Swansea City vs Hull City. Sky Bet Championship.
Swansea.com StadiumAttendance16,317.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Swansea and Hull City at the Liberty Stadium as Grant McCann's Tigers battled for a goalless draw in South Wales
Saturday 11 September 2021 18:40, UK
Swansea were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by Hull as their goalscoring troubles continued at home.
The Welsh side dominated possession and managed 15 shots to Hull's single effort on target, but they failed to break down the resolute Tigers defence.
Olivier Ntcham made an impressive debut, having joined on deadline day, but he was unable to help the Swans find the crucial goal.
It was a similar story for the hosts as they have only scored once in their three home matches so far, but it was a hard-earned point for Hull.
Manager Russell Martin handed Swansea debuts to Ntcham and Rhys Williams as he made five changes to the side beaten at Preston.
Goalkeeper Ben Hamer was given his first Championship start for the Swans, Kyle Naughton earned a recall and Flynn Downes returned from his Covid-19 absence.
Hull were aiming to end a four-game winless run at the Swansea.com Stadium which prompted head coach Grant McCann into making three changes to his side.
Josh Magennis led the line in place of Tyler Smith, Malik Wilks came in for Ryan Longman and Matt Smith gave way for George Moncur in midfield.
Swansea debutant Ntcham made a positive early impression as the hosts dominated possession and the former Celtic and Marseille midfielder created the game's first meaningful chance when he linked up with striker Joel Piroe but the Dutchman's shot was saved by Matt Ingram.
The pressure began to tell in the 24th minute when Di'Shon Bernard hacked down Ntcham 25 yards from goal. Captain Matt Grimes let a curling effort fly from the resulting free-kick, forcing Ingram into a sprawling save to tip the ball against the post.
The Tigers goalkeeper made another athletic stop 10 minutes later to keep out Naughton's powerful shot after the Swansea defender surged forward unchallenged.
Despite Martin's men dominating 70 per cent of the ball, Hull held out to keep the score level at half-time.
Swansea had a penalty shout turned down in the 54th minute after Ethan Laird nipped in to beat Callum Elder to the ball and went down under a challenge from the Hull defender.
Referee Keith Stroud waved away the appeals and denied them another spot-kick moments later when Bernard blocked the path of Jamie Paterson.
The introduction of Matt Smith into the Hull midfield briefly helped relieve Swansea's grip on possession.
Martin brought striker Michael Obafemi off the bench as they mounted a late assault but they failed to create the clear-cut chance that would have seen them snatch all three points.
Hull's first shot on target came in stoppage time when Longman stung the hands of Hamer but the game finished goalless.
Swansea's Russell Martin: "I am frustrated for the players because I thought they were outstanding. We have limited a team to just one shot on target and that was in the 94th minute. We had complete dominance and control from our intensity and let's get it right, they did not come here to defend. Their keeper has made some fantastic saves and we have had a few too many shots from outside the box but when teams defend that deep it becomes difficult.
"But that next bit is going to come, if we had scored one the game opens up and becomes completely different. They did not come here to defend and sit back, we did that, we earned that, and the only frustration is we didn't score. I know it's easy to say that but you could see that and I am disappointed for the players. But I am positive because that was a big step in the right direction."
Hull's Grant McCann: "I thought we defended well and limited them to shots from range. Any point away in the Championship is good regardless of who we play. So, we'll take the point and move on. We limited them to very little, people will want to ask questions, people want to hit us when we're down. We're used to people having pops at us.
"Things take time, Rome wasn't built in a day. We've got two points in a row; we can take a lot of positives defensively. It was the foundation for us to win the league last season. We know we have goals in the team when we're fit and firing. They're only going to get better."
