'No arguments' - Pundits assess Swansea City's derby win over Cardiff City
Last updated on .From the section Welsh
For Swansea City, Saturday's south Wales derby was all about righting the wrongs of the reverse fixture, while Cardiff City had a chance to claim a first league double against their fiercest rivals.
It was Swansea who achieved their target, as goals from Liam Cullen and Jamal Lowe earned Luke Williams' men a 2-0 win.
But what does the bigger picture look like for both clubs?
BBC Sport Wales pundits have had their say following the derby contest at the Swansea.com Stadium.
Righting wrongs
After four successive wins in this fixture, Swansea were well and truly humbled by the Bluebirds at Cardiff City Stadium in September.
Goals from Ollie Tanner and Aaron Ramsey earned Erol Bulut's men victory over a Swansea side then led by Michael Duff.
The visitors produced an abject display that typified former Burnley defender Duff's miserable tenure at the club.
But under new boss Williams, Swansea made amends. They beat their rivals to avoid becoming the first Swansea team to lose twice in the league to Cardiff in the same season.
"Let's get it right, they deserved to win this game," said former Swansea midfielder Owain Tudur Jones.
"You look at what happened at Cardiff City Stadium, not just the result, that performance was a shocker.
"I do still genuinely believe the managerial change should have happened after that game.
"But this was much better, a good performance by the Swans."
Impressive run abruptly ended
Cardiff were viewed as favourites in the eyes of many having gone into the contest on the back of four successive wins.
It ultimately felt like a familiar tale for the travelling Cardiff supporters, who watched a flat performance and a third consecutive defeat at the Swansea.com Stadium.
Bulut claimed some of his players went "hiding" in the first half, and ex-Cardiff defender Jason Perry believes a key Bluebirds weakness was fully exposed in the opening 45.
"The first half wasn't good enough," Perry said.
"It exposed what Cardiff City have been poor at for a long time - they cannot press, they're very passive in their press and they're resistant to going at teams.
"They were not good enough in possession and didn't make the pitch big.
"Only in the second half through the substitutions did they worry Swansea slightly.
"But I can understand why the Swansea fans are enjoying the occasion, they deserved to win."
Former Wales striker Ian Walsh - who had spells with both Swansea and Cardiff - also pointed to the Bluebirds' slow start as a pivotal factor in their defeat.
"I thought the difference between the sides was the start. Swansea really got at Cardiff," he said.
"Cardiff in that first half were a shadow of that team they had been over the previous four games."
David Giles, another man who played for both clubs, added: "There's no arguments with Swansea winning. I saw Cardiff against Ipswich last week and they were a shadow of that side this weekend.
"They started brightly against Ipswich, forced them to go backwards, which was great from Cardiff.
"They are getting results without playing brilliantly, but against Swansea they were second best all round."
Sobering context
"You have to win the derby. However, Cardiff are seven points above Swansea and the two clubs shouldn't be in the positions they are in," said Walsh.
Despite tasting derby success, Swansea sit 15th in the Championship, seven points adrift of Cardiff, who are 11th.
It has ultimately been an underwhelming campaign for the Swans while despite plenty of positive signs, Cardiff remain a work in progress having narrowly avoided relegation last season.
It is a far cry from the days both clubs have enjoyed in the Premier League in the not too distant past.
"I looked at the game overall and I saw two very average teams in the Championship," added Walsh.
"It's fantastic for Swansea that they have beaten Cardiff, but there wasn't that much quality [from either side] in the 90 minutes."
Both clubs may feel they are making progress, with Cardiff sitting in the top half of the Championship and Swansea showing signs of improvements under Williams following the wretched Duff era.
But both Swansea and Cardiff appear to have plenty of work to do.
What does the future hold?
"Because Swansea are a bottom-half team at the moment, what you don't want is this being the highest of highs and then there's a bit of a lull for the rest of the season. This should act as a kick-on," added Jones.
Now seven points clear of the relegation zone, Swansea will hope to see out the final stages of the season with minimal fuss before another potential squad overhaul in the summer.
For Cardiff, the most pressing concern is the future of Bulut, whose contract expires following the conclusion of the 2023-24 campaign.
"You have to group together as players and bury this [derby defeat] away. It's up to the players to do that," said Perry.
"Cardiff are overachieving anyway. My concern is, can they start to evolve quicker than they are on the field for success further down the line?"
Despite defeat to Swansea, Walsh says Bulut and his coaching staff feel considerable credit for the work done so far in 2023-24.
"People may have a go at me now, but I think Bulut has done a great job this season considering what he had at the start of the season," he said.
"People will be annoyed that Swansea have beaten them quite easily.
"But going back to the bigger picture, with what he was achieved considering what he was given at the start of the season and the uncertainty around his position... Cardiff have done better than I expected at the start of the season."
As for Swansea, they will feel they now have the right man at the helm.
But much progress is still needed if they are to have a chance of returning to the Premier League any time soon.
"You have got to look at the bigger picture of where Swansea are in the division and they are nowhere near where they should be, that is down to a lot of the stuff in the background," added Walsh.
"They performed well against a very poor Cardiff City side. But what is the bigger picture? Cardiff will probably finish above Swansea, so what does that say?
"Hopefully a result like this doesn't take the pressure off the people at the top at Swansea."
Comments
Join the conversation
Cardiff were poor because they were outplayed. End of.
Cardiff should have less light shows after super-rare derby wins, and simply calm down, accept that Swansea are their superiors, and take their medicine.