"Swansea City Secures Dominant 2-0 Victory Over Cardiff City, Reclaims South Wales Derby Bragging Rights"
The Swansea.com Stadium saw Swansea cruise to a well-earned win.
With a magnificent and richly earned victory in the 117th South Wales derby, Swansea City reclaimed the title as the champions over Cardiff City.
Just before halftime at Swansea.com Stadium, Liam Cullen gave his team a well-earned lead with his sixth goal of the year. However, early in the second half of an intense match, Cullen missed the mark from the penalty spot.
Cardiff seldom showed any signs of coming back into the game, but Jamal Lowe's goal late into stoppage time calmed any remaining Swans worries and sparked wild celebrations among the home crowd and the Swans bench.
On the other hand, Cardiff were significantly more lacklustre this time around, having ended Swansea's dominant run in this game in September with a well-earned 2-0 victory back at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Here, Aaron Ramsey—the highlight of the previous meeting—began from the bench. But Swansea easily won their eighth derby in the previous eleven games, despite his appearance in the second half.
Naturally, Swansea's manager Luke Williams was in the dugout for the first of their four consecutive wins in this matchup. Williams had assisted Russell Martin in the 3-0 victory in 2021.
He now has his own derby victory to cherish.
Swansea was truly outstanding, blazing ahead from the opening whistle. Following an early Jamie Paterson cross, Cardiff failed to clear their lines, so Nat Philips had to be ready to block a rasping attempt from Matt Grimes. Then, Harry Darling took a direct shot at Ethan Horvath, while Ronald's attempt from the edge of the area was blocked by the blue bodies.
Cullen, teed up by Joe Allen, fired over for Swansea, and Paterson's low freekick went off the wall moments after Cullen's effort went wide. Swansea dominated the first ten minutes of play.
On the fifteenth minute, Darling, who had replaced the injured Ben Cabango, came dangerously close to scoring a goal, but his header smacked against the crossbar.
Swansea's early dominance was obviously allowing Cardiff, who had previously won four games in a row, to lose their composure, and soon tempers began to fray. Cardiff were in a state of disarray. Darling was at the centre of the first major talking point of the game after coming so close to opening the score.
The hosts were demanding a red card during a struggle with Yakou Meite, claiming the Cardiff striker had given the Swans number six a headbutt. Replays revealed that they might have been partially correct. There's little doubt that Meite would have received his marching orders if VAR had been in place. Still, Darling didn't exactly bathe himself in glory having just moments earlier smacked an arm across the striker's face.
A few minutes later, the two reunited, providing a unique chance for the guests. Meite did a good job of forcing his way past the Swans' defence before Darling arrived to put an end to the threat.
For the Bluebirds, that was about as good as their chances of the first half got. The fact that Swansea had so little to show for their control during the first thirty minutes was, in fact, the only bright spot for Erol Bulut.
But ten minutes prior to the interval, everything was different.
Brazilian winger Ronald used a fantastic flick to move down the right and set up Kyle Naughton, who continued to try to turn back the clock by curling in a beautiful cross for an unmarked Cullen, who scored with an amazingly elegant first-time finish.
Moments later, Naughton was on the scoresheet himself, and only Phillips's body prevented him. After yet another Swans corner, the Liverpool loanee did brilliantly to block the veteran's close-range attempt.
Then the most recent installment of the Meite-Darling battle began. The Cardiff player was once again left counting his lucky stars when it was decided that a cynical trip on his afternoon opponent was insufficient to warrant a second yellow card.
In an attempt to create some semblance of an attacking spark, Bulut substituted Callum O'Dowda and Rubin Colwill for Meite during the second half, a move that surprised nobody.
Nevertheless, Swansea managed to stay ahead of the game when Paterson fired high and wide from the edge of the box to prolong the chance counter.
Then, there was a fantastic chance to end the game. Referee David Webb immediately pointed to the box after penalising Perry Ng, who had a rough afternoon. Ng was awarded a red card for bringing Ronald down inside the area.
While replays indicated that the call might have been severe, Cullen's error made the debate essentially meaningless. The Wales nationalist missed the post with his poor attempt.
As the game approached the hour mark, Cardiff did show some signs of progress, and they may have felt justice was served. Carl Rushworth saved Philips' header from a corner, and after some excellent work by Josh Bowler, Colwill launched a shot into orbit.
However, Swansea continued to create their own opportunities. Cullen may even believe that he should have performed better after heading a crouching header wide.
Ramsey was going on his first trip since the beginning of February. The first thing he did was concede a foul on the edge of the box, which forced Horvath to be quick to save Grimes' subsequent freekick.
Still, his debut came amid what was arguably Cardiff's finest run of play. From a corner, Dimitrios Goutas headed wide. Swansea held tight as Phillips headed straight at the keeper from another.
Deep into stoppage time, Lowe, having been played in by Ollie Cooper, skipped away from his man and raced away to slot home, banishing thoughts of that Friday night in September and calming the hosts' fears in the process.
The exuberant revels conveyed the true meaning of this win. not only for the athletes and fans. Additionally, Williams has elevated Swansea to the status of South Wales monarchs once again.
Swansea City: Ronald, Paterson (Cooper 71), Płacheta (Patino 90+1), Cullen (Lowe 71); Naughton (Key 57), Darling, Wood, Tymon; Allen (Fulton 71), Grimes (C).
Subs: Abdulai, Yates, Fisher, and Lissah.
Horvath, Ng, Goutas, Phillips, Wilson-Esbrand (Diedhiou 78), Siopis (Ramsey 71), Wintle, Bowler (Tanner 63), Turnbull (Colwill 46), Grant, and Meite (O'Dowda 46) are the Cardiff City players.
Turner, Romeo, Ralls, Collins, as substitutes.
With a magnificent and richly earned victory in the 117th South Wales derby, Swansea City reclaimed the title as the champions over Cardiff City.
Just before halftime at Swansea.com Stadium, Liam Cullen gave his team a well-earned lead with his sixth goal of the year. However, early in the second half of an intense match, Cullen missed the mark from the penalty spot.
Cardiff seldom showed any signs of coming back into the game, but Jamal Lowe's goal late into stoppage time calmed any remaining Swans worries and sparked wild celebrations among the home crowd and the Swans bench.
On the other hand, Cardiff were significantly more lacklustre this time around, having ended Swansea's dominant run in this game in September with a well-earned 2-0 victory back at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Here, Aaron Ramsey—the highlight of the previous meeting—began from the bench. But Swansea easily won their eighth derby in the previous eleven games, despite his appearance in the second half.
Naturally, Swansea's manager Luke Williams was in the dugout for the first of their four consecutive wins in this matchup. Williams had assisted Russell Martin in the 3-0 victory in 2021.
He now has his own derby victory to cherish.
Swansea was truly outstanding, blazing ahead from the opening whistle. Following an early Jamie Paterson cross, Cardiff failed to clear their lines, so Nat Philips had to be ready to block a rasping attempt from Matt Grimes. Then, Harry Darling took a direct shot at Ethan Horvath, while Ronald's attempt from the edge of the area was blocked by the blue bodies.
Cullen, teed up by Joe Allen, fired over for Swansea, and Paterson's low freekick went off the wall moments after Cullen's effort went wide. Swansea dominated the first ten minutes of play.
On the fifteenth minute, Darling, who had replaced the injured Ben Cabango, came dangerously close to scoring a goal, but his header smacked against the crossbar.
Swansea's early dominance was obviously allowing Cardiff, who had previously won four games in a row, to lose their composure, and soon tempers began to fray. Cardiff were in a state of disarray. Darling was at the centre of the first major talking point of the game after coming so close to opening the score.
The hosts were demanding a red card during a struggle with Yakou Meite, claiming the Cardiff striker had given the Swans number six a headbutt. Replays revealed that they might have been partially correct. There's little doubt that Meite would have received his marching orders if VAR had been in place. Still, Darling didn't exactly bathe himself in glory having just moments earlier smacked an arm across the striker's face.
A few minutes later, the two reunited, providing a unique chance for the guests. Meite did a good job of forcing his way past the Swans' defence before Darling arrived to put an end to the threat.
For the Bluebirds, that was about as good as their chances of the first half got. The fact that Swansea had so little to show for their control during the first thirty minutes was, in fact, the only bright spot for Erol Bulut.
But ten minutes prior to the interval, everything was different.
Brazilian winger Ronald used a fantastic flick to move down the right and set up Kyle Naughton, who continued to try to turn back the clock by curling in a beautiful cross for an unmarked Cullen, who scored with an amazingly elegant first-time finish.
Moments later, Naughton was on the scoresheet himself, and only Phillips's body prevented him. After yet another Swans corner, the Liverpool loanee did brilliantly to block the veteran's close-range attempt.
Then the most recent installment of the Meite-Darling battle began. The Cardiff player was once again left counting his lucky stars when it was decided that a cynical trip on his afternoon opponent was insufficient to warrant a second yellow card.
In an attempt to create some semblance of an attacking spark, Bulut substituted Callum O'Dowda and Rubin Colwill for Meite during the second half, a move that surprised nobody.
Nevertheless, Swansea managed to stay ahead of the game when Paterson fired high and wide from the edge of the box to prolong the chance counter.
Then, there was a fantastic chance to end the game. Referee David Webb immediately pointed to the box after penalising Perry Ng, who had a rough afternoon. Ng was awarded a red card for bringing Ronald down inside the area.
While replays indicated that the call might have been severe, Cullen's error made the debate essentially meaningless. The Wales nationalist missed the post with his poor attempt.
As the game approached the hour mark, Cardiff did show some signs of progress, and they may have felt justice was served. Carl Rushworth saved Philips' header from a corner, and after some excellent work by Josh Bowler, Colwill launched a shot into orbit.
However, Swansea continued to create their own opportunities. Cullen may even believe that he should have performed better after heading a crouching header wide.
Ramsey was going on his first trip since the beginning of February. The first thing he did was concede a foul on the edge of the box, which forced Horvath to be quick to save Grimes' subsequent freekick.
Still, his debut came amid what was arguably Cardiff's finest run of play. From a corner, Dimitrios Goutas headed wide. Swansea held tight as Phillips headed straight at the keeper from another.
Deep into stoppage time, Lowe, having been played in by Ollie Cooper, skipped away from his man and raced away to slot home, banishing thoughts of that Friday night in September and calming the hosts' fears in the process.
The exuberant revels conveyed the true meaning of this win. not only for the athletes and fans. Additionally, Williams has elevated Swansea to the status of South Wales monarchs once again.
Swansea City: Ronald, Paterson (Cooper 71), Płacheta (Patino 90+1), Cullen (Lowe 71); Naughton (Key 57), Darling, Wood, Tymon; Allen (Fulton 71), Grimes (C).
Subs: Abdulai, Yates, Fisher, and Lissah.
Horvath, Ng, Goutas, Phillips, Wilson-Esbrand (Diedhiou 78), Siopis (Ramsey 71), Wintle, Bowler (Tanner 63), Turnbull (Colwill 46), Grant, and Meite (O'Dowda 46) are the Cardiff City players.
Turner, Romeo, Ralls, Collins, as substitutes.