Swansea City vs Huddersfield Town. Sky Bet Championship.
Swansea.com StadiumAttendance14,725.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Swansea City and Huddersfield Town at the Swansea.com Stadium on Saturday | Arsenal loanee Charlie Patino scores 94th-minute equaliser to earn Michael Duff's men a point
Saturday 2 December 2023 18:28, UK
Charlie Patino's injury-time equaliser earned Swansea a late 1-1 Championship draw with fellow strugglers Huddersfield.
The Terriers looked on course for back-to-back wins for the first time under Darren Moore after defender Ben Cabango turned into his own net from Jaheim Headley's cross in the third minute.
The Swans dominated after that early setback and created numerous openings - with Jay Fulton, Yannick Bolasie, Harry Darling and Cabango among those to have chances.
And Arsenal loanee Patino slotted home in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage-time to nick the Swans a point in dramatic fashion.
The Terriers made a dream start as Headley capitalised on Matt Grimes' error before charging up the left flank and his somewhat speculative cross was turned into his own net by Cabango.
It swiftly set the tone for the remainder of the contest as Swansea dominated possession, although Cabango and Jamie Paterson were both unable to hit the target as Chris Maxwell was untested.
Liam Walsh - on his first start of the season - drilled straight at goalkeeper Maxwell from 25 yards out to register the game's first shot on target in the 33rd minute, such had been the lack of attacking quality on show.
Huddersfield desperately struggled to get out of their own half and - when they were presented with a decent opening - Sorba Thomas's free-kick was comfortably gathered by Carl Rushworth.
Fulton's shot was well smothered by Maxwell after slick play between Walsh and Paterson, but the Terriers almost doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time completely against the run of play when Headley crossed to Danny Ward, although the striker - on his 250th outing for the club - headed straight at Rushworth.
Michael Duff made a triple change at the break, with Bolasie replacing Liam Cullen to make his home debut, while Jerry Yates and Darling came on for Bashir Humphreys and Kyle Naughton respectively.
The hosts instantly carried a greater threat, with Yates unable to get a shot away after intercepting Yuta Nakayama's loose pass.
Bolasie then took down Grimes' crossfield pass on his chest before unleashing a volley over as Swansea continued to boss proceedings.
Duff could have been forgiven for fearing the worst when Matty Pearson was fortunate not to turn Jamal Lowe's cross into his own goal, and Bolasie's drilled effort was then deflected wide.
Darling headed over before his swerving strike was kept out by the legs of Maxwell as Huddersfield's rearguard was tested to the limit.
Grimes and Patino had tame efforts either side of substitute Delano Burgzorg's chance in the final stages.
But Swansea broke Huddersfield hearts in added time as Patino coolly slotted the ball beyond Maxwell to make it 1-1.
Swansea could have won it a minute later, although Darling header over as the points were shared, with Duff's side now winless in five games.
Swansea's Michael Duff:
"They (fans) are showing their frustration. I think in the cold light of day, they've watched the same game as us. We haven't won enough games at home, we get that. I can make all the excuses in the world but you have to win. That's part of my job. You get clapped when you win and you get booed when you don't. It is what it is.
"We dominated the game, there's no doubt about that. If we play that game 10 times, I think we win nine with the numbers we had in terms of possession, shots, opportunities - everything. We talked in the week about giving poor goals away and they have done nothing to score a goal. That makes it doubly difficult. But we have had ample opportunities to go and win the game."
Huddersfield's Darren Moore:
"What I am pleased with, over the three games this week after the international break, to take five points against the calibre of teams we've played, taking into consideration the travel, then I've got to be pleased. I said to the boys two weeks ago, the work we did in the international break, this will carry you through the next three games. It shows the work we've done as a group and it shows we're heading in the right direction.
"Performances have been more solid and resolute. They're staying in the game longer and being harder to beat. We know we're still short in areas. We know there's a progress going on at the moment at the football club, both on and off the pitch. We need to keep focused and keep churning away and getting those points on the board. It would have been great to take the three points today but when we look at the course of the week, to take five points out of those games is credit to the team."
