Swansea City travelled back to Wales with a bitter aftertaste of the Tuesday clash they had against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns.

In the last minute of stoppage time, South American forward Salomon Rondon hammered in the equaliser for the Baggies, levelling the game at 1-1 and stealing a crucial three points from the Swans.

Nonetheless, it was a positive performance from the Welsh outfit - one which earned individuals some good ratings.

Fabianski gets little help

Lukasz Fabianski (8): Rondon might have scored the goal to prevent the Welsh club from picking up their third consecutive win, but the blame cannot go to the Polish international. He in fact held the Baggies at bay for as long as possible, by making five saves in the match - and good ones at that.

Angel Rangel (5): The Spaniard was busy at the back and he struggled at times. On the attack, he wasted a few opportunities by taking ill advised shots and wasting chances.

Ashley Williams (5): For the most part he had a solid game. He did have some nervous moments but was fortunate that the West Brom players were not taking advantage of their chances and Fabianksi was there to clean up the rest. However, he was caught ball watching when Rondon buried the equaliser. He was standing in front of the ball when it dropped in the heart of the penalty box, and he failed to react quickly.

Federico Fernandez (6): The Argentinean international put in a solid effort on the defensive end. But at the end he was also caught ball watching as the ball flew across him as he stayed planted in the centre of the box, which resulted with Rondon scoring.  

Neil Taylor (6): The full back did make some good runs going forward and appeared to be making an impact on the defensive side. He was not outstanding nor did he make any costly mistakes for the Jacks in his 59 minutes of action.

Midfield lively

Ki Sung-Yeung (7): The South Korean international was having a good game before he was forced off due to concussion just before the break. He was feeding good passes to the forwards but nothing came from it.

Leon Britton (7): He put in a busy shift recuperating possession and giving Swansea more time on the ball.

Jack Cork (6): Like Britton, he was busy getting the ball back for the Swans. However, on the attack, he struggled and lost the ball a few times.

Attack lacking clinical side

Andre Ayew (5): He ran a lot in the game but he missed multiple opportunities to score in the match. Some chances he failed to even make contact with the ball because he lost his concentration. The Ghanaian international took a total of four shots against the Baggies; none of them were on target.

Ayew struggled at the Hawthorns. | Photo: Getty
Ayew struggled at the Hawthorns. | Photo: Getty

Wayne Routledge (5): His speed was constant threat to the Albion defense. However, he never was able to muster up a shot in the game. It does not matter how fast a player is, if a forward does not take a single shot in 90 minutes, then it is not a productive shift.

Gylfi Sigurdsson (6): Even though he gave Swansea the lead in the 64th minute, he still missed plenty of chances. The Icelandic international was able to get off five shots in the game, but he did miss a few that he usually puts away or at least places it on target.

Overall, the attack struggled in converting their chances. The Welsh club created 18 shots but only four of them were on target - and West Brom 'keeper Ben Foster was able to stop three of these.

Promising signs off the bench

Alberto Paloschi (45th min, 7): The new signing wasted no time in getting involved with the attack. Throughout the entire game he was busy running at defenders, holding the ball and just causing the Baggies defenders problems. He was involved in Sigurdsson's goal, giving his teammate space, and he also nearly scored himself - Foster making one good save whilst the post denied him on another occasion.

Kyle Naughton (59th min, 6): He came in and started to provide crosses for the forwards. He was active on both fronts but did struggle on the defensive side.

Jordi Amat (82nd min, N/A): He did not have enough time to make an impact in the match.

Strange decisions by the boss?

Francesco Guidolin (6): He has now won one and drawn one of his first two games at Swansea. However, he did make some questionable decisions on Tuesday.

First; why did he sub on Naughton? The Welsh club needed some offensive spark at that moment. A person like Jefferson Montero or the speed of Modou Barrow might have changed the outcome.

Also, it was clear that Ayew was struggling, so he should have taken him off earlier, possibly putting in Bafetimbi Gomis or a wideman. It was clear that change needed to happen and instead he decided to defend a 1-0 result. In the end, that doomed the Swans. 

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About the author
Jorge Belon
My name is Jorge Belon. I’m a writer for VAVEL USA and VAVEL UK. My focus is on soccer. Throughout the years I have created different blogs all revolving around soccer. My first was Mr. JB Soccer in 2012. Now I currently operate Belon Soccer News (BSN), where I cover soccer mostly from North America and international tournaments. I am a college at Los Angeles Valley College. I was a part of the college newspaper, The Valley Star for two years. At the Star I held the position of Sports Editor, News Editor, Managing Editor and Editor in Chief. I have been writing about soccer for the past three years. I have covered: Major League Soccer, Gold Cup, Under-20 Men’s World Cup, Women’s World Cup, Men’s World Cup and many more.