Bashir Humphreys hammered home his first senior goal to make it three wins in a row for Swansea as they beat Norwich 2-1.

The 20-year-old left-back powered a half-volley into the roof of the net from an 82nd-minute corner to make it 10 points from the last 12 for Swansea and move Michael Duff’s men up to 15th in the Championship.

Last season it only took the Canaries 58 seconds to open their account in west Wales with a goal from their then Finnish star Teemu Pukki that turned out to be the winner.

This time it was Swansea who struck early as Jamal Lowe found the back of the net in the third minute.

Lowe nipped in to take the ball off a dithering Adam Forshaw to allow Matt Grimes to pick up the pieces and the home skipper then turned it into a one-two with Low, who scored his third goal of the season.

Norwich hit back in the 22nd minute when a long carry by Jonathan Rowe up the left flank engineered a goal for Gabriel Sara. Rowe’s initial cross was blocked by Ben Cabango, but a second from Dimitris Giannoulis took a slight deflection before finding the head of Sara on the six-yard box.

That sparked new life into David Wagner’s men and two minutes later they worked an overload on the right that enabled Jack Stacey to race up to the edge of the box before letting fire with a vicious right-foot shot that was heading into the top-left corner until Carl Rushworth in the home goal got a fingertip to it to push it past the post.

Swansea almost crept back into the lead in the 36th minute when a cross from the right was touched on by Jerry Yates, but went agonisingly wide of Angus Gunn’s far post.

Norwich started the second far more positively and put their hosts on the back foot. Referee Tom Nield issued three yellow cards to Swansea players in the space of seven minutes soon after the restart and a shot across goal from the dynamic Rowe almost gave the visitors the lead in the 57th minute.

Moments later Wagner made three substitutions, bringing on top scorer Adam Idah, Oriel Hernandez and Przemyslaw Placheta. Placheta presented Idah with a golden chance to score with a cross that he somehow header over the bar in the 75th minute, shortly after Jerry Yates had a goal ruled offside from a corner.

Shane Duffy somehow kept out a header from Yates at the far post, but in the 83rd minute there was no stopping Humphreys’ thunderbolt.

Swansea boss Michael Duff hailed his side’s 3-0 Championship win over Millwall as the best of his tenure as they secured a commanding victory at the Den.

Jamaican International Jamal Lowe opened the scoring with a penalty before goals from Matt Grimes and Mykola Kukharevych sealed the triumph, Duff’s third in charge since taking over in June.

The visitors won their second Championship game in a row having taken only two points from a possible 21 from their previous seven matches.

“It’s probably the best result of my Swansea tenure so far,” Duff said. “3-0 away from home at a tough place to come.

“I thought we saw a bit more of what we wanted to look like. It was some really good football. The reaction’s been good ever since the Cardiff game, where we let everyone down.

“We probably should have had three clean sheets and nine points since then. The players have stuck together through all of it.”

Swansea sparked to life in the 23rd minute when Lowe converted a penalty, awarded after Jerry Yates’ shirt was pulled by Jake Cooper in the box.

Lowe produced a stuttering run-up before sending Bartosz Bialkowski the wrong way to end the hosts’ hopes of a third-straight clean sheet and to notch his second goal in as many games.

Duff added: “The first goal was 40-plus passes going into the build-up to the penalty, which I think should have been a red card as well.

“I knew they would have a reaction. We had to change shape a couple of times, but we survived it. You’re not going to dominate a game for 90 minutes, not in the Championship – very rarely anyway.

“It’s still a long, long way from where we want to get it to.”

Grimes moved Swansea further ahead after 57 minutes, as some neat interplay offered an inviting opening for the skipper and his 20-yard strike squeezed under Bialkowski.

The Lions were unable to take their chances at 2-0 down with Carl Rushworth turning a long-distance strike from Ryan Leonard over the crossbar before the goalkeeper saved Kevin Nisbet’s point-blank effort with his face.

Kukharevych then made certain of the three points for the Swans with an 80th-minute header for a first away victory since April.

Millwall manager Gary Rowett took a different view of his side’s reaction to conceding, believing they showed frustration rather than fight.

He said: “Goals change moods, goals change feelings in stadiums and players’ confidence levels. It shouldn’t do, but that’s the way the game is.

“Sometimes at 0-0 you have to ride those little moments and the first goal was a really poor penalty to give away from where the ball was.

“We got into some decent positions without having a clinical edge. That was the difference.

“I didn’t like our reaction from 2-0 down. I think we have a habit of conceding goals and showing our frustration rather than fighting until the last second.

“Again we had some big moments, but without that goal it gives you nothing to lift the mood and atmosphere.

“It’s disappointing. The third goal summed it up, we gave it away, crossed it to a lad unmarked to head it in. It was certainly three poor goals from us to concede today.”

Swansea made it back-to-back Championship wins as they ran out convincing 3-0 winners at Millwall.

The Welsh club had taken just two points from a possible 21 in a torrid seven-game winless run in the English second tier with head coach Michael Duff beginning to feel the heat.

But they collected all three points in south London with goals from Jamal Lowe, Matt Grimes and Mykola Kukharevych on target.

The first major chance fell to Millwall in the 17th minute, but Swansea goalkeeper Carl Rushworth kept out Duncan Watmore’s effort after the attacker had played a one-two with Kevin Nisbet to race goalwards.

Swansea struggled to create in the opening stages but took the lead in the 23rd minute. Referee John Busby failed to spot a shirt pull by Jake Cooper inside the penalty area on Jerry Yates but was alerted to the infringement by his assistant.

Lowe produced a stuttering run-up before sending Bartosz Bialkowski the wrong way with the resulting penalty to end the hosts’ hopes of a third-straight clean sheet as he scored in successive matches.

Lowe went close to a second before the half-hour mark as he latched on to an excellent crossfield pass by Ben Cabango, only for Bialkowski to claw away the attempt.

Lions boss Gary Rowett had already ditched his three-man central defence during a lacklustre opening 45 minutes and made a double change at the break, bringing on Romain Esse and Joe Bryan for Ryan Longman and Brooke Norton-Cuffy as he tried to spark more life into the hosts – instead they went 2-0 down after 57 minutes.

Some neat interplay offered an inviting opening for skipper Grimes and his 20-yard strike squeezed under Bialkowski.

Millwall had chances to reduce the deficit, but Watmore produced a tame effort from five yards out after Nisbet had bulldozed past Harry Darling.

Swansea goalkeeper Carl Rushworth tipped over a long-distance effort by Ryan Leonard and then produced a point-blank stop from Nisbet – the ball striking him flush in the face.

Home fans vented their anger at Rowett after Swansea scored a third in the 80th minute, Kukharevych headed home Josh Key’s cross from the right of the penalty area.

It sealed the visitors’ first victory on the road since a 3-0 success at Norwich in April.

Sheffield Wednesday manager Xisco Munoz pleaded for unity at the struggling Championship club after fans turned on him during a 3-0 defeat at Swansea.

The winless Owls were brushed aside by their fellow strugglers in south Wales to the disgust of a large travelling contingent who called for Spaniard Munoz to go.

Wednesday offered little all afternoon, with a first-half Jamal Lowe penalty and later strikes by Jerry Yates and Charlie Patino proving their undoing.

Munoz said: “The performance was very strange. In the second half we had chances to score, but we are in difficulty now.

“Everything is negative but it’s important we stay together, I need people to help me in this situation.

“I know how hard the players are working every day. We can put the focus on me, but I will continue until my last day.

“I am not stupid, I knew the situation when I signed here. I understand the unhappiness.”

Swans boss Michael Duff went into the game with his side having failed to win any of their opening seven matches and only one point better off than their opponents.

Victory went some way to lifting the gloom, though restless Swans fans may still take some convincing Duff is the long-term solution.

The former Barnsley boss admitted during the week that he had been feeling the heat, even admitting his mother-in-law had criticised him over recent poor results.

After the final whistle, Duff said: “She was at the game! I’m a lucky man. I’ve a supportive family and a loyal dog. When we win, he wags his tail when I come home.”

But Duff added: “It’s not about me. I carry the can, but I won’t be coming in on Monday high-fiving anyone.

“I’ve said to the players to enjoy it for now. Hopefully winning can become a habit.

“I’m proud of the players and pleased with our crowd as well.

“A few passes went astray early on but there was no negativity.

“My overriding emotions are pride and relief.

“I am proud of the players and pleased with the crowd as well.

“At 0-0 a few passes went astray but there was no negativity in the ground at all.

“The players stayed together and showed a lot of energy and quality and could have scored a couple more goals.

“Once the second goal went in you could feel almost a sigh of relief in the stadium rather than a cheer because everyone has been feeling it.

“Everyone wants to do well but everyone has to be pulling in the same direction. Today I felt it was a little bit more how we want things to be.”

Sheffield Wednesday fans turned on manager Xisco Munoz as their team were brushed aside 3-0 by fellow strugglers Swansea in Wales.

Goals by Jamal Lowe, Jerry Yates and Charlie Patino ensured the dismal Owls’ wait for a win on their return to the Championship extended to an eighth game.

Wednesday fans sold out the away end, but were forced to witness a limp display from their team which saw them threaten only in very brief spells.

They called for Munoz to go at regular intervals throughout the second half as defeat became inevitable – and with just two points on the board there’s a possibility they may well get their wish in the coming days.

As for Swans boss Michael Duff, a first win of the season will, at the very least, earn him a stay of execution.

Duff was the focus of his own fans’ anger ahead of kick-off after failing to engineer a win since taking over from Russell Martin in the summer but victory lifted the mood considerably.

The mutual desperation for three points showed in the early exchanges, with feisty tackles flying in and referee Anthony Backhouse showing leniency.

Swansea lost centre-back Nathan Wood and left-wing Josh Ginnelly to injury before the interval, but were comfortably the better side up to that point.

There were early chances for Swans striker Lowe and his Wednesday counterpart Lee Gregory, but it was the hosts who took the lead in the 28th minute.

When Ginnelly got around Pol Valentin on the edge of the 18-yard box, the Owls right-back panicked and tugged him back by his shirt.

Referee Backhouse’s decision to award a penalty was greeted with few complaints from Wednesday players and Lowe made no mistake from 12 yards.

The Swans thought they had doubled their lead in first-half stoppage time through Liam Cullen, but the midfielder’s strike was ruled offside.

But Wednesday could have had few complaints had the damage been worse at the halfway mark, having faded badly after a promising first 10 minutes.

The Owls managed some possession and territory for the first time in the game up to the hour mark.

Defender Bambo Diaby came closest to equalising when he rattled the underside of the crossbar from four yards out after a Wednesday corner had been flicked to the far post.

But with the visiting fans’ anger towards Munoz intensifying, Swansea sealed victory with two goals inside four minutes.

Lowe created both. First his pinpoint pass allowed substitute Yates to side-foot home in the 64th minute.

Then a clever through-ball three minutes later sent Patino racing clear and the Swans midfielder chipped over advancing Wednesday goalkeeper Devis Vasquez into an empty net.

Michael Duff insisted there are “positive signs” for Swansea despite them not winning a league game since he took over as boss.

A 1-1 draw at QPR, who rescued a point with Lyndon Dykes’ stoppage-time header, continued a frustrating start to Duff’s reign.

They are third from bottom of the Sky Bet Championship table after seven matches.

Duff, who took over during the summer following Russell Martin’s departure for Southampton, said: “It’s frustrating for the players and for me but there were positive signs.

“In the first half-an-hour we were good and that’s how I want it to look. We need to build a foundation.

“I know it sounds silly, but the stats will tell you that teams are not playing through us and we’re creating chances. You have to start with that.

“We’ve had a couple of false dawns, but today we showed spirit and character and the shape was good.

“I’ve said to the players that if we can guarantee that shape, togetherness and spirit then we’ve got the foundations. It’s about sticking to the process.”

A win for the Swans would have been a much-needed boost following Saturday’s 2-0 defeat by arch-rivals Cardiff.

It would have also eased the pressure on Duff, who is already feeling the heat from frustrated fans.

“The Saturday game magnifies it because of who it is,” he said.

“We’ve explained to the players why it happened. We worked on things and then they do their own thing. That doesn’t work.

“But today we stuck to the task. That was a positive, but we’ve got to win games.”

QPR boss Gareth Ainsworth was not content with the result despite the late equaliser.

Ainsworth was convinced Josh Ginnelly’s early opener should not have stood and that his team deserved to win the game.

“No, I’m not happy. The Swansea goal is handball,” Ainsworth said.

“The referee missed it and the assessor has said they couldn’t see it without VAR – but his hand’s out.

“The rub of the green’s going against us at the moment. We deserved more from that game.

“I will add, though, that we must hit the target more. We must work the opposition keeper more. We’re creating chances and we need to take them.

“Lyndon’s header was that moment of brilliance in a game where we should really score more goals.

“We’ve got to be better at getting on the end of things. But we are creating chances and that’s a good thing.

“At the final whistle you saw seven or eight boys just collapse on the floor because they’ve emptied the tank again.

“Disappointed we didn’t get more out of tonight, but it would have been an absolute travesty had we not got that point.

“We’re creating plenty of chances but we’ve got to start finishing them off now.”

Lyndon Dykes’ stoppage-time goal rescued a point for QPR in a 1-1 draw with Swansea at Loftus Road.

Josh Ginnelly’s early goal looked like giving the Welsh side a first Sky Bet Championship win under boss Michael Duff.

But Scotland forward Dykes, on as a substitute, equalised by getting in front of defender Ben Cabango to head home Ilias Chair’s left-wing cross.

Swansea ended the match with 10 men after Ollie Cooper was sent off in the final seconds after a foul on Dykes earned him a second yellow card.

Dykes’ goal spared Rangers a fourth defeat of the season at home, where they have won just once since last October.

Summer signing Ginnelly, making his first league start for Swansea, netted after seven minutes.

He was helped by a mistake by goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, who failed to hold Jamal Lowe’s low cross from the right and the ball ricocheted off Ginnelly and into the net despite defender Osman Kakay’s attempt to prevent it crossing the line.

Swansea, beaten in their previous four matches and having lost four of their previous five in the league, defended well and always looked a threat on the counter-attack.

Rangers struggled to create clear-cut openings but striker Sinclair Armstrong missed a great chance to equalise midway through the first half.

An unchallenged Armstrong collected Andre Dozzell’s pass and, seemingly believing he was offside, turned and scooped a shot woefully high and wide before discovering he was being played onside by Swansea’s on-loan Chelsea youngster Bashir Humphreys.

Rangers made a determined start to the second half and the lively Paul Smyth did well on the right and crossed for Chair, who headed wide.

Dykes, fit again after a recent knee injury, was sent on by R’s boss Gareth Ainsworth on the hour as the hosts continued to search for an equaliser.

Swansea might have added a second had Jerry Yates connected properly with a scuffed shot which was easily gathered by Begovic.

Swans midfielder Matt Grimes fired wide as the visitors again looked to hit Rangers with a sucker punch, and at the other end Chair missed the target with a similarly wayward effort from long range.

In the closing stages, Dykes poked a shot wide from near the edge of the penalty area and Chair saw a low strike deflected wide, but Ainsworth’s team were eventually rewarded for their persistence.

Carlos Carvalhal says he and his coaching staff "changed almost everything" about their approach to football after suffering relegation from the Premier League with Swansea City in 2018.

Carvalhal made a name for himself in the English game by leading Sheffield Wednesday to the Championship play-off final in 2016, where they were beaten by Hull City.

Wednesday were then beaten in the semi-finals after finishing fourth under Carvalhal in 2016-17. That remains their highest second-tier finish since 1990-91, when they were promoted in third.

However, Carvalhal left the Owls for Swansea City in December 2017, only winning eight of 25 games in south Wales and overseeing their relegation from the Premier League the following May.

Carvalhal has since enjoyed something of a renaissance with the likes of Rio Ave and Braga, before moving to Spain to keep Celta Vigo up with a final-day victory over Barcelona last season. 

The Portuguese coach is proud of his achievements since leaving English football, claiming his stint at Swansea provoked a change in his approach to the game.

"After England, we were at Sheffield Wednesday for two and half years and half a year at Swansea, then we stopped for one season," Carvalhal told Stats Perform at the Thinking Football Summit.

"We decided to stop and reflect on the things that we did and the things that we wanted to do in the future. We changed almost everything. In this moment, we saw football in a different way. 

"We are not basing it on the system [anymore], we are basing it on spaces and creating spaces. It's the way that we look at football, completely differently, like a chess player looking at the table.

"The results were fantastic, I can tell you. 

"We took a big risk to go to Rio Ave. Rio Ave is a medium club in Portugal. We were in the Premier League, and nobody from the Premier League goes to Rio Ave. But we decided to go there because it's a calm club, there were some good players, we could put our ideas on the pitch. 

"The reality was that we achieved Europa League [qualification]. Braga the same, we continued improving, in Celta Vigo we improved and we have stopped now to refresh a little again.

"I know €14 million was raised in Rio Ave with the players that we developed, which is very good for the club. Almost €100 million at Braga, and now in Celta Vigo with Gabri Veiga and Javi Galan probably about €50 million. So we are improving players.

"It's something that of course we are very proud of and something that we want to do in the future in the next challenge."

Carvalhal oversaw Rio Ave's best points return in their Primeira Liga history in 2019-20 (55 points), before leading Braga to their third – and most recent – Taca de Portugal one year later.

The 57-year-old has been out of work since leaving Celta in June, but he is ready to get back into the game and believes taking regular breaks is crucial to stay fresh.

"The gaps, I need to rest for my mental health, which I care about. Usually, you never see me have problems with other coaches, with referees and so on, because of these kinds of things.

"I decided [to move] because we did very well [at Braga]. We did the best the club has done in its history. In two seasons, we won the cup and we reached three finals. 

"We achieved the quarter-final of the Europa League, 17 players from the academy played in the first team. At Celta Vigo, we arrived at the club in a very difficult position. We finished in 13th. 

"There's a lot of pressure. So I spoke with my staff, I said I need to stop for three or four months and after, we go back to the market. So at this moment, we are on the market again. 

"We are not under pressure, it's not about money. We can't say that we don't ever go for the money because we never know what will happen tomorrow, but I would prefer to go because of passion and football. Let's see what happens."

Erol Bulut explained the reasoning behind his decision to keep Ollie Tanner at Cardiff after the young winger claimed South Wales derby hero status in the Bluebirds’ 2-0 win over Swansea.

Cardiff had lost the previous four derbies against their bitter rivals and were being held at bay before 21-year-old Tanner was sent on as a 70th-minute substitute.

Tanner, who was signed from Isthmian League side Lewes in July 2022 and spent the second half of last season on loan at York, scored his first Cardiff goal within 60 seconds of arriving and then won the penalty which captain Aaron Ramsey converted to seal matters.

Cardiff manager Bulut said: “He came from nothing and last season he was not here.

“When I had the pre-season, I gave everybody the chance to play and I saw that he had something in him.

“He has a good left foot, he has a good shot, he can dribble, he is strong on the ball. So I said I will give him a chance and keep him.

“I hope for his career he continues likes this, keep his feet on the floor. I said I would not give him away (on loan), I made the right decision.”

Bulut, the former Fenerbahce manager who has taken charge of passionate Istanbul derbies with Besiktas and Galatasaray, said before the game he had mingled with Cardiff fans in a city centre pub to understand the importance of the rivalry.

It was Cardiff’s first derby win on home soil since November 2013, which was a Premier League fixture.

He said: “To have a win is special. I’ve played a lot of derbies in my career as a player and a coach and I said to them this game was different.

“The fans told me it was 10 years since we won (in Cardiff) and this was very important for us. It was a must for the table and what pleased me is that we were really a team on the field.”

Swansea have yet to win a league game under Michael Duff and remain in the bottom three.

Duff was given short shrift by some Swansea fans as he went to them after the final whistle.

He said: “It’s part of the job. I don’t like getting beat. I’m not stupid.

“I’m sure there’ll be a vent at me, but I’ve been here before. This is where you see the true characters at the club.

“The ones that stick together, the ones that don’t blame everyone else and whisper in the corridor. There’s been a lot of change at the club. That’s not me hiding behind it.”

Swansea did not manage a shot on target until the final minute, with Duff adding: “It’s the lack of quality that cost us the game.

“I faulted them the last time we got beat because there wasn’t enough intensity, that was there today.

“We couldn’t sustain attacks, we couldn’t build momentum and every time we went forward we gave it away. That’s why we didn’t get any threat.”

Cardiff ended their South Wales derby losing streak with a 2-0 Sky Bet Championship win over Swansea.

Ollie Tanner wrote his name into the history of the fixture just seconds after coming on as a 70th-minute substitute with his first Cardiff goal and then won the penalty which Aaron Ramsey converted.

The 21-year-old winger was signed from Isthmian League side Lewes in July 2022 and spent the second half of last season on loan at York, but it was his name that reverberated around the Cardiff City Stadium as Swansea were finally sunk on derby day.

Swansea had won the four previous meetings between the bitter rivals and completed the first league derby ‘doubles’ into the bargain.

But those victories came under the management of Russell Martin and new boss Michael Duff had blotted his copybook by downplaying the derby before the international break.

Duff had backtracked from those comments two days before the trip east on the M4, but a first win of his reign was necessary to lift Swansea out of the relegation zone.

Cardiff had also made an indifferent start under new manager Erol Bulut with only one win in five matches, but performances on the whole had been encouraging with the Bluebirds punished by their failure to close out games.

Duff handed debuts to deadline-day signings Jamal Lowe – back for a second stint at the club and scorer of a derby double in December 2020 – Josh Tymon and Kristian Pedersen, but suffered a blow when the experienced Joe Allen was injured in the warm-up and withdrew.

Cardiff forced the early pace with a safely-gathered Mark McGuinness header and Carl Rushworth pushing out a vicious Jamilu Collins cross, which Ike Ugbo was unable to profit from at the far post.

The best chance of a frenetic first period high on endeavour but shot on quality came in the third minute of stoppage time.

Ramsey picked out Ugbo, who showed good strength to fend off Nathan Wood. Ugbo’s header fell into the path of Yakou Meite, but his powerful snapshot was well saved by Rushworth.

Meite tested Rushworth again within seconds of the restart with a ferocious 25-yard attempt that swerved in the air, and their personal contest continued as the Swansea goalkeeper clung on to another attempt from the Ivory Coast international.

Jay Fulton was booked for a lunge on Manolis Siopis as tempers began to rise and Tymon was also spoken to by referee Sam Barrott after clattering into Ramsey.

Duff replaced Lowe and Yates with Jamie Paterson and Josh Ginnelly after 63 minutes to try and inject some life into the Swansea attack.

The pair instantly combined to good effect as Tymon fired over, but Swansea did not muster a shot on target until the 90th minute.

Cardiff carried the greater threat as Ugbo missed Ramsey’s cross and Fulton cleared Karlan Grant’s effort off the line before Tanner struck.

Tanner took possession with his first touch and then cut inside Tymon to unleash an unstoppable shot into the far corner of Rushworth’s net.

Pedersen then dragged Tanner to the ground four minutes from time and Ramsey, as he had done for Wales on Monday, stroked home the spot-kick to start the Cardiff celebrations.

Nigel Pearson felt biting his lip was the key to Bristol City’s comeback win at Swansea in the Sky Bet Championship.

The visitors claimed a 2-1 victory after falling behind to Liam Cullen’s 10th-minute opener, Mark Sykes and Sam Bell rewarding their control with second-half strikes.

The turnaround came after Bristol City felt several decisions went against them in a first half that saw them have three goals disallowed.

Pearson said: “What we talked about (at half-time) is, if we could keep our composure, we knew that we’d continue to create opportunities.

“Let’s use the frustration of it to perform. I think that’s the big thing.

“There’s no good me being in there ranting and raving because there’s nothing to rant about, apart from maybe the guy out in the middle.

“I bit my lip. It hurts a bit now! But I’m just pleased that our players got a reward for their performance.”

Bristol City have lost only one of their opening five games and are on eight points heading into the international break.

“We created a lot of chances and we have done in our away games so far,” said Pearson.

“The goal we conceded was a sloppy one from our perspective, but Swansea didn’t create too many chances in that first half.

“They went a bit more direct when they went behind and Max (O’Leary) had to make a couple of saves.

“It was a bit tighter but we felt we looked like creating chances on the counter because we’ve got pace in the team.

“You’ve got to move the ball quickly and we always felt we could get some success in wide areas. But to do that you’ve got to have the intention of getting forward.”

Swansea have yet to win in the league under new boss Michael Duff after drawing two and losing three of their opening five games.

Duff signed Bashir Humphreys, Josh Tymon, Jamal Lowe and Kristian Pedersen on Friday’s transfer deadline day and believes Swansea will be stronger when they return to action against derby rivals Cardiff on September 16.

“We’ve got four new players that will give us a better balance,” said Duff.

“There’s good competition for places now. People need to put their hands up. The season almost starts now.

“I thought we were poor. I thought we were slow, we were pedestrian, with and without the ball and we didn’t do the basics well enough.

“We started the game well on the front foot, went 1-0 up but then went passive. We gave two poor goals away.

“It’s a difficult game if you don’t do the basics properly. We didn’t get on the front foot at all, we weren’t aggressive enough.”

Bristol City fought back to register a deserved 2-1 Sky Bet Championship victory in the Swansea sunshine.

Liam Cullen’s first goal of the season gave Michael Duff hope that he would be celebrating his maiden league win as Swansea manager.

But Bristol City created a host of chances and had three goals disallowed before being ultimately rewarded by second-half strikes from Mark Sykes and Sam Bell.

Swansea had a frantic deadline day on Friday signing four players – Bashir Humphreys, Josh Tymon, Jamal Lowe and Kristian Pedersen.

But none of the quartet were available to take on opponents who gave a full debut to Taylor Gardner-Hickman following his loan from West Brom.

Sykes had the ball in the net early on but the Bristol City winger had strayed into an offside position.

Swansea struck after 10 minutes as Charlie Patino split the Robins’ defence with a delightful threaded pass and Cullen finished left-footed with some aplomb.

The goal failed to settle Swansea, who have won just once this season in the Carabao Cup, as Bristol City dominated first-half proceedings from that point.

Jason Knight curled over, Sykes had a shot blocked and Wells sidefooted straight at Carl Rushworth in the home goal after his exchange with Bell had cut Swansea open.

The Robins’ chances kept coming as Matt Grimes cleared Knight’s effort off the goal-line, Wells fired over from 20 yards after dispossessing Nathan Wood, and Bell’s goal celebrations were curtailed by an eagle-eyed assistant referee.

Patino skewed wide as Swansea enjoyed brief respite, but there was a controversial end to the first half as Naughton sliced down Wells with the striker en route to goal.

Ben Cabango was just about covering Naughton so referee Oliver Langford deemed the offence worthy of a yellow card rather than red.

Bristol City had the ball in the net for a third time from the resulting free-kick, but Knight was guilty of a push and the visitors’ growing frustration was evident as Kal Naismith was booked for dissent.

Duff changed the Swansea system at half-time and went from five to four at the back, but the Robins were level within three minutes.

Joe Williams pounced on a home mistake to find Sykes and he galloped clear before cutting inside Wood and burying his shot beyond Rushworth.

Cullen had an instant opportunity to restore Swansea’s lead but his shot lacked the accuracy to beat Max O’Leary.

Sykes turned provider for Bristol City’s 59th-minute lead, muscling his way through some half-hearted tackling to deliver a cross Bell converted ruthlessly at the far post.

Swansea were inches away from an equaliser when Cabango headed against a post, but that would have been rough justice on visitors who have taken eight points from their opening five games.

Andoni Iraola hailed acting captain David Brooks for the role he played in Bournemouth’s 3-2 Carabao Cup win over Swansea as the Spaniard celebrated his first victory as Cherries boss.

Brooks slotted home a second-half equaliser to cancel out Matt Grimes opener at the Swansea.Com Stadium as the Wales international celebrated his first competitive goal for over two years, and first since returning from cancer treatment.

“He was the captain today, and it’s good that he scored. Like the others, he was much better second half,” said Iraola.

“He’s trying to push himself and fight for a starting place. It is good to have this kind of competition.”

A first goal for the club since his £25mmillion summer transfer from Hamed Traore then gave the Cherries the lead before Jamie Paterson tied matters up again in the 79th minute.

Just as it looked as though the second-round tie would go to penalties, Ryan Christie rounded off a sweeping move in the first of eight added minutes to clinch victory for the Premier League visitors.

“It was a game with two different halves. We started very badly and we were slow to move the ball,” said Iraola.

“The second half was different and we were much quicker, and we moved higher up the pitch. But this is the cup and sometimes you have to suffer.

“The attitude and willingness to attack the space in the second half was much better. We were more aware of the situations, and after half-time, the game was more open.”

Iraola gave a first start of the season to Wales striker Kieffer Moore before substituting him at half-time.

Moore remains a transfer target for his old club Cardiff, but Iraola says he is happy to keep him in his squad.

“The situation is the same, it depends on whom leaves the club, but the market can go until the last day,” he added.

“We are happy with Kieffer as he gives us different options. Right now, this is the situation, but it can change from one hour to another.”

While Iraola had something to celebrate, it was another defeat for new Swansea boss Michael Duff.

He said: “You don’t want to lose any game, but it would have been nice to have gone through. Ultimately, they still had to bring their big guns on to see us off.

“The strength of their bench shows the gaps have got big again. The gulf between the leagues is now as big as it was 15 years ago.

“There are loads of positives. We were really good for 25 minutes and then we defended well, too. There were other parts that were not so good and it’s about stitching the good parts together for 90 minutes.”

Duff was delighted to see Paterson claim his goal, saying “He’s never had blistering pace, but he’s a jinker, has good feet and has real quality”, and admitted goalkeeper Steven Benda is on the verge of joining Premier League side Fulham.

“It’s a deal that suits the player and the club. We know we need a few people in, but if we don’t, we don’t – we’ll just crack on,” added Duff.

Ryan Christie came off the bench to steer Bournemouth past Swansea and into the third round of the Carabao Cup, just as penalties were looming.

The Scotland international turned the ball into the far corner in the first minute of stoppage time after he was fed by fellow replacement Justin Kluivert to seal a 3-2 victory.

Swansea had made spot-kicks appear likely when another substitute, Jamie Peterson, drove the ball through a crowd of players to make it 2-2 with 11 minutes remaining, but Christie had other ideas.

It was a deserved win for the Cherries, who are still searching for their first Premier league victory of the season.

The Swans had taken a first-half lead through a penalty from Matt Grimes, but fell behind in the second half as they suffered at the hands of Wales international David Brooks.

It was his well-taken strike that levelled things up at 1-1 in the 55th minute before the same player supplied the cross from which Hamed Traore gave the Cherries a 2-1 lead.

Bournemouth reacted to their 2-0 home defeat to Tottenham by making seven changes, including giving a debut to goalkeeper Andrei Radu.

The loan signing from Inter Milan had previously sat on the bench for three Premier League matches this season.

Wales striker Kieffer Moore, a loan target for Cardiff City among others, was handed his first start of the season.

Swansea made five changes from the side that had lost 2-1 away at Preston, a result that left them still searching for a first league victory under new head coach Michael Duff.

But they took a deserved lead in the ninth minute through a penalty from their skipper Grimes.

A Swansea free-kick on the left was only half-cleared before a rising drive from Liam Cullen was blocked by the arm of Bournemouth’s Wales defender Chris Mepham.

Referee Matthew Donohue had no hesitation in awarding the spot-kick from which Grimes scored his first goal of the season.

It took the Cherries a while to muster much of a response, but they should have levelled through Traore just before the half hour.

The Ivorian was given time to place his shot after being teed up by Brooks, but his effort from 10 yards was dragged beyond the far post.

Just before the break, Traore went closer when he struck the outside of the post after he turned sharply near the penalty spot.

Cherries boss Andoni Iraola made three changes at half-time – taking off Moore, Lloyd Kelly and Joe Rothwell, who were replaced by Dominic Solanke, Milos Kerkez and Lewis Cook.

The improvement was immediate and after sustained pressure the visitors equalised through Brooks in the 55th minute.

Traore controlled possession in midfield and struck a beautiful volleyed pass wide out to Brooks on the right who had been given too much space by Swansea.

The Cherries captain for the night controlled the ball instantly and then drilled a precise low drive across goalkeeper Carl Rushworth and into the far corner.

Brooks then reached the byline and although Solanke’s header struck the bar, Traore was on hand to force the ball home to make it 2-1.

Paterson was on target for Swansea from a rare attack to level the scores, but the class of the Premier League club eventually told when Christie scored his winner.

Swansea boss Michael Duff rued a sloppy second half as his side blew a half-time advantage in a 2-1 loss to Preston at Deepdale.

Harrison Ashby’s effort in the 33rd minute gave the visitors a deserved lead at the break but they were poor after the break and were made to pay.

Andrew Hughes drew the hosts level before Duane Holmes struck with just over 10 minutes left to complete Preston’s comeback.

Defeat added to Swansea’s misery after losing Joel Piroe to Leeds United earlier in the week.

“I thought we were totally dominant in the first half, so in the end I’m really frustrated,” said Duff.

“We knew we’d have to tweak one or two things at half-time, so we did that and then we didn’t look enough of a threat early in the second half.

“There needs to be a mentality shift, that’s a disappointing thing – we should know that teams in this division are not just going to roll over. We definitely need to be putting teams to the sword when we’re 1-0 up.

“Some of the passes and the movement in that second half just wasn’t good enough. We gave away two quite soft goals in the end, but we shouldn’t really have been in that situation in the first place.

“It’s been a difficult week all round. We thought we were going to keep Joel and then he’s gone, and looking at it we do need to strengthen before the window closes.”

Victory extends Preston’s strong start to the new season, with three wins out of four in an unbeaten start to the campaign.

Boss Ryan Lowe was thrilled with his side’s second-half display and believes his squad, currently sitting in fifth place in the Championship, can continue to grow in confidence.

Lowe added: “The whole group has been fantastic so far this season.

“We were a little bit disappointed at half-time at being behind, but after that the attitude and application of all the lads was first-class.

“The lads are taking instructions on board and as a manager I can’t ask for more than that. We showed resilience too, which is also pleasing for me.

“The lads have got confidence. We don’t take a lot of notice of what other teams are doing, we just concentrate on going about our own business. We’re finding a way to win matches, and that’s all it’s about really.

“Every player has been fantastic in different ways. Some lads are playing in different positions than they’re maybe used to, but they’re all doing their jobs.

“I’ve told the lads to go out there and enjoy their football, and that’s what they’re doing.”