Swansea City fell to the most unfortunate of defeats at home to Sunderland on Wednesday night, the final score reading 4-2 to the Black Cats.
Jermain Defoe was the visitors' hero, scoring a hat-trick on the night, but whether they were onside or not was debatable, whilst a incredible red card for Kyle Naughton immediately left the Swans with a disadvantage.
They fought, and fought hard, but it was always going to be an uphill battle, with them falling to defeat in the end.
However, individuals impressed in the game and showed that the team have the star quality to get out of a mess they fell deeper into last night.
More bad luck than bad defending
Lukasz Fabianski - 5/10
Though he started the game poorly, gifting Sunderland their opening goal, Fabianski actually didn't play too bad.
He set up André Ayew for Swansea's second goal with a quick release of the ball, his pinpoint kick finding the Frenchman, who did the rest impeccably.
However, despite all he did to make amends, he could not atone for his early error, which saw him pass the ball right to Jeremain Lens from a goal-kick, before parrying Fabio Borini's shot into the path of Defoe to finish.
He could have done better for the third goal too, with him seemingly waiting for an offside flag that never came as he stood still, looking almost uninterested as the former Tottenham Hotspur striker slotted in his second of the day.
Kyle Naughton - 5/10
Naughton's low score is simply representative of how long he spent on the pitch. The full-back was growing into the game as we passed the half hour mark, but he was sent off shortly after that in a more than dubious decision.
Graham Scott made a lot of big decisions in the game, and this was probably the biggest, dismissing the former Spurs man for a tackle in which he won the ball fair and square - basing his decision perhaps off the reaction of Yann M'Vila.
There was no foolishness on Naughton's behalf of, 'he should not have made that tackle,' but instead it was just a poor call from the referee and an unlucky day for the player.
Federico Fernandez - 6/10
Another man who had a mixed evening was Fernandez. Whilst he made some crucial interventions, winning the ball in dangerous areas and covering his full-backs and midfielders well, he was also at fault for a goal.
That was the second goal of the night, the defender turning his back on Patrick van Aanholt's shot, which allowed it to bounce off of him and fly into the back of Fabianski's net - leaving the 'keeper with no chance.
He was part of a defence that lacked chemistry with their offside line too, contributing to the final two goals of the day.
Ashley Williams - 6/10
In a hectic game, Williams had a tough job on, keeping his team in check and concentrated, and so it's not wonder he struggled to do so.
With the officials harsh on Swansea throughout, there was a sense of 'what can we do?' amongst the team, which the captain tried to get them to channel in a positive manner - something they did when and where possible.
However, despite making some big tackles and interventions, his organisation at the back was poor, which contributed as much as the officials' decisions to four goals conceded.
Neil Taylor - 7/10
The best of the back four, as he has been all season, Taylor worked tirelessly up and down the left flank as Swansea tried to get something out of the game.
He managed his marker well and was able to burst forward where possible too, getting a shot off that almost resulted in his first goal for the club but for a matter of inches.
Whilst Sunderland had a lot of joy down the left wing, not much got past Taylor on the right, with him putting on another strong display.
Mixed bag in midfield
Leon Britton - 6/10
In many ways, Britton's 500th game for Swansea almost summed him up.
For the 42 minutes he was on the pitch, the midfielder dictated play and read it well to intercept and tackle when Sunderland got forward, thwarting them on many occasions. The only goal the Black Cats managed whilst he was on the pitch, came from Fabianski's error.
Cool, calm and collected in possession, Swansea dominated possession and he was the main reason for that.
Another way in which the game summed him up, however, was that he was the man sacrificed after Naughton's red card. Britton is all about the team and about doing the dirty work on the pitch, with him not bothered about receiving the limelight for his efforts. The substitution epitomised this, his reaction simply understanding, with an applause towards the fans as they saw him unfortunately depart on his big night.
His importance was emphasised when he wasn't on the pitch too, with Swansea rushing things and lacking that patience and laid-back style he exudes in possession.
Ki Sung-Yeung - 6/10
The South Korean was another who gave a mixed performance last night.
At times, Ki was perfect on the ball and his usually accurate self in possession. He was also very positive on the attack and made some great runs forward to get involved in the final third - something that has perhaps not been seen enough from him this season.
However, at other times, the midfielder was careless, losing the ball in his own defensive third and needing his defence to recover for him.
Nonetheless, he raised his game when Britton went off and soon switched on in order to allow Swansea to enjoy more of the ball than one would expect a team with 10 men to do.
Gylfi Sigurdsson - 5/10
A rather quiet performance from a man who usually rises to the occasion.
A cool penalty got his team back on level terms, but that was his only real involvement in the game - bar his deflected shot that led to Angel Rangel's disallowed goal.
Sigurdsson worked hard, tracking back well and helping the team in all areas, but he lacked quality in the final third that could help his team, whilst his set pieces were disappointing to say the least.
Attacking flair but lack of end product
Wayne Routledge - 6/10
As always, Routledge put in the shift you'd expect and worked as hard as anyone on the pitch.
He plays almost like a full-back at times, such can be his desire to get back and help the defence as well as push forward and run at opponents. He pressed the ball high and worked his socks off on the night.
In terms of actual attacking play, Routledge's passing was crisp and his movement sharp, seeing him get in behind the defence and cause problems.
Mo Barrow's lively performance on the opposite flank meant he didn't get on the ball as often as he may have liked, with the 23-year-old the preferred passing option at times such was the energy of his display, but he played well nonetheless.
Mo Barrow - 8/10
Barrow has been knocking on the first team's door for some time and, more recently, the starting line-up's. Manager Alan Curtis spoke recently about how he has been impressed with the former Blackburn Rovers loanee, and last night he will have been even more so, even given the result.
Barrow was simply electric on the night, with his confidence to run at players simply sublime. He was not shy in such a crucial game and oozed quality throughout, gliding past opponents for the entire 90 minutes, twisting and turning and leaving them behind.
His battle with van Aaanholt proved to be an enthralling one, with pace fighting pace, and when he got the better of the Dutchman, he exploited the Sunderland centre-halves, John O'Shea and Wes Brown, with his speed.
The only criticism of Barrow was his lack of consistent end product. Sometimes he was able to pick out a teammate after bursting down the wing, but other times his passes and crosses were misplaced and undid all his good work.
However, that will surely improve with experience, and he is certain to get more of that through more opportunities after this display.
André Ayew - 8/10
Another stand-out performer on the night was Ayew, who was involved in both of the goals scored by Swansea.
With no recognised striker on the pitch, the Frenchman assumed responsibility as the focal point of the attack and relished in the role, with a goal and an assist to his name.
Whilst the penalty he earned was certainly not the correct decision by the referee, his neat footwork and ability to keep possession in tight areas won it for the team, before Sigurdsson converted to equalise.
There was no luck about the goal he scored himself, on the other hand, just sheer quality. After racing onto Fabianski's long pass, Ayew, isolated in a one - two situation, brilliantly escaped Lee Cattermole before avoiding the challenge of Brown as he finished impeccably.
Swansea may be keen on bringing in a striker, but he should be first choice in a central role if he can keep up this form.
Substitutes cannot make an impact
Angel Rangel - 5/10
Thrown on just before the break to fill in for the dismissed Naughton, Rangel came into the game with the mindset to attack, which had its good and bad consequences.
On the bright side, he offered plenty going forward, always being an outlet wide on the right and bursting into the final third with some positive runs. He almost got Swansea back on level terms with a goal to make it 3-3 too, but the offside flag was rightfully raised against him as he followed up Sigurdsson's shot.
The negative, however, was that his desire to get forward left Swansea short at the back. Taylor's great game at left-back was one reason why Sunderland didn't get in down that side often, but Rangel's performance on the right was another reason, as they targeted this as a weakness - one that van Aanholt, in particular, exploited.
He could have done better for the second goal, with Sunderland's left-back beating him too easily, whilst he was often late pushing out and struggling to keep up with the line played by the back four - playing Defoe onside, replays suggest, for his second goal.
Bafetimbi Gomis - 3/10
Introduced only 13 minutes before the end of the game, there wasn't much time for Gomis to get involved, with his appearance off the bench a quiet one. His only real impact was in stoppage time when he fired a powerful shot at Vito Mannone, one which the 'keeper parried away from danger.
The striker has come off the bench and made a difference in less time than this this season, but he couldn't do so in this game.
Jack Cork - N/A
Introduced in stoppage time, it's almost unfair to give Cork a rating since his amount of touches made probably didn't even hit double figures.
However, he almost scored immediately after coming on, but couldn't get his feet right when the ball found him in the box.
