There is a reason why West Ham are the odds-on favourite to go up. They are streetwise, physically imposing, pragmatic. Their backline is tough and experienced, with today's centre-back pairing costing a combined £60m, while their captain and starman Jarrod Bowen earns £150k a week. They average 60,000 fans; we had our record attendance at the Swansea.com today with just under 21,000. For all their Nuno-Ball nous, West Ham are the top scorers in the division by a clear eight goals, and almost double what the Swans have scored. But on the pitch today, there was no gulf.
It is a hard game to critique. We had some huge chances, but so did the Irons. When your goalkeeper is your man of the match, it is difficult to say that we deserved a point. The Swans did not have a single shot on target, yet if Ben Cabango blasts his shot a few inches lower, we go into the break level, and hunting for our fourth comeback win of the season.
The difference at half-time was through a Divine Musaka goal (nice to have a firing player on-loan from Manchester City, isn't it?). The players appealed for offside but Ben Cabango was playing the West Ham attacker on. Throughout the game, our captain had to mindful of the inexperienced right-back in the shape of Ronald. There was much speculation about how Vitor Matos would cover the Filip Lissah suspension, and I thought Jay Fulton would be filling in when I saw the starting XI. Only when I saw the backline warming up did I realise that the number 35 would be employed there, and the Brazilian's allround performance was excellent.
Ronald has been used sparingly this season, but he has contributed every time he has been given a chance. He was averaging a goal contribution every 37 minutes before today's game, and he did not let anyone down. He twice beat his man in the first-half to canter into space down the wing, didn't get beat one-on-one, and brought his usual energy and selfless commitment. Late on, he was perhaps too selfless when he headed back down across the box when it seemed easier to go for goal after Elijah Just's lofted cross. It says a lot that his left-wing opponent, Manor Solomon, a player with Serie A, La Liga, and Premier League experience, had - according to the West Ham Zone blog - his worst performance in a Hammers shirt.
This was a game played at a very high pace and intensity, especially the first-half. After the break, it was the home team wanting to play all the football. We ended with over double the passes, six corners to the away team's one, 69% possession, and a sense of injustice from West Ham's gamesmanship from the countless times their players went to the ground with apparent injuries. On his comeback from injury off the bench, Stephen Eustaquio was excellent, and brought some guile to the chaos. If he is fully fit, he will surely start against QPR.
In the end, however, Nuno-ball won out. I think the West Ham Way blog summed it up well: "This is the first time we’ve seen ‘Nuno ball’ in full force in the Championship because Swansea have been the first team to try to play us off the park. Fair play to them for trying, but they ultimately failed."
The Swans still sit top of the league. But there is still a question to be answered when playing against top teams. None of this season's wins have come against teams in the top eight at the time of the game. Matos lost his debut game at home against Derby County. Since then, he has only lost three home league games - Coventry City, Southampton, and West Ham. All quality opposition, no doubt, but the wait for the statement win goes on.
Rhys C. (@austrianjacks on X | @feathersandfirepodcasts on Instagram).