Swansea City vs Derby County. Sky Bet Championship.
Swansea.com Stadium.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Swansea and Derby County at the Liberty Stadium as goals from Morgan Whittaker and Connor Roberts cancelled out Tom Lawrence's opener to ensure the Rams remain in relegation trouble
Saturday 1 May 2021 18:51, UK
Derby's fight for Sky Bet Championship safety will go to the final day of the season after Swansea came from behind to inflict a 2-1 defeat on Wayne Rooney's side.
The Rams were on course to beat the drop after Tom Lawrence's header at the start of the second half gave them the advantage in Wales.
But a quickfire comeback sparked by Derby academy product Morgan Whittaker and completed by Connor Roberts condemned Rooney to a sixth successive defeat.
Safety is still in Derby's hands but they are hovering dangerously close to the bottom three ahead of next weekend's final fixtures.
The Rams currently sit three points clear of the relegation zone, but Rotherham could close that gap if they win their game in hand against Luton on Tuesday.
Derby's fears of dropping down to the third tier of English football for the first time in 35 years are edging closer to reality.
Rooney made a single change to his team from the home defeat to Birmingham, with the inclusion of Polish winger Kamil Jozwiak in place of Lee Buchanan.
Swansea head coach Steve Cooper made five changes to his side, bringing in Whittaker and resting star man Andre Ayew. There were also recalls for Yan Dhanda, Korey Smith, Ryan Bennett and Roberts.
Derby almost got off to a nightmare start when Nathan Byrne failed to control a clearance on the halfway line. Jamal Lowe burst clear, with only Jozwiak tracking back, but his pass to the supporting Whittaker was too heavy to control.
Derby right-back Byrne was booked for a late aerial challenge on Lowe after 26 minutes and could have been shown a second yellow card with three minutes of the half remaining after another crunching challenge on his former Wigan team-mate.
The defender escaped further punishment as the first half ended without a goal but the deadlock was broken after two minutes of the second period.
Byrne had a dangerous cross half cleared back to his feet before curling in another towards the back post, where Lawrence got in front of his Wales colleague Roberts to head into the bottom corner.
However, Morgan sparked the rapid turnaround after 63 minutes.
A deep cross from Dhanda found Ben Cabango at the back post and Whittaker latched on to his cushioned header and squeezed a header of his own over the goal line despite the efforts of Kelle Roos.
The Derby collapse continued two minutes later after an expertly flighted pass from Matt Grimes picked out Roberts, who side-footed home a volley from the edge of the six-yard box for what proved to be the winning goal.
Swansea's Steve Cooper: "What we wanted to do before the game was get as many points as we can. If we finish third, fourth, fifth or sixth, we take that as it comes. We are not sitting here saying we want to play this team or that team, because when you qualify for the play-offs, you are a good team. Whoever we play, they are going to be difficult ties.
"We have got 80 points in a really tough season, with the circumstances that we have to work and play on. The lads deserve so much credit for it and I am really proud of them that they have done that. If we can get to 83 points, that's impressive. Recently we've dropped too many points here. We've conceded some late goals of late, and it was good to see out the win."
Derby's Wayne Rooney: "We leave ourselves with one game left of the season and we have to win. We'll certainly see who the men are and see which players can stand up and be counted for the game on Saturday. I've never been in a last day battle to stay in the league, I know it's my job to make sure the players are ready and that's all I can focus on.
"The players will be ready, it's a shoot-out between the three of us and we know if we win the game Sheffield Wednesday can't go above us, then we have to hope Rotherham lose one of their games. We work hard to stop those goals, so it's disappointing. Every time we seem to switch off, we seem to concede.
"The players are fighting for each other. There is no lack of fight or character. The players will be ready for next week. We know what we have to do to stay in this league."
