SWANS: ‘A team no-one will want to play’ — Matos hails maturity at Derby

Vitor Matos said Swansea City showed the maturity he has been asking for as they won 3-0 at Derby County to move third in the Championship.

Joseph Opoku struck inside 90 seconds, Eom Ji-sung added a second before the break and substitute Ronald finished it in stoppage time, with the Rams unable to muster a shot on target.

“We are all really happy. I think it was a good game, we started really well,” the head coach said.

“The goal gave us the tranquillity necessary to face a team that is really hard to play, in a really hard stadium as well.

“I’m really happy with the performance. The maturity shown and a clear way of staying in the game to compete, I think is what pleased me the most.”

It was not one-way traffic throughout.

“Then we had moments where Derby pushed us back, and we needed to stay compact and concentrated in the box,” Matos said.

“We coped with that, scored the second, and that gave us the comfort to control the game how we like to do it.

“We were a little bit anxious to score the third goal and kill the game, but I’m really pleased. We showed maturity again.”

‘Fil has been brilliant’

With Ben Cabango absent and Cameron Burgess out for the season, Filip Lissah and Stephen Welsh started together at centre-back for the first time.

“I’m really happy with both. They were both playing already, but not together in that position,” Matos said.

“Fil, so far, has been brilliant. A kid from the academy being able to play right-back, centre-half, with this maturity, with this concentration, is really pleasing.”

The clean sheet, though, he put down to the whole side.

“The whole team produced a good performance, and because the strikers defended and pressed, and the midfielders made the team compact, that allowed the defenders to be much more stable,” he said.

“I think it was a massive performance in terms of collectiveness, and I was really pleased with that.”

‘Players coming from the bench and still having impact’

Swansea used the full range of their squad at Pride Park, with Stephen Eustáquio making his debut and Ronald scoring after coming on.

“Being able to use the full squad, and players coming from the bench and still have impact on the game, I think that’s really helped each one,” Matos said.

“That’s something we want to build in terms of culture. It’s something that always helps every team. Having this kind of dressing room is really important for us.

“It’s something that we are building, something that we are in the early stages of as well, but I’m really happy so far.”

One change was forced. Opoku, having scored and gone close to a second, came off midway through the first half.

“He had a deep cut, it was really bleeding, he could not cope with the pain of that. So we needed to make the change,” the head coach said.

“But Moussa Yeo came with that freshness and that mentality as well, so it was quite nice to see.”

Three games in, Matos is wary of getting carried away.

“There is still a lot to come, still a lot of games. We don’t know how the results will go, but we know what we need to do to be competitive and to be a team that no one will want to play,” he said.

“The team is growing, we have new players fitting in, and we have a group of players that is starting to enjoy playing together.”

Watford next

The turnaround is a quick one, with Watford at the Swansea.com Stadium on Tuesday night.

“It will be a really competitive game. We all know Watford for this competitiveness, especially at the beginning of the season,” Matos said.

“They have a new manager as well, some new ideas. They seem a team that is ready to play in the moment, with a really clear style.

“It will be a really competitive game at our stadium, so let’s use that as an advantage.”