Sun Oct 23, 2022 4:33 pm
Goals from Ollie Cooper and Michael Obafemi earned Swansea City their third successive South Wales derby triumph against 10-man Cardiff City.
By Glen William
Callum Robinson was sent off with just seven minutes on the clock at the Swansea.com Stadium to leave the Bluebirds with an almighty uphill battle from early on.
And the Swans took full advantage as Cooper and Obafemi struck either side of half-time as Russell Martin's outfit moved up to fourth in the Championship standings while Cardiff stayed in 20th, just two points above the relegation zone.
Martin stuck with the same side that started the 3-2 triumph over Reading on Tuesday night as Ryan Manning, Jamie Paterson, Joel Piroe and Joe Allen all missed out. As for Mark Hudson, he made three alterations to his line-up following the 3-0 loss to Queens Park Rangers.
Tom Sang started in place of the injured Perry Ng while Joe Ralls and Curtis Nelson came in for Romaine Sawyers and Jack Simpson respectively. The electric atmosphere reached fever-pitch levels once the game got underway, with several thundering challenges drawing roars from the sell-out crowd in the opening stages.
Cardiff started with a real intensity and caused the Swans problems early on, but a moment of madness from Robinson completely changed the outlook of the contest.
The striker fouled Matt Grimes and proceeded to hurl the ball into the face of Ben Cabango, earning a straight red card from referee Darren Bond after just seven minutes.
It dampened what had been a positive opening from the Bluebirds, with Swansea going on to dominate possession given their numerical advantage. While clear cut chances were at a premium, Martin's men bombarded the Cardiff penalty area.
After a delay following an injury to goalkeeper Ryan Allsop, Swansea carved Cardiff open and should have gone ahead. A slick move involving Grimes and Cooper led to Luke Cundle feeding Obafemi whose first touch took him through on goal, although he could only fire inches wide from the edge of the 18-yard box.
Despite being a man down, Cardiff remained threatening on the counter attack. Their best chance fell to Sang whose spectacular volley was palmed away by Steven Benda after Cabango headed away the lively Callum O'Dowda's cross.
Despite bossing proceedings, Swansea's sloppiness in the final third ensured Hudson's side were able to remain compact - with Allsop having precious little to do, in truth. However, the hosts were livid not to be awarded a penalty just after the half hour mark when Cedric Kipre cleared Matty Sorinola's cross with his fist in his own box.
But the hosts took the lead just moments later as Niels Nkounkou failed to clear his lines, and after Cundle had a shot blocked, Cooper's curling effort went in off the crossbar.
It was the Welshman's third goal in four matches and one that will undoubtedly have caught the eye of Wales boss Rob Page. It could have been even better for the home side before the break as Obafemi failed to guide Jay Fulton's cross on target before Cooper mis-hit Joel Latibeaudiere's cross with the goal at his mercy.
Nevertheless, Swansea led at the interval, although Cardiff will have felt there was still something to be gained from the contest despite Robinson's early shocker. Mark Harris replaced Sheyi Ojo for the second-half, although the Swans continued to dictate play.
Obafemi stung the palms of Allsop with a driven strike on 56 minutes, although clear cut openings remained few and far between as referee Bond handed out yellow cards following a string of niggly fouls from both sides.
A rare foray forwards from Cardiff saw O'Dowda pick out substitute Harris in the Swansea box, although the Welshman could only head over the crossbar under fierce pressure from Harry Darling. But the Swans doubled their lead midway through the second-half to leave the visitors with a mountain to climb.
Grimes threaded the ball through to Obafemi who poked beyond Allsop to put the game beyond doubt with what was his third goal in just his second Welsh derby appearance for the Swans. That appeared to have put any Cardiff hope to bed, and the Swans' confidence went through the roof as a result.
Allsop produced a stunning one-handed save to keep out Cabango's thumping effort after Olivier Ntcham had replaced Cundle, with Gavin Whyte coming on in place of Andy Rinomhota.
Kipre then produced a vital block to keep out Cooper's effort as Swansea threatened to open the floodgates in the final stages. Obafemi spurned the chance to put the icing on the cake four minutes from time after slotting wide when through on goal, although boss Martin was left to celebrate a third win in as many matches against the Bluebirds with what was his side's sixth success in seven matches while Cardiff lost for the third game running.
Swansea City: Benda; Wood, Darling, Cabango; Latibeaudiere, Fulton, Grimes (C), Sorinola (Oko-Flex 90+1); Cundle (Ntcham 70), O Cooper (Congreve 90+1); Obafemi (Cullen 90+1).
Subs not used: Fisher, Naughton, Stevens.
Goals: Cooper 38, Obafemi 67
Yellow cards: Darling 50, Obafemi 58, Cundle 60
Cardiff City: Allsop; Sang, Nelson, Kipre, Nkounkou; Ralls (C), Wintle, Rinomhota (Whyte 74); O'Dowda (Etete 82), Ojo (Harris 46), Robinson.
Subs not used: Alnwick, Simpson, Campbell, Sawyers.
Yellow cards: O'Dowda 50, Ralls 61, Harris 90+1
Red card: Robinson 7
Attendance: 19,814
Referee: Darren Bond