1. Freestone
2. Jones S
3. Howard
4. O'Leary
5. Smith
6. Lacey @
7. Thomas
8. Savarese
9. Watkin
10. Cusack
11. Roberts

    ---

12. Jones J
13. Boyd
14. Romo @52
15. Casey
16. Keegan

 Bristol Rovers

1. Culkin
2. Challis
3. Foster
4. Thomson
5. Scott Jones
6. Bignot
7. Hogg #
8. Bryant
9. Astafjevs
10. Ellington
11. Evans

    ---

12. Vaaler
13. Foran
14. Hillier
15. Walters #73
16. Johansen

Soccernet report - www.soccernet.com

Strugglers Swansea City fought out a goalless draw against Bristol Rovers.

A disappointing match in which neither side showed any degree of confidence presented few clear cut chances although the best of them fell to Rovers.

Two minutes into the second half a good ball by the busy Nathan Ellington sent Trevor Challis racing into the Swansea penalty area, but goalkeeper Roger Freestone managed to block the shot with his legs.

Another good move by Ellington ended with Freestone making a fine save from Micky Evans and the Swansea keeper was soon in action again to pull out a superb fingertip save to deny Ellington.

Swansea had half-hearted appeals for an 80th minute penalty turned down after Rovers defender Stephen Foster had deflected a ball into the box back to his own goalkeeper.

The Swansea player claimed it had come off his hand but referee Phil Joslin was not interested.

There was extremely heavy policing in evidence before and during the match but there were no incidents as far as I was aware

John Hollins made some welcome changes - many forced through injury and suspension.

Freestone
Jones S - O'Leary - Smith - Howard
Lacey - Thomas - Cusack - Roberts
Savarese - Watkin
Subs: Romo - Boyd - Keegan - Casey - Jones J

We were spared the rain that had marred the previous matches but not the gusting wind that favoured Rovers in the first half.

There wasn't much incident or pattern in the first 45 minutes and Roger was called into action on a couple of occasions when the slick Bristol forwards cleverly worked openings along the floor.

In contrast, Swansea looked uncomfortable on the ball and even accomplished ball players were getting the rid of the ball far too quickly and as a result inaccurately.

Stuart Roberts earned the only booking of the match for leaving his foot in on the left back when he cleared upfield.

Watkin was getting through a lot of work and after combining with Savarese, saw a goalbound ball cleared off the line. Unfortunately there was no pace on this which made the defender's task easier.

Verdict at half- time was that it was a pretty dismal affair.

Second half was different and the 20 minute long "John Hollins Barmy Army" chant certainly lifted both the crowd and the players, It was no coincidence that this was Swansea's best spell on the field with accurate passing and sustained pressure on the Bristol area.

Romo replaced the tiring Lacey who had tried to play the ball along the ground throughout his 50 minutes on the field.

Whilst Swansea were having the lion's share of the pressure, Rovers were always a threat with their tricky and lightning fast wide men and Roger was called upon to make an international class fingertip save to keep us in the game.

With 10 minutes to go, after some more Swansea pressure on the Rovers goal, Savarese chased the referee 30 yards claiming a penalty when their centre half shepherded the ball back to their keeper. Unfortunately, it was only he who saw it - despite the linesman being in a good position too.

A very encouraging second half which was recognised by the awesome vocal support. Nick Cusack didn't know whether or not to clap the NB as the final whistle went because he must have been expecting the usual boos - but he was pleasantly surprised by the warm ovation the crowd gave to the team.

Player ratings:
Freestone 8 - not in the game too much but made excellent saves when called upon. Kicking poor - and caused palpitations when he fumbled a soft cross near the end.
Jones S 7 - solid performance despite having been out for a while
O'Leary 7 - looked off the pace a couple of times but gave a wholehearted performance
Smith 7 - usual game - good in the air
Howard 8 - another effective performance without catching the eye. Quietly gets on with it
Thomas 7 - plenty of commitment as usual
Cusack 6 - quieter game than usual
Roberts 6 - ditto
Lacey 7 - tried to make things happen but is still lacking match fitness (understandably)
Savarese 7 - worked hard but mostly off the ball
Watkin 8 - worked hard like Savares but mostly on the ball.
Romo 6 - appearance coincided with Swansea's best spell - but looks to play the same ball at all times - curve chip with the right foot.