Swansea City v Rotherham United - live updates

27 Feb 2023
Swansea vs Rotherham

Swansea City's frustrating run continued as their former transfer target Chiedozie Ogbene struck to earn Rotherham United a 1-1 draw with Russell Martin's side.

The hosts had the better of the opening half at the Swansea.com Stadium and went ahead through Joel Piroe's 13th strike of the season just before half-time.

But Matt Taylor's side were more threatening after the restart and saw Ogbene end a run of 11 games without a goal to ensure the points were shared.

READ MORE:Ki, Michu, de Guzman — Where Swansea City's cup-winning heroes are now 10 years on

Russell Martin made just one change to the side that started the 3-1 loss to Stoke City last time out as Joel Latibeaudiere came in for Harry Darling who dropped to the bench.

And the hosts survived a major scare with just 49 seconds on the clock as, after Matt Grimes was robbed of the ball in front of the dugout, Rotherham broke, although Ogbene's curling effort rebounded off the outside of Andy Fisher's post.

Martin's men settled after that nervy opening and created a big chance of their own as Ryan Manning beat two defenders with a pass to find Ollie Cooper in space, although the Welshman drove straight at Viktor Johansson.

Manning then went close himself as he tried to catch out the Millers from a free-kick, although Johansson stretched to tip the Irishman's goalbound effort to safety.

The game petered out after those efforts though, and after a dull spell, the Swans altered their shape, with Latibeaudiere dropping into a back three to allow Matty Sorinola and Manning to operate as wing-backs.

It made a significant difference as the home side finished the first-half strongly. Martin's men showed real patience as Joe Allen and Piroe combined after Swansea built from the back, with the latter sending Morgan Whittaker through on goal, although the youngster's effort took enough of a deflection off Johansson to give Rotherham time to clear.

Allen then lashed well over after Rotherham failed to fully clear a corner as the Swans looked to turn the screw, and their improvement was rewarded three minutes before half-time.

Grimes and Allen did well to create space in the middle of the park before the latter played it wide to Manning whose drilled pass infield was well controlled by Piroe. The Dutchman took full advantage of the space around him to drill into the bottom corner, much to the relief of the coaching staff and the Swansea faithful.

The Swans will have been only too aware of their sloppiness after restarts of late. But they were once again emphatically punished for more woeful defending shortly after the interval.

Shane Ferguson's cross found Ogbene who fell on the ball in the six-yard box, only to get back to his feet in an instant to prod beyond Fisher.

It well and truly deflated the home faithful and fully served as a reminder of how big a threat the Republic of Ireland international could have been at Swansea as Martin responded by sending on Olivier Ntcham and Jay Fulton for Manning and Allen.

Martin was calling for a penalty shortly after his side had been pegged back after Fisher sent a long ball upfield for Whittaker to chase, and the attacker went down under a challenge from Bailey Wright, but referee Gavin Ward waved play on.

Swansea were lacking in ideas as Rotherham continued to believe they could leave south Wales with a positive result that would no doubt bolster their bid to avoid relegation back into League One.

Ntcham showed great endeavour to keep the ball alive before delivering a sumptuous cross towards Piroe who could only head wide from close range.

Ogbene continued to cause problems, and his rapid sprint up the pitch led to him picking out substitute Conor Washington whose shot was well blocked by Ben Cabango.

From the resulting corner, Swansea survived another huge scare as Georgie Kelly drilled straight at Fisher from close range with what was his first touch after coming off the bench.

Liam Cullen replaced Grimes with a minute of regular time left, but neither side could find a late winner as Swansea's frustrating run continued ahead of a tough looking test away to Luton Town on Saturday.

Swansea City: Fisher; Latibeaudiere, Cabango, Wood, Manning (Ntcham 56); Allen (Fulton 56), Grimes (C) (Cullen 89), Sorinola (Cundle 81); Cooper, Whittaker, Piroe.

Subs not used: Sondergaard, Darling, Walsh.

Goal: Piroe 42

Yellow cards: Latibeaudiere 34, Wood 71, Cabango 81

Rotherham United: Johansson; Peltier (Harding 78), Wright, Humphreys, Hjelde; Coventry, Rathbone (C) (Lindsay 72), Fosu; Ogbene, Hugill (Washington 74), Ferguson (Kelly 78).

Subs not used: Vickers, Bramall, Odoffin.

Goal: Ogbene 52

Yellow cards: Hugill 10, Hjelde 58

Attendance: 15,144

Referee: Gavin Ward

READ NEXT:

'It's not a good look' — Swansea City legend hits nail on the head over club's current problem

Swansea City news as Russell Martin stays defiant and star opens up on 'tough decision'

Swansea City transfer news as Allen backs boss 100%, Wolves make Cundle call and Bony's stay in Bolivia looks doomed already

Ki, Michu, de Guzman — Where Swansea City's cup-winning heroes are now 10 years on

Russell Martin says there's been no talks over his job and is already planning 'huge' summer for Swansea City

Read more
Similar news
This week's most popular news