City made it three straight league wins with battling home success
Sergej Jakirovic with Swansea City chief Vitor Matos(Image: Lee Keuneke/PA Wire)
Swansea City manager Vitor Matos defended leading scorer Zan Vipotnik after he missed two gilt-edged chances in the 2-1 defeat at Hull City on Saturday afternoon.
Vipotnik, who is the Championship’s top scorer with 13 goals, twice turned wide from close range from Josh Tymon crosses in the first half.
Had he put those chances away, the Swans would have led 2-1 after former striker Oli McBurnie slammed in a penalty given after skipper Ben Cabango’s bizarre handball.
Matos felt there was a foul in the build-up to the Tigers’ second on the stroke of half-time, when Regan Slater fired in from outside the penalty area to give the hosts a two-goal lead.
Swansea dominated much of the second period and hauled themselves back into it on the hour when Liam Cullen glanced a deft header in the far corner, but the South Wales side couldn’t find an equaliser.
“Hull (City) were very strong in the first half, very aggressive, and we had to find a balance, and we found a way to compete,” the Portuguese told Hull Live. “A game of two halves. It’s about efficiency. Football is about that, about creating chances as well and scoring them.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t, and that, I would say, can summarise a little bit the game. Vipotnik has given and gives so much to us that it’s about a moment. He didn’t score. He scored so many before, so there’s no one more unhappy than him at this moment.
“I think most important, and I said when he scores as well, is what he offers to us in terms of the team – how we press, how we push the team up, how he puts his heart into everything he does. He missed these ones, but for sure he will score more.”
City boss Jakirovic, however, who managed the striker at Maribor, made a beeline for his former player at full-time, and was relieved he had an off day.
“He was my player in Maribor. He’s a fox in the box. I said to him, ‘Thank you’, because normally he would score two goals. I saw the ball in the net already because he’s really a fox in the box. A great finisher,” City’s supremo added.
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