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No Fluke For Luke, But New Boss Williams Expects More From Swansea City

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By Gareth James

New Swansea City head coach Luke Williams believes he has something to build on at his new club following their FA Cup victory over Morecambe.

Second-half goals from Charlie Patino and Jerry Yates gave Williams a 2-0 third round victory in his first game as the Swans head coach.

League Two side Morecambe held out until half-time despite having only 20 per cent of possession, but Patino netted just two minutes after the break before Jerry Yates scored a late second to wrap up the tie.

Williams gave a measured verdict, suggesting he will expect a good deal more when his players resume their Championship campaign.

“I think we need to work on being more accurate and more clinical in our build-up to understand our positioning a bit better.

“I think we can play with more intensity. There were times we played some nice stuff, but we did not make the most of the space after some good passages of play.

“We will now try and get in as much work as we can. I am looking forward to getting in as much work as possible with the players and the coaching staff to try and shape the performances in a way we really like.

“The positives were that we made a lot of box entries and scored two goals, which is pretty good. We have kept a clean sheet and I am really happy with that.

“The big thing is we now have our first sample of work where we can identify what is not good and what is good.”

But while Williams stressed there is a good deal for his team to improve, even after a victory, Cardiff City assistant coach Nikolaos Karydas put a surprisingly upbeat spin on a 4-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday.

Facing a team mired in the Championship relegation zone, the Bluebirds offered a chaotic display that included missing two penalties in the opening seven minutes.

Ryan Wintle and then Callum Robinson were kept out from the spot by Cameron Dawson after Josh Windass had fired the hosts into a second-minute lead.

Romaine Sayers then turned the ball into his own net at a corner in the 38th minute and Liam Palmer volleyed Wednesday three in front just two later. Mallik Wilks added the gloss, netting a fourth in added time of the second half.

But Karydas insisted there were “positives” to be taken from the heavy defeat, after standing in for Erol Bulut, who did not travel to Yorkshire because of illness.

“I cannot say we are disappointed with the performance, because the scoreline doesn’t reflect how the team played, said Karydas.

“Today, we saw many positive things, especially in the second half. We are also happy with the performance of the younger players that we had with us and we saw that they can be part of our team in the future. We keep moving forward with the positive things.

“In football, you have to expect everything. [Having two penalties saved] is a part of the game.

“Maybe if we scored, it would be the opposite, but we have to move forward to the next game against Leeds United.”

In all, though, it was a pretty decent weekend for the Welsh clubs in the tournament , with only Cardiff going out.

Newport County will live to fight another day, with a replay, although manager Graham Coughlan was left frustrated by his team’s failure to see off non-League Eastleigh.

Chris Maguire scored a late penalty to force a 1-1 draw for 10-man Eastleigh at League Two club County.

The National League side saw George Langston sent off in the 38th minute for a second yellow card and James Clarke put the hosts in front early in the second half.

But Maguire held his nerve to net from the spot with less than 10 minutes to play to keep the Spitfires’ cup dream alive.

“It’s not easy to stand here after a draw like that and be pleased with our performance, but I thought the lads played really well,” said Coughlan.

“But we are naive, we do daft things and we do shoot ourselves in the foot in certain moments.

“We should have seen the game through in all honesty. We should have booked our place in the next round and now we have to settle for a replay and go to Eastleigh next Tuesday night.”

Wrexham are already through to round four for the second year running after Thomas O’Connor’s goal secured them a 1-0 win at Shrewsbury.

The Dragons found the breakthrough in the 72nd minute as George Evans played the ball into O’Connor’s path and the midfielder’s deflected strike found the back of the net.”

Manager Phil Parkinson was pleased as Wrexham proved they were more than a match for opposition from a division one level higher.

“This was a day for our supporters and not just the ones that were here but the ones back at home,” said Parkinson.

“It’s a local derby, and 16 years ago Shrewsbury beat us to all but condemn the club to the National League.

“When you have had that pain of being a Wrexham fan during that period, it’s great that we gave our supporters a day to celebrate.

“Shrewsbury are an established League One team, and it was interesting to see us go toe-to-toe with a team that were right up it. And, as the game wore on, we looked better and better and rode our luck.”

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