SWANS: ‘Really proud’: Matos hails character as Swansea win at Lincoln to go top

Vitor Matos said he was “really proud” of his Swansea City side after a battling 2-1 comeback win at Lincoln City took them to the top of the Championship.

The Swans came from a goal down to win at a ground Matos had flagged as one of the hardest in the division, and the head coach felt the performance showed exactly the character he wants.

“I’m really proud of the team and of the players coming here and competing in a hard place against a hard team in terms of competitiveness and physicality,” he said.

“It was a really good performance. We tried to impose ourselves, which was not easy from the beginning, but we ended the first half much more composed and much closer to what we wanted to do. We knew it would not be easy.”

A half-time tweak

Matos made changes at the break, both tactical and mental, to find a way through a stubborn Lincoln.

“Small things we thought could help us have more people around the edge and the box, and find better ways to get inside the structure of Lincoln, who were really organised and compact,” he said.

“It’s not easy to break them down. They have one of the best defences in the league, and it’s for a reason. Then it’s more about mentality and concentration.”

He singled out the intensity of the second-half display.

“The levels of concentration were really high. Set-pieces, staying in the game, attacking the balls, concentration for second balls, which were massive today,” he said. “It was a performance where we showed character, and how we want to compete in this type of game.”

Praise for Vigouroux and a stretched defence

Lawrence Vigouroux was again to the fore, and Matos reserved warm words for the goalkeeper he rates the best in the division.

“Lawrence is unbelievable. I like him a lot. He was so concentrated in all these situations, in control of his pace, and that gives us tranquillity to stay in the game,” he said. “Having someone like him behind us is massive.”

He was equally pleased with a back line missing the injured Josh Key, with Filip Lissah filling in and Jenson Seelt introduced.

“It was a tough game. With Lissah playing in that position and Seelt having to deal with a lot of physicality, it was tough,” Matos said. “Bringing Jenson on brought freshness and height, which was important.”

Top, but the work goes on

Victory sent Swansea top going into the international break, though Matos was quick to keep it in perspective.

“It’s good, but it doesn’t mean a lot at this point. It’s a good feeling for everyone, and a feeling that we are doing the right steps,” he said.

“Today was still not a game where we could say we were perfect. It was a game where we knew we needed to do a lot of things right to win. The most important thing is to keep improving and get consistency in our principles.”

Swansea return to action after the break at home to Norwich City on Saturday 10 October, the start of a hectic run of seven league games in 28 days.

Author

Richard Bond

Swansea-based sports journalist.
Twitter: @RichBond00
Email: RichardBond@swanseabaynews.com