Luke Williams Blames Himself For Shambolic Swansea City FA Cup Exit

BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - JANUARY 25: Andy Fisher of Swansea City fails to save as Luis Sinisterra of AFC Bournemouth (R) scores his team's third goal during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between AFC Bournemouth and Swansea City at Vitality Stadium on January 25, 2024 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Luke Williams Blames Himself For Shambolic Swansea City FA Cup Exit

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By David Williams

Swansea City head coach Luke Williams admitted he got it “horribly wrong” with his approach after seeing his team demolished by Bournemouth in the FA Cup.

The Swans crashed to a demoralising 5-0 defeat at the Cherries as the fourth round tie turned into a disastrous night that may have repercussions for the club’s form in the Championship.

Williams’ men were 3-0 down inside a quarter of an hour and trailed 5-0 by half-time.

They recovered a little pride by not conceding any more goals in the second half, but Williams – in his fourth match in charge – conceded his tactical set-up was all wrong and lacked defensive structure.

“It was a horrible night for us,” he said after suffering a second defeat in six days after starting his time in charge with a win and a draw.

“I apologised to the players because I tried to set the team up to give a problem to the opposition. It is a cup game and we have to try to find a way to win.

“But I put the balance wrong, with too many players in advanced positions and then in the turnover there are not enough bodies to stem the flow of the attack, and the opposition were very good.

“In the second half we had more bodies back, but then it was very difficult for us to get near their goal. We tried to limit the damage because the scoreline was too heavy.”

“We were probably too aggressive and trying to be too brave, and we paid the price because we got destroyed on the counter-attack.

“They pressed us incredibly well, so we failed on many fronts in the first half.

“Of course the game is over in 15 minutes, and we tried to stem the flow of the attack and put more bodies behind the ball so we could make more blocks and intercept more key passes, but even that was very difficult and we lost any threat in the second half.

“We were playing against a brilliant side who hold their own in the Premier League. Now we have to concentrate on the league and build the players back up.”

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola admitted man-of-the-match David Brooks came up with the perfect answer to being left out of his team.

Wales international Brooks made the most of a rare start this season by scoring one goal and making two more as the Cherries cruised into round five.

Iraola said: “The wing position is where we have more options and they are all playing really well.

“Sometimes it is difficult to leave players out. David played really well tonight.

“We were really clinical and started very strongly. It was strange to score five goals in the first half.

“We did not want to start slowly as we have in other cup games this season and were really impressive.

“Our number one priority was to be in the next round. We needed a very good performance after Sunday’s game against Liverpool, where we didn’t finish well.

“We have done our job and we are in the last 16 so let’s see what we get in the draw.”

The Cherries took the lead in the seventh minute when defender Lloyd Kelly came up from the back and found himself unmarked to hook Brooks’ free-kick into the roof of the net.

Three minutes later Brooks broke free down the right before pulling the ball back for Alex Scott to make it 2-0.

Kyle Naughton hit the post for the visitors before Luis Sinisterra scored Bournemouth’s third goal with a confident finish into the far corner, after Swansea goalkeeper Andrew Fisher had passed the ball straight to Scott.

Brooks had to wait until 10 minutes before half-time to get the goal he fully deserved after keeping himself onside to latch onto Dominic Solanke’s slide-rule pass before side-footing past the helpless Fisher.

Top scorer Solanke, who had already fired wide from another Brooks free-kick, grabbed the home side’s fifth a minute before half-time after more dreadful defending from the visitors.

Sinisterra played in a teasing low cross from the left wing and Solanke was left with the freedom of the penalty area to side-foot his 14th goal of the season from 10 yards out.

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