Olivier Ntcham was the Swansea City hero as he climbed off the bench to grab a late win at Blackpool.
The former Celtic midfielder secured a first victory of the English Championship season for former Rangers defender and boss Russell Martin after blasting home on the counter-attack. The Frenchman grabbed the winning goal with just three minutes remaining on the clock at Bloomfield Road as he joined Michael Obafemi in rushing down on goal before receiving the ball and applying the easy finish.
The Frenchman made the move to Swansea City nearly one year ago, penning a three-year deal, after making well over 140 appearances and scoring 24 goals at Celtic. He won the lot domestically at Parkhead before departing for a move south. The Swans have played three games so far this season winning one, drawing one and suffering one defeat. Speaking after the win, ex-Ibrox defender Martin told Swansea's official website: “I have said to the lads that I so happy for them.
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“In the first half they showed so much aggression and a willingness to take risks with the ball, we had a hunger to win it back quickly.
“There was a lot more energy and intensity in our play, which I liked and that is something I want us to keep building on. We started the second half poorly and that was self-inflicted and we have to have fewer of those moments.
“I think there was some tension because we hadn’t scored and we probably felt we should have. They were more aggressive but we have to be able to deal with that.
“Fish saves the penalty, but then the crowd is energised and they had a 15-minute spell where they caused us a few too many problems.
“We lost a bit of control, that is going to happen at times away from home, but we were able to deal with it, the fans were great in getting behind us.
“We looked like the team more likely to win the game the longer it went on, we limited them and in the end, we got our reward.
“So I am delighted with the win, delighted with the clean sheet. The players work so hard and I hope this will relieve a little bit of tension and enable us to kick on from here.”
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