Swansea City bowed out of the Emirates FA Cup after a 3-0 defeat to Premier League Southampton at St Mary’s.
Kamaldeen Sulemana’s lofted finish and two goals from Tyler Dibling secured a comfortable win for the Saints. Swansea rarely tested keeper Aaron Ramsdale, with Joe Allen’s late effort against the woodwork their closest chance.
Despite facing higher-tier opposition, Swans boss Luke Williams may be disappointed with his side’s lack of attacking threat against a team with just four wins this season.
Josh Ginnelly’s return after 478 days out with an Achilles injury provided a bright spot, while 37 year old goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin made his Swansea City debut as one of four changes from the West Brom draw.
Luke Williams admitted Swansea City were outclassed by a stronger side as they exited the Emirates FA Cup with a defeat to Southampton at St Mary’s.
The head coach acknowledged his team fell short of expectations but credited the Premier League side’s quality for playing a key role.
“It was too much for us tonight; we were outclassed by a stronger side,” said Williams. “I’ve got no complaints about the players’ effort. We were guilty of some sloppy play, but the opposition forced and capitalized on that.”
Next up for the Swans is the South Wales derby on Saturday for a 12:30 kick-off, when they travel to the Cardiff City stadium.
Team Lineups
Swansea City: Jon McLaughlin, Josh Key, Kyle Naughton, Cyrus Christie (Liam Cullen 66), Josh Tymon; Matt Grimes (captain) (Jay Fulton 66), Gonçalo Franco (Joe Allen 66), Myles Peart-Harris; Ronald (Azeem Abdulai 79), Jisung Eom (Josh Ginnelly 79), Florian Bianchini.
Unused Substitutes: Lawrence Vigouroux, Žan Vipotnik, Nathan Tjoe-A-On, Ben Lloyd.
Southampton: Aaron Ramsdale, Kyle Walker-Peters, Ryan Manning, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, James Bree, Jan Bednarek (captain) (Nathan Wood 73), Joe Aribo (Adam Lallana 85), Lesley Ugochukwu (Will Smallbone 67), Kamaldeen Sulemana (Adam Armstrong 67), Mateus Fernandez, Tyler Dibling (Cameron Archer 67).
Unused Substitutes: Alex McCarthy, Yukinari Sugawara, Charlie Taylor, Paul Onuachu.
Referee: Tony Harrington
Attendance: 12,120 including approximately 600 Swansea fans.
Match Highlights
Watch extended highlights of the Swans defeat at Premier League strugglers Southampton:
Feature Image Credit: Swansea City Football Club