham were without several key players including Manuel Lanzini and Dimitri Payet, and their defensiveness was not surprising. Slaven Bilić’s team was searching for chances on the counter-attack and the best were generated from substitutes Pedro Obiang and Enner Valencia. Yet, Swansea’s pressure was often too heavy and the home team had the ball 73% of time. Still, their 21 shots were showing how much they lack in finishing with only two of them on target, as many as West Ham had from 11 attempts.
Swansea City
Lukasz Fabianski – 7: Had a couple of good saves, especially after Valencia’s shot from distance.
Angel Rangel – 7: Decent game, often was a new option in attack and defensively was not challenged much.
Federico Fernandez – 7.5: Very good game for the Argentine, with five clearances he was not giving chances to Nikita Jelavić.
Ashley Williams – 8: A true captain on this occasion, blocking three shots a couple of meters from the goal and adding six clearances to the tally.
Neil Taylor – 7: Was more attacking-minded and his presence upfront was worth it.
Jack Cork – 6.5: Was a good connection between the defence and attack, with a great chance midway through the second-half.
Leon Britton – 7.5: Controlled the midfield in a sturdy fashion, played all over the pitch and completed 85 passes.
Ki Sung-yueng – 6.5: Had a decent game, creating chances and shooting on sight often.
Gylfi Sigurdsson – 6.5: Created many crosses from both sides and tried with shots from distance, but most of them were blocked.
Andre Ayew – 6: Not the best game for the Ghanaian, as he had practically no impact on the way Swansea played.
Bafetimbi Gomis – 6: Frustrated home fans with a handful of off-sides in key moments
Substitutions
Kyle Naughton – 6.5: Had a couple of important clearances after entering the pitch.
Jonjo Shelvey – 6: Tried to mix things up with long passes, but had no bigger impact.
Modou Barrow – N/A: Did not spend enough time on the pitch.
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