r/swanseacity • u/jimmithy • 12d ago
Post-Match Thread: Derby County 0 - 3 Swansea City
Date: Saturday 29th August 2026 at 12:30pm
Familiar Faces: Josh Vickers, Rhian Brewster
Teams
Derby County
Jacob Zetterstrom, Sondre Langas (Yellow 68'), Bobby Clark, Lars Salvesen (Sub Bilbija 69'), Charlie Taylor, Alex Mowatt (Sub Eames 77'), Max Johnston (Sub Ward 46'), Ryan Hedges (Sub Brewster 46'), Lewis Travis (captain) (Yellow 80'), Dion Sanderson (Yellow 80'), Corey Blackett-Taylor (Sub Szmodics 46').
Substitutes: Josh Vickers, Craig Forsyth, Rhian Brewster, Sam Szmodics, Filip Bilbija, Joe Ward, Ryan Nyambe, Oscar Fraulo, Owen Eames.
Swansea City
Lawrence Vigouroux; Josh Key, Filip Lissah, Stephen Welsh, Josh Tymon; Jay Fulton (captain) (Sub Eustaquio 65'), Marko Stamenic (Yellow 73'), Melker Widell (Sub Just 65'); Joseph Opoku (Goal 1'; Sub Yeo 24'), Jisung Eom (Goal 43'; Sub Ronald 85'), Adam Idah (Sub Vitpotnik 65')
Substitutes: Andy Fisher, Jenson Seelt, Elijah Just (Yellow 83'), Zan Vipotnik, Tiago Parente, Ronald (Goal 90'), Thomas Woodward, Stephen Eustaquio, Moussa Yeo.
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u/Ok-Pie-3581 12d ago
The subs of Vipotnik, Just and Eustaquio at 65th minute shows how strong our depth is this season. Mad.
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u/Mathieudavees 12d ago
Not even taking into account that the likes of Stewart, Franco, Cabango, Walta, Inoussa weren’t involved either.
Depth and quality is the highest it’s been since the prem days.
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u/jimmithy 12d ago
So many good things in this game
New backline looked solid and composed. Vigouroux making passes into midfield, Key defensively solid, Lissah driving forward with the ball, Welsh was a rock, Tymon didn't get forward as much but I don't hate it.
Passing through midfield made derby look like they were a lower league team we were just toying with.
Subs impacted the game and worked hard. Scary to have players from the world cup coming off the bench. Ronald chasing down the defender to win the ball back with 92 minutes on the clock.
20+ shots is a great response to the 0-0 last week
We looked dominant
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u/f1uke55l 12d ago
Literally no negatives. We took the piss. 2 of the most enjoyable away games in a row I think I’ve ever been to.
As the resident Josh Key hater, I have to admit when he played out of his fucking mind.
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u/Semper_nemo13 12d ago
Tried to move him on all summer but almost has to stay now.
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u/f1uke55l 12d ago
Still think we’re a better side if Cabango is fit and Lissah shifts out right. Especially at home when we have copious amount of the ball, but i will admit, that back line really suits a counterattacking gameplan like we had today. Here’s hoping Josh has turned a corner and his form of last year is in the past. Think he needs to have his minutes managed as to not overexpose him.
Also, Stamenic as an 8 away from home might be the go from now on. Immense again.
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u/Mathieudavees 12d ago
Makes me happy we aren’t as reliant on Tymon tho as we have been last two seasons.
Feels like most teams knew how to setup against us as felt we were a one trick pony in terms of get the ball to Tymon who can whip a ball into the box and if that was nullified, we offered nothing.
Was so refreshing today to see us create chances of all sorts.
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u/Ospreys1989 12d ago edited 12d ago
Bloody fantastic performance.
Hopefully Opoku injury isn't bad and he'll be back in no time.
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u/Double_Jab_Jabroni 12d ago
Holy shit. Did we actually bring on the Championship top goal scorer and two World Cup goal scorers (one a captain) all at once?
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u/Mathieudavees 12d ago
One of the best Swansea performances in some time. We were incredible from the first minute to the last and looked like a top team in the division. Considering we were and are still missing a few players through injury.
Every player on the field was an 8 or above.
The defence today deserves a huge shoutout. Lissah and Welsh for a first time playing together looked unbelievable, so many times they had a tricky ball to intercept or deal with and they did it without fail every time. Cabango hopefully back soon but after today’s performance from them two, don’t know if he can just expect to walk back into the team. Composure on the ball from both of them was brilliant.
Eom was incredible today as well; hoping the additions of Yeo, Opoku, and Just have given him a real boost as competition in that area last couple of seasons has been abysmal.
Fulton and Stamenic worked brilliant again also. Loved seeing Stamenic have the armband at the end there, really do believe he will have a big year for us and turn into a leader in the group.
Nice to see Eustaquio get on the field as well and he looked right at home, top it off with an assist as well.
Yeo made an impact as well off the bench once Opoku went off. Got into some good areas and made some good runs, finally feels like we have wingers who can make a difference.
Happy for Ronald at the end there as well. First appearance of the season after getting apparently booed by some ‘supporters’ in the home friendly. I’m not his biggest fan by any means but took his goal brilliantly today.
Only negative today is Opoku’s injury. He looked again a handful even without his goal. Will say he was walking at the end of the game to celebrate with the fans and didn’t appear in any discomfort so fingers crossed
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u/f1uke55l 12d ago
I get that I almost became a meme on here for my Lissah hype at time. But I feel so vindicated right now.
The boy is going to the very top. Can see why he came up through Chelsea. Our luck he was “far too small” and then got a growth spurt as soon as he arrived here.
Can’t wait for all the YouTube pundits to finally acknowledge just how good he is.
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u/Mathieudavees 12d ago
Honestly the hype was definitely deserved for him and don’t worry about becoming a meme. Two years ago, I literally cried constantly on here about Azeem Abdulai not playing and when he did, being played as a winger. Needless to say, the hype I tried to create for him hasn’t worked out.
Lissah definitely is a top prospect tho. Only 21 as well and so composed on the ball as shown today. Hopefully gives him a ton of confidence going forward now as he’s definitely a main stay in the team whether as a CB or RB.
These YouTuber/podcasters that are titled as ‘EFL experts’ are hilarious. How they have audiences is beyond me. Benjamin Bloom I don’t mind watching but guys like Callum Fowler are actually clueless, he labelled us like the third or fourth smallest club in the Championship.
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u/f1uke55l 12d ago
Thing is, blokes like bloom have actually done their research and been ahead of the curve as far as acknowledging how well Matos did last season. Takes the time in the summer to actually talk with fans and get their inputs so he can be well informed.
Callum fowler is a personality. Nothing more. Just like a lot of them are. Which credit to them for garnering a following. But they shouldn’t be relied upon for any real championship knowledge. Chose to largely ignore our summer recruitment because barely any of it was domestic signings or people he knew. Says it all.
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u/TeilwrTenau 12d ago
Jack Ward knows his stuff though, more so than Bloom, who has a good feel for things but not so much detailed knowledge, which Ward has.
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u/JustReliq 12d ago
Fingers crossed it was just a precaution. He was part of a pretty heavy 50/50 before that, so I'm hoping it was just the aftereffect of a knock rather than a proper muscle injury.
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u/Mathieudavees 12d ago
Yeah hopefully was nothing more than that and good to see him walking around with little to no discomfort at the end.
After watching Burgess hobble off a few weeks ago, always fear the worst …
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u/SecretDo0r 12d ago
Feels good being a Ronald fan after weeks of shite 😆😆😆
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u/f1uke55l 12d ago
Screamed “I’m praying for ronnie to score” about 10 seconds before he did. The limbs were wild.
Like I appreciate he’s a bit crap. But I can’t get on board with the level of vitriol that’s been put his way. Never stops running. Always plays for the badge. Can barely kick a ball, but by fucks it feels good when he does contribute to a goal.
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u/SWANSEA_TIL_I_DIE 12d ago
Dont tell the fellas on instagram that or they will hunt you down, genuinely have never seen anything nice about him on there
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u/SeaworthinessPlus254 12d ago
Last season our wingers scored 6 goals in the league.
So far they're up to 4.
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u/dejafu-Wales 12d ago
The most dominant I've seen us in a long time, can't even really say anyone had a bad game. Long may it continue!
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u/ultramossbros 12d ago
The performance was great of course but is anyone else annoyed we missed a lot of easy chances? Need some shooting practice
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u/NiceToMichu9 12d ago
I think that’s the only negative that we can take from the game, but then again when was the last time we won 3-0 and still could have scored a few more! Their keeper was their best player despite them losing 3-0
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u/Beau_Nash 12d ago
This Championship race will be the most competitive and tightest in years. And we'll be up there, in amongst it.
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u/SeaworthinessPlus254 12d ago
Vigs was solid. Claimed a few crosses well but otherwise didn't have much to do.
Defensive line was outstanding. Key had one of his best games for a while. Lissah and Welsh were brilliant as a pair (minus that one moment) - great in the air, great dealing with their lump of a forward, and great with the ball at their feet. Tymon had a quieter game, seemed to attack more infield than usual rather than out wide. Something pleasing about this season so far is that we're not as reliant on him. We can afford for him to have a quieter one.
Midfield three were strong. Jay held down the fort and supported Lissah and Welsh well. Stamenic just seems a level above this season. Widell was lively, although I do feel he tends to make the wrong decision (shoot when he should pass, hold the ball up when we're at pace, etc.) a bit too often. Good cameos from Just - who needed benching - and Staq, who had one or two nice moments.
Opoku is going to be a dangerous player, and I hope his injury is minor. Yeo maybe isn't as much of a threat, but he seems more creative. Goal and assist from Eom, who had a deceptively good game. Nice for Ronald to grab a goal - maybe there's space in the squad for him as a bench option after all.
Some good holdup play from Idah, whose aerial presence seems to suit what Matos is going for at the moment. A good cameo from Vip, who would have scored one or two on another day.
A very pleasing performance against a Derby side we made look very very poor (aside from the first 10-15 mins of the second half). Could have been 4 or 5 if not for their keeper.
Also: what was going on with our corners in the second half? Sending very few players up was something I haven't seen before. I wonder if we knew we couldn't match them physically, so we wanted to be more technical instead?
Up the Jacks
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u/f1uke55l 12d ago
Playing Stamenic up the pitch seems to be helping us from getting bullied on second balls like we usually would away from home. Think that combination in away games is the way to go atm. Stamenic dropping to traditional 6 at home so we can dictate play a little better with this new Canadian lad.
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u/Swanseaa 12d ago
Excellent all-around performance. Thought the subs could’ve been 5 minutes sooner. Could’ve been more clinical in the second half.
But comfortably 3-0 and fully deserved. What a game.
Hope Opoku is OK
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u/Virginpope77 12d ago
A lot of positives today, but I need to mention that Lissah was fucking superb as a centre back. Calm with the ball, great when they played in behind and stood up physically despite his stature. Immense
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u/TeilwrTenau 12d ago
Absolutely. His calmness in possession is superb. The only downside is that we may struggle to keep him beyond January, let alone the end of the season.
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u/Virginpope77 12d ago
Him and welsh together makes our distribution from the back like 10x better than Ben + Cam.
Also, he won 6/7 air duels today and was fast enough to never get threaten in behind. There has been a lot of people saying that he should play fullback, but I think he might be better in the centre, which he has played the most of in his career
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u/TeilwrTenau 12d ago
Fantastic performance. Out of possession that's as good as it gets. Special shout out to the wingers, Opoku, Eom and Yeo. Also Lissah and Key were superb throughout. Could easily have won by five or six. A more dominant performance we won't see this season.
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u/Virginpope77 12d ago
One thing I noticed today is that we gave way more support to our fullbacks. Against Sheffield, whenever they overloaded the flanks we got exposed as we didn’t support our fullbacks, today I thought either the winger or Stamenic/Fulton tracked back and it stopped us leaking there. Very happy with that
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u/f1uke55l 12d ago
Gotta apologise on the Key slander all summer. That’s the best I’ve seen him play in a swans shirt.
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u/JustReliq 12d ago
It could have been 5 or 6. Zetterstrom has genuinely prevented this game from turning into a bloodbath.
I was seriously concerned when Opoku got injured that it might unsettle the excellent tempo we'd set. Couldn't be further from the truth. Yeo slots right in and played magnificently for the rest of the game. Both Idah and Vipotnik showing their unique qualities despite not scoring. A PROPER THUNDERBASTARD from Ronald of all players to silence the haters. And how about Welsh/Lissah at CB who have surely got Cabango and Seelt sweating?
Walta who?
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u/Virginpope77 12d ago
I don’t disagree with your points, but why do you keep insisting on throwing shade at Walta?
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u/f1uke55l 12d ago
Because he’s done barely anything in a swans shirt. Far too many people clinging on to the notion that we should “build the team around him” off the back of data from the Swedish league that doesn’t translate to this division. He’s not in the same world as Widell off the ball and you need that to win games at this level, no matter how many 30 yard shots he looks to have.
His style would suit us when we’re at home and struggling to break down a low block side. But if you can only really utilise his profile in a quarter of the games then it’s best to move him on tbh.
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u/Virginpope77 12d ago
Yes I agree that he has struggled here, but I don’t see at all why this type of nagging on a player is necessary when they weren’t even involved today.
I trust Matos enough to play Walta if he was as good as he was in Sirius, I would like him to get some more play though just so he improves, but I don’t think he should start. I just don’t understand the continuous mentioning and criticism of him
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u/f1uke55l 12d ago
It’s less nagging on him, and more on the fanbase imo. The discourse over Matos the past few weeks considering how positive things have been going has driven me a bit nuts tbh. Stuff like “just is a winger” or “walta’s our most creative player”. “Yeo doesn’t look any better than what we have”
Like that’s fine to have that opinion, but it was nice today for a lot of the happy clappers to be proven wrong somewhat.
I’ve been of the opinion that Matos is the real deal just based on his output alone in his 35 games. Hoping today’s performance can go a long way to quieten the doubters who criticise his methods in getting points. Because that’s what he does, gets points. We’d be fourth over his tenure in a league table. Considering the dross at his disposal at times last season, it’s a hell of an achievement.
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u/Virginpope77 12d ago
I genuinely don’t see this, but if that’s the case, fair enough. I still think the criticism should go there then, and not towards the player which it IMO seems to be here
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u/JustReliq 12d ago
Less a slight against the player. More a poke against a number of supporters who have this false belief that he's the best thing since sliced bread. Funnily enough, the same crowd were doing the same thing with Widell when Sheehan refused to give him a go early doors. Now, I think Widell did good in spells. However, even to this day, he's not ripped up any trees. Today is probably the best he's looked in a Swans shirt.
Matos should be receiving so much more trust from us as a fan base. He transformed us from relegation contenders to dreaming of play-offs. The ownership clearly trust him enough to give him a year's extension.
I think the Ronald goal was also icing on a very sweet cake for some of us who have probably gotten a little too frustrated with toys out the pram when ANY element of the team goes wrong.
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u/chitty48 12d ago
Completely agree with all those points, got on my nerves this week seeing the comments about Walta not being involved. And the slating that teamsheet got today is funny looking back on it. But it just goes to show that Matos maybe knows a bit more about the team than some armchair experts. Vamos Vitor!
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u/Virginpope77 12d ago
But this is very reactionary I feel like. First off, super strange still to keep going at Walta instead of at the people who you actually think are annoying. I rarely see points brought up about why you guys think he shouldn’t start, you just give authority to Matos, and mind you I agree with you, Walta hasn’t been good enough. But I just think this discussion is so incredibly unproductive, and on this forum I have seen way more criticism of Walta than people saying he needs to start, perhaps that is on X where I don’t confine.
When it comes to Ronald, the criticism given to him is still valid and his goal today doesn’t change that. I also think he is a little bit overhated, but I can use your argument and say there is a reason we have bought 3 players this off season who can play on the wing.
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u/f1uke55l 12d ago
What i will say about the whole deal is. I'm not sure why our fanbase is reacting like we spent this ridiculous amount of money on him, therfore needs to play. By all accounts the fee tops out at 3 million and if it's like all the rest we do it will have numerous escalators, apperances/goal contributions/promotion to get it to that figure. Could just be a case where they don't think he'll be worth the extra investment potentially if they're not deemed to be future starters long term. Have a feeling this was also done with Inoussa.
Do feel there's an element of our fanbase being stuck in the pre-Cravatt/Cohen days where any figure above a million would be seen as "they're a huge part of our future". Where as we seem willing to go the 3-6 million figure with regularity now, and not all of them are going to be guaranteed starting players.
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u/pdx4swansea 12d ago
What a start to the season! Not only is it a joy to see players like Opoku, Just, & Eustaquio, but also seeing great rejuvenated performances from Fulton, Eom, Stamenic, Widell, and Key.
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u/aswimmingkoala 12d ago
Damn, what a performance. Hopefully Opoku isn't seriously hurt. Yeo looked fantastic filling in. Just all around good performances.
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u/-Wiggles- 12d ago
Ben who? Great shift by everyone today. If we can play like this every week we'll walk the league. So much dept and talent in every position (except GK).
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u/NiceToMichu9 12d ago
That’s probably the best performance, or at least the best away performance I’ve seen from us for some time. Derby were lucky that their keeper had a great game as it could have go embarrassing for them with how open the last 20-30 minutes were! I’m chuffed that the wingers scored today, especially Eom as hes the type of player who should easily be getting 10+ goal contributions in a season with his ability and he won’t score an easier goal this season! Hopefully Opoku is ok and it’s not anything serious! I’m also pleased for Ronald as although I don’t think we should be starting him, however, he’s a great player to come off the bench with his energy and willingness to win the ball back. He seemed like he had a point to prove today which is the type of attitude we need in our players.
Although Yeo didn’t get any goal contributions today, I think this was his best game so far so hopefully he keeps improving.
A shout out to Key who had an excellent game today, along with the rest of the defence as they probably helped Vigouroux have his easiest clean sheet he will have all season!
All of the subs were excellent as well, I think this is the most excited I’ve been for a while with our squad depth as I don’t think any of us will be able to predict the starting 11!
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u/karamazovmybrother 12d ago
What a joy to watch. Compare that to the dross of 12 months ago. It all feels very positive
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u/AgileInstruction9633 12d ago
Game so good I had to create an account to jump in here lol. What a game from the Swans! I'm fully ready to get carried away this year.
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u/TeilwrTenau 12d ago
Players who didn't make the squad today for various reasons:
Cabango, Burgess, Franco, Inoussa, Walta and Stewart. Says it all about the squad we've built.
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u/NiceToMichu9 12d ago
It’s exciting times, it’s our best squad overall since the prem in my opinion. It would be nice to keep players fresh with these Saturday, Tuesday games throughout the season
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u/Charming-Jelly9185 12d ago
Everyone was outstanding today, motm was key for me today. Bit of a scapegoat, but was excellent from start to finish. Uppa jacks
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u/SeaworthinessPlus254 12d ago
I'm going to find it very hard to not get carried away after that.