KEVIN Blackwell's post-match profan- ity count reached double figures after Sheffield United's late defeat to Swansea City on Saturday.

Only a thin wall separates the away dressing room from the press centre at the Liberty Stadium and excited reporters gathered at the divide following the final whistle, cupping their ears to the wall to eavesdrop on the visiting manager's booming reaction.

The detail was largely unintelligible, the message was unmistakable — he was far from happy with the loss in South Wales.

But the Blades boss was not the only one to see red last weekend, Swansea had another two players sent off, making that five for the season so far — and we're not even through September.

No doubt the fact Swansea managed to fight back and win despite having Jordi Lopez and Nathan Dyer ordered off only added to Blackwell's frustration.

Injured

And opposite number Paulo Sousa probably wasn't too thrilled to lose another two players for Tuesday's trip to Doncaster either, particularly in midfield with Ferrie Bodde, Darren Pratley, Leon Britton, Joe Allen, Andrea Orlandi and Cedric van der Gun either doubts or injured for that trip.

"The sendings off were something that we didn't need with the injuries and everything else," said Lee Trundle. "We've lost two players that affect the side a lot especially Nathan. He's a great attacking force for us and a lot of our attacking play goes through him. We've just got to get on with it now and it's a chance for someone else to come in and shine."

After the Carling Cup fiasco against Scunthorpe that saw Swansea bow out of the competition with only seven players on the field after Garry Monk, Gorka Pintado and Angel Rangel were given their marching orders and Stephen Dobbie and Besian Idrizaj retired hurt, this was another eventful day for Sousa's Swans.

Even before the match started there were a number of developments to keep the assembling Swansea fans in conversation.

First there was no Leon Britton in the matchday 18, later revealed to be because he had been suffering with an ingrowing toenail. And curiously Sousa seemed to have selected five defenders, four midfielders and one attacker, sparking mass speculation on the formation.

The fact that Swansea went into the game in the midst of a goal drought that had seen them net just three times in eight league games made the team selection all the more intriguing.

"There was tension in the air, every stray pass or bad touch we had you could hear the fans because obviously everyone's going to be frustrated," said Trundle.

"They come and pay to see us play and obviously we haven't won a league game at home yet.

"It's going to be like that, but with us getting our first win, we can get a bit of confidence back and hopefully can build on that.

Performances

"The performances have been there, we've just been missing the goals and the wins. Today we had to grind that out and work hard for it. It was the win that we needed, whatever happened we just needed to take points."

As it turned out centre-back Ashley Williams had been asked to play in midfield as Sousa, who has already given surprise debuts to the likes of Kerry Morgan and Chad Bond this season, sprang another shock.

In another significant selection, Dutch playmaker Ferrie Bodde started his first match in 10 months — but lasted only nine minutes.

Withdrawing hurt, Bodde insisted the decision was precautionary and that he had not suffered a recurrence of the cruciate ligament damage that has seen him sidelined.

As one Swansea star's story took another twist, so it presented another with the opportunity to add another chapter to the glittering tale of his association with the club.

Trundle came off the bench to replace Bodde before winning and scoring the penalty that handed Swansea a precious lead.

The celebration that saw the Bristol City loanee run half the length of the field kissing his shirt badge was typical Trundle as he marked his scoring return to South Wales in style.

"The game was scrappy by our standards. We never kept the ball as we usually do, we didn't have as many passes, but to come away with our first win, I think the fans would take that," said the frontman. " It wasn't the best football performance but we've toughed it out against a tough side."

In an eventful match, there was another potential storyline as Wales striker Ched Evans turned home international team-mate David Cotterill's saved shot in as their pair returned to the Principality, only to be denied by the assistant referee's flag.

Stephen Quinn did eventually level for the Blades and when Lopez walked Swansea would probably have settled for the draw.

For the first time murmurings of discontent were heard among the home ranks with cries of "Sousa sort it out".

In the end, despite the stories surrounding Swan- sea's bigger hitters, it was a less high-profile player that stole the headlines.

Tom Butler, making only his second squad appearance this season, snatched the win with a superb 25-yard strike that left Blackwell barking and Sousa celebrating.

And among all the game's sub-plots, two goals and one win for Swansea after four league clashes without either was certainly the day's most important news.