Swansea City began 2025 on a bitterly disappointing note as they fell to a comprehensive defeat against Portsmouth at Fratton Park.
The Swans were left to rue a lacklustre first-half display, with Josh Murphy and Paddy Lane punishing defensive lapses to give Pompey a commanding 2-0 lead at half time.
The visitors had their moments in an improved spell spanning both sides of the interval. Florian Bianchini missed two promising chances, and Josh Tymon struck the woodwork, but the Swans failed to convert their opportunities.
Any hopes of a revival were extinguished when Ryan Towler’s header made it 3-0 just past the hour mark. Colby Bishop added a fourth to cap a disappointing afternoon for Swansea.
The defeat was a stark contrast to the Swans’ recent exhilarating home victories over Queens Park Rangers on Boxing Day and Luton Town – the last game of 2024. It was especially frustrating for the 1,907 strong Jack Army who had packed out the away end after making the long journey to the south coast.
Even with the challenge of playing three games in six days, head coach Luke Williams and his players will be deeply frustrated after emphasizing the importance of consistency following their festive successes.
Addressing the media after the game Luke Williams said: “It was a very bad day at the office. If we want to be a better team then we have to find a level of consistency”. He went on to add that he felt his team lacked focus and concentration, in what was a poor performance.
Swansea made two changes to the side that beat Luton Town, with Gonçalo Franco sidelined due to a facial injury and Josh Key moving to the bench. Jay Fulton and Kyle Naughton were restored to the starting XI, while Joe Allen returned to the matchday squad among the substitutes.
Next up for the Swans is the visit of West Bromwich Albion to the Swansea.com stadium on Saturday for a 12:30 kick-off.
Team Lineups
Swansea City: Lawrence Vigouroux; Kyle Naughton (Cyrus Christie 65), Ben Cabango (Josh Key 78), Harry Darling, Josh Tymon; Matt Grimes (captain), Jay Fulton (Myles Peart-Harris 65), Liam Cullen; Ronald, Jisung Eom; Florian Bianchini (Žan Vipotnik 73)
Unused Substitutes: Jon McLaughlin, Joe Allen, Nathan Tjoe-A-On, Ben Lloyd, Azeem Abdulai.
Portsmouth: Nico Schmid, Connor Ogilvie, Ryley Towler, Marlon Pack (captain), Freddie Potts, Colby Bishop (Christian Saydee 90), Andre Dozzell, Zak Swanson, Josh Murphy (Terry Devlin 84), Paddy Lane (Matt Ritchie 71), Callum Lang (Elias Sorensen 90).
Unused Substitutes: Jordan Archer, Jordan Williams, Tom McIntyre, Owen Moxen, Sam Silvera.
Referee: James Linington
Attendance: 20,427 including 1,907 Swansea fans.
Match Highlights
Watch extended highlights of the Swans heavy defeat against Portsmouth at Fratton Park:
Feature Image Credit: Swansea City Football Club