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Match report |
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Swansea City 4 v 0 Luton | |
Swansea
Luton
Attendance
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Video clips
Listers view - Mike Nicholson You would never have guessed the above scoreline, when the teams ran out at the beginning of the match. Injuries to Smith, Jones, Watkin and Mutton meant a much changed Swans line-up. O'Leary partnered Bound at the Back with Price operating as a right wing-back. Gareth Phillips and Lee Jenkins came into midfield alongside Thomas and Coates, with Cusack partnering Boyd up front.
First half started off fairly typically with the Swans having most of the possession and making some neat passing plays, but lacking any real penetration. Best chance fell to Thomas who really should have done better when an unchallenged header from 12 yards out went well over. However, this was to change midway through the half when a cross from Boyd was met by Price whose angled shot (from my viewpoint some distance away) seemed to have been bundled behind by their keeper. However, the referee saw it differently and sent off Stirling for handling the ball on the line. This was probably no great loss to Luton as Stirling was having a 'mare slicing the ball into touch every time it came near him. Bound stepped up to calmly drive the ball into the back of the net giving the keeper no chance. Swansea's lead was nearly doubled immediately afterwards when Coates broke though on the left and advanced on goal. His shot was parried by the goalkeeper but continued towards the net, where it was only just hacked off the line by a defender. The pressure was all from Swansea now, and the first goal of the season for Boyd duly arrived on the stroke of half-time. He received the ball about 30 yards out, but he turned his marker superbly and sprinted towards the goal. As he entered the area his heels were clipped from behind and he stumbled. However, instead of going down for the foul he stayed on his feet and was just able to toe-poke the ball past the keeper. He seemed as delighted as the North Bank that a Swans striker had finally scored a goal this season.
HALF-TIME: Swansea City 2 Luton Town 0 Cusack had been a revelation in the first half playing up front. He won nearly every ball in the air, and Boyd was finally receiving the service he required in the form of well placed flick-ons and lay-offs from Cusack, who also brought the wingers into play whenever he could. Cusack had a great chance himself from the restart when he broke clear of the Luton defence down the right hand side. However, his lack of pace told and he forced to try to cross the ball rather than go for goal himself. Lee Jenkins, who seems to be improving with every game, then should have been rewarded with a penaly as a result of a super run. Showing close control I never knew he had he dribbled past three Luton defenders into the area, where in my opinion he was clumsily brought down. The referee gave his linesman on that side a long look, but receiving no feedback waved play on. For the next 15 minutes or so Swansea seemed to ease back, with Luton coming back into the game in their best period. They should have scored when one of their strikers broke through one on one with Freestone. A fantastic save from Roger (his only difficult one of the match) ensured that he was well on his way to earning another clean sheet. A few more chances for Luton resulted in shots going well wide or over the bar with Stein (who was booed every time he touched the ball) being one of the main culprits. It was no surprise when he was substitued by Luton. Finally, the Swans awoke from their slumber for the last 20 minutes, and really should have a scored a hat-full as they finally made their man-advantage pay. A great cross from the left by Coates was met powerfully by Price? at close range, but a brilliant point-blank save from their keeper denied him. Coates then had a go himself, with a delicate chip from 30 yards which went just over with the keeper back-pedalling furiously. A foul on Price just outside the area close to the by-line resulted in their keeper being booked and the ball being moved forward 10 yards for an infringement well into the area. With the Luton players milling around in disarray, a quick lay-off from Thomas to Cusack and the ball was in the net before Luton knew what hit them.
Hollins then decided to preserve his only remaining striker, by substituting Boyd with Barry Morgan, who looked very useful. He made an immediate impact with a storming run down the right wing and into the area where his fierce shot was blocked by the keeper. The rebound was cleared by a defender just before Coates could tap it into the empty goal. It was all Swans pressure now, as even our defenders lined up to get their names on the scoresheet. Thomas, O'Leary and Howard all had (admittedly well-wide) efforts on goal. Roberts was brought on for Coates and looked very eager for the few minutes he was on the field. Morgan and Roberts were linking well together, and this resulting in the fourth goal as Stu ran on to a through ball and impressively fending off a defender stroked the ball past the advancing keeper into the beckoning net. It's been a long time since The Vetch has resounded to chants of "We Want Five" and it nearly happened. Morgan chased what seemed like a lost cause close to the corner flag, but won the ball before skipping past a couple of Luton defenders. He laid the ball back to Price whose powerful goal-bound shot was charged down. The ref decided to end Luton's embarrasment, and the Swansea faithful left the ground wondering just how well we could do in this league with just a couple of new faces in the team. A superb team performance with Cusack my man on the match on a day when not one player let the side down. Listers view - Gary Martin A superb result today with very much an experimental and young team. If Luton prove not to be one of the weakest teams in this division, then there is every chance of promotion with our current squad.
Hollins sent out a 3-5-2 formation as follows:- Swansea had the better of the opening 30 minutes without creating any clear cut chances - so nothing new there. But on 32 minutes, we had a stroke of luck which changed the game. We attacked down the left and Boyd drifted across the box and laid a ball into the path of Price? who shot at the near post area. The ball was scrambled away and behind into the side netting for what we thought was a corner - but the ref awarded a penalty for deliberate handball on the goal-line and sent off Stirling for the offence. Bound blasted the spot kick home and ran at the North Bank gesturing to fire up the crowd. They didn't need much encouragement and were soon in full voice.
Swans continued to dominate the half and 2 minutes into stoppage time, Boyd was fed the ball centrally and just outside the box. His first touch took the ball past his marker but he was tripped and stumbled to the ground. The ref was about to blow for a free-kick on the edge of the box when Boyd regained an upright position and slotted the ball home past the advancing keeper. At half-time, a whisper went around that Price was going to Cardiff and that the deal had been done. Swans came out for the 2nd half on the back foot and for 15 minutes it looked like Luton had the one man advantage as Swansea were made to run hard to try and regain the ball. However, Swansea gradually got back into the game and periods of pressure on the Luton area indicated that there were more goals to come. From a free kick awarded wide right near the goal line, the Luton keeper was yellow carded for delaying passing the ball. As a result the free kick was moved 10 yards forward. This was taken quickly to Cusack on the edge of the 6 yard box and his low drive through a crowd of players found the back of the net to make it 3-0.
Late substitutions followed with Morgan on for Boyd and Roberts on for Coates. Both looked lively and good work from Morgan wide right caused further pressure on the wilting Luton defence. With 1 minute left on the clock, Roberts was played through in a similar position to Boyd's goal in the first half and he finished superbly under pressure from both defenders and advancing keeper to round off a handsome win. It was noticeable that as Pricve left the field he didn't acknowledge the North Bank but merely sought out the management team to shake their hands. Could the whisper have any foundation to it?
Player ratings:
Subs: Listers view - Ianto Davies PLAYER COMMENTS & RATINGS ROGER FREESTONE: Held everything and proved he should be playing against Norway on October 7th. Not severely tested yesterday but made a superb save in the second half to maintain our 2-0 lead; 8/10 JASON PRICE: Played as if he had something else on his mind. Not as penetrative as usual; 6/10 MICHAEL HOWARD: Typical consistent performance; 7/10 KRISTIAN O'LEARY: Proved he is an able short-term replacement for Jason Smith. I'd go over the trench with him; 8/10 MATTHEW BOUND: For some strange reason he doesn't perform as well when not alongside his mate Smudger. As always though, took his penalty well; 6/10 GARETH PHILLIPS: Youngster who never seemed out of his depth yesterday. Battled well - definitely one for the future; 7/10 LEE JENKINS: Another excellent performance from Jenko, who is enjoying a rejuvenation to his fledgling career. I'm a big fan; 8/10 MARTIN THOMAS: As always, brave and fearless and even up over the trench before Kris O'Leary; 8/10 JONATHAN COATES: Again, flashes of brilliance are somewhat tainted by the odd schoolboy error. If Coatesie discarded his Deer's Leap tankard he could play in the Premiership; 7/10 WALTER BOYD: Spectacular with the ball at his feet - lazy when he hasn't. Won a free header yesterday to ironic cheers from the North Bank and scored a superb goal; 8/10 NICK CUSACK: Crowned a personal gladiatorial performance with a goal. Led the attack from the front like the inspirational captain he is. I've been one of his biggest critics but he certainly proved me wrong yesterday. Simply awesome; 10/10 SUBSTITUTES BARI MORGAN (for Coates, 75): The little shaven-headed livewire caused problems when he came on. Worked hard and made Robbo's goal; 7/10 STUART ROBERTS (for Boyd, 82): The North Bank favourite personally put the icing onto a memorable Swans performance by tucking home Morgan's cross in the last minute; 7/10 |
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