Huddersfield manager Andre Breitenreiter insists his side have to continue believing they can beat the drop from the Championship, despite a 4-0 defeat at home to Swansea leaving them two points from safety with just two matches left to play.

Second-half goals from Jamal Lowe, Ronald, Jerry Yates and Liam Walsh condemned the Terriers to a fifth loss in their last 10 outings – a run which includes just one win.

Huddersfield’s penultimate game of the season sees them welcome Birmingham – the team currently directly above them in the league table – to the John Smith’s Stadium in what is likely to be a decisive encounter in the battle against relegation.

And Breitenreiter is refusing to give up hope that they can retain their Championship status.

“We have to stay in the league, but it’s a hard fight,” he said.

“We need the people around the team, we need one group on the pitch, and when it’s not like this, you’ll never have a chance to stay in the league.

“Teams will go down when they’re not together. This is the truth in every country.

“So we have to stay together and yes there’s frustration – that’s totally clear today – but it’s done from Monday and then we have to prepare and to think positive.

“It’s hard maybe to say, but we have to believe that it’s possible.

“We have to come to the stadium next week and to give everything for the three points, because then we’d be one point above Birmingham.”

Although the four goals came from the 73rd minute onwards, Breitenreiter was disappointed with his team’s performance from the outset as they failed to register a shot on target all game.

“We didn’t start the game good and we knew about the quality and ball possession of Swansea, their identity,” the German added.

“But the distances from the defenders to the strikers were not very good – it was a bit too big.

“We didn’t press as a team, individual players didn’t execute the plan we’d discussed before.

“We weren’t near to 100 per cent as a group – we have to speak honest about this – and it wasn’t good enough.”

Swansea boss Luke Williams was thrilled with his side’s display as they made it three wins on the bounce without conceding a goal.

“I think it was a very tough game because Huddersfield have such clear motivation for the game, and I thought they approached it really well,” he said.

“And I’ve worked with at least three of the players in the squad and I know they have a lot of quality.

“But I think when we made the breakthrough, of course, they have to try to get back on terms and then it leaves more space at the back of the pitch.

“That’s the moment that you have to try to capitalise and I think we’ve been guilty at times of scoring and then trying to protect the lead.

“We had this probably earlier on in the season. We had a big problem with conceding a goal not long after we’d scored the first one, so we’ve improved from that and today we were ruthless.”

Lowe, Yates and Walsh all scored from the bench, something which was particularly pleasing for Williams.

“Everyone’s there fighting for everything, and then you make changes and those guys affect the game in a really positive way,” he added.

“When you get that as the head coach, you’re very fortunate.”

Huddersfield remain in the Championship relegation zone with just two games left to play after suffering an extremely damaging 4-0 defeat at home to in-form Swansea.

Second-half goals from Jamal Lowe, Ronald, Jerry Yates and Liam Walsh secured a third consecutive win for the Swans, and leaves the Terriers in the bottom three.

Their penultimate game of the season sees them welcome Birmingham – the team directly above them in the league table – to the John Smith’s Stadium in what is likely to be a decisive encounter in the battle against the drop.

Swansea manager Luke Williams named an unchanged side from the recent home wins over Stoke and Rotherham.

And they came closest to opening the scoring in a fairly uneventful first-half, with Jay Fulton’s low driven shot in the 28th minute well saved by Lee Nicholls and put behind for a corner that came to nothing.

There was also a brilliant chance for team-mate Liam Cullen just before half-time, but he sent a free header wide from Josh Tymon’s cross.

Huddersfield, who were also unchanged from the team that started the 1-1 draw away at Bristol City last time out, registered a couple of attempts before the break but Josh Koroma and Jack Rudoni were able to hit the target.

Cullen again threatened to put the visitors ahead early in the second-half as his left-footed shot from the edge of the box clipped the right-hand post.

Down at the other end, Delano Burgzorg pounced on a loose back-pass from Ben Cabango and rounded onrushing goalkeeper Carl Rushworth, but his shot was blocked and Swansea managed to avert the danger.

Both sides made three substitutions shortly after the hour mark in an attempt to find the breakthrough.

And Huddersfield should have gone ahead in the 69th minute, when Koroma blazed his effort over the crossbar after the ball fell kindly for him inside the area.

It proved to be a very costly miss as four minutes later, Swansea substitute Lowe – who had been on the pitch for less than 10 minutes – found the bottom corner from the left of the box after latching onto Jamie Paterson’s pass.

The hosts thought they had equalised in the 80th minute as substitute Danny Ward’s effort hit the inside of the right-hand post and the ball flew straight back across the line and out for a goal kick.

They were punished again for their profligacy in the closing stages, with Brazilian Ronald finishing into an empty net after Tymon drove forward and laid it on for him perfectly.

Extra gloss was added by substitutes Yates and Walsh in stoppage time, with the former tapping in from close range and the latter looping a shot from distance beyond the reach of Nicholls.

Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl said his side were not ruthless enough at both ends of the pitch as they drew 1-1 with Swansea at Hillsborough on Good Friday.

Jamal Lowe’s second-half goal cancelled out Bailey Cadamarteri’s opener and the Owls missed several golden opportunities in the second half to win the game. The point sees them remain in the relegation zone.

Rohl said: “We will take the point. In our situation every point is important. We are disappointed because in the second half we created so many chances.

“We conceded, for me, what was a goal too easily given away from the corner. This week we spoke about getting the basics right and running for each other. I feel we did this today and if we continue like this we give ourselves a big chance.

“There was a handball for Swansea’s equaliser and it was a clear foul on Ike (Ugbo) so we should have had a penalty. This is disappointing but we will not use it as an excuse. We weren’t ruthless enough in both boxes.

“We went right until the end to try and get a winner. The atmosphere was fantastic, the fans really pushed us on the pitch and I think we should take the positives from this game.

“If someone had told me in September we would be this close to getting over the line I would take it. We are close because of how well we have done in the last weeks.

“It’s frustrating we haven’t come away with the win but now we’re only in the bottom three on goal difference. On Monday we have another big game at Middlesbrough and we will be going there to win.”

Swansea manager Luke Williams said he knows his players have enough to stay in the Championship but they must show more consistency.

Williams said: “In the first half I thought we controlled the game quite well. Our intensity was excellent.

“We created anxiety for Wednesday and their fans but we didn’t really make enough clean actions to score a goal.

“It’s frustrating to concede from a set-piece. I don’t like to talk about referees but Ronald was wrongly called offside in a promising position for us which led to the free-kick for their goal.

“The second half was like a basketball game. We wanted to try and win – we didn’t want to just settle for a point so it was end to end.

“In the last 20 minutes they caused us many problems which got the crowd up and we struggled to cope. I’d have preferred three but I’m happy with a point.

“I’ve got no problem with the effort from the players at all. We just weren’t able to impose ourselves on the game for long enough to get the victory.

“I know we have enough to stay in the division, I’m more concerned about the level of consistent performance. I want the fans who’ve travelled a long way to see we’re making progress.

“We’re not looking over our shoulders, we’re in a decent place. We got a point at Watford and now here and these are difficult places to go. Now we look ahead to QPR on Monday where we have a huge responsibility to make it enjoyable for our fans.”

Reggae Boyz attacker Jamal Lowe is upbeat after his return to the squad ahead of Jamaica’s Concacaf Nations League semi-final against the USA at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas on March 21.

Lowe, 29, was last apart of the Reggae Boys setup for an international friendly against Jordan on June 19 last year where he was an unused substitute.

“Feels really good. It’s been a while since I’ve been involved in a camp so it’s nice to be back. It’s a great opportunity for me and for the team to go and create history. That would be amazing,” he said in an interview on Monday.

Currently on loan at Swansea City from AFC Bournemouth, Lowe was sidelined for a month earlier this season with a knee injury and says that is behind him now.

“Since I got injured I’ve been trying to get back to full fitness and hopefully I can bring some goals to the team. I’ve watched all the games in the build-up and it’s been unbelievable, the transformation that we’ve gone through. Just want to keep pushing us in the right direction,” Lowe said.

“Everyone’s working hard towards the same goal. It doesn’t matter who the eleven on the field is, everyone’s pushing towards the same ambition so it’s good,” he added.

Lowe has scored seven goals and registered two assists in 27 games for Swansea in the EFL Championship so far this season.

“Swansea’s been good. It’s given me an opportunity to play real minutes and it’s a familiar place. The new manager’s come in and showed trust and belief in me,” he said.

He has two goals in four appearances for the Reggae Boyz.

You can watch the Concacaf Nations League semi-finals live on SportsMax on March 21.

 

 

 

 

Luke Williams believed Swansea produced the “most complete performance” of his tenure so far as they claimed a 2-0 Championship victory over derby rivals Cardiff.

Liam Cullen put Swansea ahead in the 34th minute before missing a penalty six minutes into the second half.

But Jamal Lowe bagged his seventh goal of the season – in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage-time – to cap off a fine win for the Swans, who ended the Bluebirds’ four-game winning streak.

It was Swansea’s fifth win from six matches against Cardiff and went some way to avenging their 2-0 loss in the reverse fixture last September.

“We won in a really positive way, I can’t argue with the way we went about it today,” said the Swansea boss.

“I think the combination of intensity and aggression combined with calmness and clarity is something we’re all striving for.

“I think it’s fair to say we’ve seen one or the other in recent performances or we’ve seen periods where we’ve done both well.

“But today felt like the most complete performance so far.

“It’s unrealistic for us to expect to not have any pressure (against us), but we were very dominant for the majority of the game and the big chances in the game, we created all of them.”

Meanwhile, opposite number Erol Bulut admitted some of his players went “hiding” as Cardiff failed to cope with the hosts’ intensity in the first-half.

The Bluebirds failed to register a single shot on target in the opening 45 and – on the whole – flattered to deceive as they missed out on securing a first-ever league double over the Swans.

And Bulut was less than impressed with the way his players started the contest at the Swansea.com Stadium.

“With the pressing Swansea made against us, we had to keep the ball in midfield, but we didn’t ask for the ball in midfield, we were hiding too much in the midfield,” he said.

“If you are hiding, you cannot get out of the press. You have to ask for the ball, this was not there in the first half.

“That’s why in the second half I made the changes, bringing two players in and we managed it a little bit better and the rest who came in, I think it was quite good.

“We will not put our heads down and make big trouble of this because we lost.

“When we see the last weeks, how we worked and how we came back when we’ve been on the bottom, we will be back again.

“We still have eight games to play, we have the international break, we will rest well, train well and come back strong again.”

Swansea were dealt a blow as Ben Cabango missed out with a calf injury and is now poised to be unavailable for Wales’ Euro 2024 play-off campaign.

Cabango’s fellow defender Kyle Naughton was withdrawn during the derby due to a hamstring issue, with Williams stating the injury “doesn’t look good”.

Swansea claimed the south Wales derby bragging rights with a 2-0 win over Cardiff.

Liam Cullen volleyed beyond Ethan Horvath – his sixth goal of the season – after 34 minutes in what was a dominant first-half showing from Swansea.

Cullen then missed a penalty in the 51st minute as Cardiff improved in the second half, but Jamal Lowe struck in injury-time to earn Luke Williams’ men all three points.

It ensured the Swans earned back-to-back home wins for the first time under Williams, while defeat ended Cardiff’s four-game winning run.

The Swans clearly meant business as they sought to avenge their 2-0 loss in the reverse fixture – with Harry Darling and Cullen having decent efforts early on.

Cardiff looked nervy and almost fell behind in the 16th minute when Jamie Paterson’s lofted cross found Darling unmarked, although the centre-back’s header crashed off the crossbar.

The hosts were left incensed moments later when Yakou Meite escaped a red card for pushing his head into the face of Darling.

The Bluebirds eventually showed signs of settling and saw Dimitrios Goutas poke wide from a David Turnbull corner.

But Swansea got the breakthrough their efforts warranted just after the half-hour mark following sublime work from January signing Ronald.

The Brazilian winger lifted the ball over Josh Wilson-Esbrand before darting 40 yards upfield and laying off to Kyle Naughton.

The experienced defender’s floated delivery found Cullen, who coolly volleyed beyond Horvath at the back post to send the home fans into raptures.

Ronald himself then rifled over as the Swans looked for a second, and Erol Bulut will no doubt have been pleased to reach half-time with his side only a goal down.

The Cardiff boss sent Rubin Colwill and Callum O’Dowda on for Turnbull and Meite, although they made a disastrous start to the second-half as Perry Ng conceded a penalty for dragging down Ronald.

However, first-half goal hero Cullen could only fire the spot-kick wide to give Cardiff hope.

The miss certainly lifted Cardiff’s spirits, with Nat Phillips heading at Carl Rushworth before Colwill lashed over as the visitors finally threatened.

Bulut’s men enjoyed more periods in possession as Ollie Tanner and Josh Key replaced Josh Bowler and Naughton respectively.

Ronald – now on the left flank – continued to show his quality though and beautifully picked out Cullen who headed wide.

Ollie Cooper, Lowe and Jay Fulton were all summoned from the bench, while Wales star Aaron Ramsey returned after a month on the sidelines with 19 minutes left on the clock.

The final stages were cagey as Horvath comfortably gathered Matt Grimes’ free-kick before Goutas headed over at the other end.

But Lowe rounded Horvath before drilling into the net in the sixth minute of added time as Swansea clinched a third successive home win over their neighbours, who lost ground in the race for a Sky Bet Championship play-off spot.

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.”

Aston Villa forward Leon Bailey and Spartak Moscow striker Shamar Nicholson headline a 23-man squad named by the Jamaica Football Federation on Monday for the CONCACAF Nations League fixture between the Reggae Boyz and Mexico at the Azteca on March 26.

Bailey and Nicholson are two of a number of players who were not apart of the squad for the two friendlies against the Soca Warriors in Jamaica last week.

Defenders Damion Lowe, Amari’i Bell and Kemar Lawrence are also among those who have returned to the squad while regular skipper Andre Blake remains absent through injury.

The match will commence at 7:00pm JA time (8:00pm ET).

The full squad is as follows: Goalkeepers: Jahmali Waite (Pittsburgh Riverhounds), Coniah Boyce-Clarke (Reading), Amal Knight (Lexington), Defenders: Amari’i Bell (Luton Town), Ethan Pinnock (Brentford), Dexter Lembikisa (Wolves), Adrian Mariappa (Unattached), Damion Lowe (Philadelphia Union), Richard King (Cavalier), Javain Brown (Vancouver Whitecaps), Kemar Lawrence (Minnesota United), Midfielders: Jonathan Russell (Barnsley), Bobby Reid (Fulham), Demario Phillips (Mt. Pleasant), Kevon Lambert (Phoenix Rising), Daniel Johnson (Preston North End), Ravel Morrison (DC United), Kaheem Parris (Dynamo Kyiv), Forwards: Jamal Lowe (Bournemouth), Cory Burke (NY Red Bulls), Trivante Stewart (Mt. Pleasant), Shamar Nicholson (Spartak Moscow), Leon Bailey (Aston Villa)

 

 Jamaica and Bournemouth forward Jamal Lowe believes a convincing defeat over Everton, in the third round of the EFL Cup earlier this week, should give the team a psychological advantage heading into Saturday’s Premier League rematch.

On Tuesday, Lowe scored the first of 4 goals in a 4-1 demolition of the Toffees at Vitality Stadium and is feeling confident with the teams set up for a quick repeat of the fixture in league competition.  With both teams struggling just above the relegation zone and Bournemouth winless in their last 5 games Lowe is eager to drive home any possible advantage.

"I think it will give us a slight physiological edge on Everton, I feel like they'll have a little bit of doubt in their mind, and we'll go into the game confidently,” Lowe said of the upcoming fixture.

The 26-year-old has made just one appearance, from the bench, so far this Premier League season but could be in contention for Saturday’s matchday squad after a creditable performance on Tuesday.

“I think it shows how hard we work during the week that players who haven't played that much were able to put out a performance like that today (Tuesday)."

 

Jamaica international and Swansea forward, Jamal Lowe, believes an end to the ability to be completely anonymous on social media platforms could go a long way in helping to combat racism online and hate speech.

The 26-year-old player found himself the target of racist online abuse following the team’s loss to Birmingham City last weekend.  The forward was the third Swansea player since February to suffer the issue.

In response, Swansea announced that the club would boycott any social media-related activities for two weeks.  They were joined in the effort by Scottish club Rangers.  The player hopes the effort will at least bring more attention to the issue or push social media platforms towards a response.

The issue of the right to online anonymity has provoked fierce debate since the early days of the internet.  At current, individuals are not required to provide identification in order to sign up for accounts, Lowe believes that could part of the issue.

“At the moment, no one knows who is abusing any of us,” Lowe told Sky Sports.

“You’ve got an Instagram account, or a Twitter account or whatever when you sign up, put your email address in, put your national insurance number in or your passport number in, your driver’s license number, something that can identify you as a person,” he added.

“Something that can be linked back to who you really are and not just a page you created in five minutes, send some abuse and delete it because that’s a never-ending story.”

 

English Football League (EFL) club Swansea has called for social media companies to do more to combat racial abuse on their platforms after Jamaica international Jamal Lowe was abused on Instagram following defeat at Birmingham City on Friday night.

Lowe posted the now removed message to his personal page, with the caption “some serious idiots out there.”  The issue of players being abused online has again come to the fore in recent weeks with legendary Arsenal forward Thierry Henry quitting social media to highlight the issue.  

Lowe was the third Swansea player, since February, to be subjected to racist abuse on social media.

"This is the third time in space of seven weeks where one of our players has been subjected to such abhorrent messages, and we continue to call on social media companies to go above and beyond to eradicate this appalling level of behaviour from their platforms," a Swansea spokesperson said.

"Jamal has the full and unwavering support of everyone at the football club,” he added.

Lowe, 26, has scored nine goals in 41 Swansea appearances since joining the Welsh club from Wigan in August 2020.  The player also recently scored on debut for Jamaica in a 4-1 loss to the United States in Austria.

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