Huddersfield Town 0-0 Swansea City

Jordan Ayew is shown the red card by referee Michael Oliver

Swansea manager Carlos Cavalhal praised his side's "epic" performance after they hung on for a point at Huddersfield despite playing most of the game with 10 men.

Jordan Ayew was shown a straight red card by referee Michael Oliver after only 11 minutes after he caught Huddersfield captain Jonathan Hogg on the leg with his studs.

Carvalhal said that Huddersfield "played opera" and Swansea "had to listen to their music for a long time," keeping with a music-related theme a week after he said his side had made West Ham "dance to rock n'roll" in their 4-1 win last Saturday.

"But the most important thing is that in the end, we achieved what we wanted. It was an epic point," the Portuguese added.

The Terriers dominated after Ayew's dismissal but could not force a way through, going close when Steve Mounie's volley was brilliantly touched onto the bar by Lukasz Fabianski.

Tom Ince hit the post in the last minute of normal time for the hosts, but Swansea held out for a remarkable draw after not having one shot in the entire match.

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Swansea and Huddersfield drop one place in the Premier League table to 14th and 15th respectively, four points above the relegation zone.

A back-header from Mounie looped over the Swansea bar before half-time, while Hogg and Florent Hadergjonaj went close with shots from distance after the break.

The Swans' rearguard action was such that Carvalhal's side only touched the ball once inside the Huddersfield area, while the home side had 80.8% possession.

Swans fight a crucial rearguard

Swansea had sunk to the very bottom of the Premier League when Carvalhal took over in late December, but a dramatic 2-1 win at Watford in the Portuguese's first match in charge began a change in the Welsh club's fortunes.

The former Sheffield Wednesday boss has galvanised the Swansea squad to the tune of five wins and three draws in 10 league outings since. And Ayew's red card so early on makes this point all the more valuable.

It was an outstanding defensive effort from the remaining players, with Andre Ayew regularly tracking back from up front to get the ball clear following the dismissal of his brother.

The Swans rode their luck at times, and must be grateful for their keeper's brilliant contribution to keep Mounie's effort at bay to grind out what could prove to be a crucial result.

Carvalhal - the analogies just keep on coming

Since taking over at the Liberty Stadium, Carvalhal has made several entertaining analogies when describing his side's fortunes.

The 52-year-old has said that:

• Swansea made West Ham "dance to rock n'roll"

• His game-changing substitutions v Burnley were like "putting all the meat in the barbeque"

• He might have to sign "sardines" rather than "lobsters" in the transfer window

• That battling to avoid relegation is like trying to extinguishing a forest fire

And he has handed out custard tarts to reporters at a press conference.

Opportunity missed for Terriers

Huddersfield failed to score for the 16th time in the league this season despite being up against 10 men for most of the match.

In addition to the shots that hit the woodwork and flew wide, defender Scott Malone missed out when the ball went between his legs as he leapt to connect with a cross inside the area.

But for all the possession they enjoyed, David Wagner's side must see this as a missed opportunity when it comes to their battle to stay in the top flight.

Huddersfield (left) camped out in Swansea's half, while the Welsh outfit (right) touched the ball just once in the opposing area

There were signs of frustration as the game wore on, such as when Ince connected to a cross that seemed to be heading towards the better-placed Mounie.

Ince's header flew wide, but he was desperately unlucky when his late effort hit the upright with Fabianski stranded.

But luck didn't play a part when Mounie's thumping volley, which was heading just under the crossbar, was magnificently tipped onto the bar by Swansea's keeper.

Man of the Match - Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea)

Swansea's keeper ensured that his side kept a clean sheet away from home for the first time since the 0-0 draw with Spurs on 16 September

What the managers said

Huddersfield boss David Wagner: "We're frustrated about the result, but the boys did everything right apart from score. We hit the bar and post three times and missed other chances. Sometimes you need luck and that wasn't on our side today.

"We played the overload quite well. I will only praise my players for how they played it. We had everything apart from the goal. We have to accept this point and the performance.

"It could be an important point at the end, even though I thought we deserved all three."

Swansea boss Carlos Carvalhal: "It was a happy point because we were down to 10 players very early. It didn't look like a red card at the first moment but when I look again what my player did was exactly the same as the Huddersfield player did. It was strange.

"My team was really brave. They defended very well. It is not the sort of game I want, in the end it was a little bit lucky but the luck I think was completely deserved for how my players played with their fight.

"We showed another face of our character. We didn't have the conditions in this game to get more than one point."

Shot-shy Swans - the stats

• There have been three occasions of a team having more than 25 shots in a Premier League match but failing to score this season - all of them have been against Swansea City - Southampton: 29, Tottenham: 26 and Huddersfield: 30.

• Swansea became only the third side to fail to have a single shot in a Premier League match after West Bromwich Albion against Manchester City in December 2004 (drew 1-1) and Blackburn against Tottenham in April 2012 (lost 0-2).

• Huddersfield have failed to score in a league-high 16 Premier League games this season.

• Huddersfield's possession figure of 80.84% is the second highest in a Premier League game (since 2003-04), after Manchester City's 82.28 against QPR in May 2012.

• Jordan Ayew's red card after 11 minutes was the earliest a player has been sent off in the Premier League this season, and earliest in the competition since Jeff Hendrick against Watford in February 2017 (six minutes).

• It was also Swansea's first red card in the competition since Kyle Naughton was sent off against Sunderland in January 2016 - they'd gone 84 games without one before Saturday's game.

What's next?

The Terriers are back in action at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday, 17 March at 15:00 GMT. Swansea host Tottenham in the FA Cup on the same day at 12:15, but don't play in the Premier League until 15:00 BST on 31 March, against Manchester United at Old Trafford.