1. Freestone
2. Jones S
3. Howard
4. Bound
5. Smith
6. Cusack
7. Thomas
8. Boyd
9. Watkin
10. Coates
11. Price

    ---

12. Jones J
13. Casey
14. Roberts
15. Jenkins
16. Mutton

 Peterborough

1. Tyler
2. Drury
3. Scott @
4. Rea
5. Edwards
6. Farrell
7. Clarke
8. Cullen #
9. Green *
10. Hanlon
11. Shields

    ---

12. Hooper @ (53)
13. Oldfield
14. Connor
15. Forsyth # (53)
16. Whittingham * (45)

Lister's view #1 - Clive Hughes

Although we didn’t see Saturdays match against Colchester we traveled to Peterborough expecting the worst. It was a warm day with a mixture of bright sunshine and threatening rain clouds, but in the end it stayed dry. The first surprise of the day was to see Walter Boyd warming up with the team as we expected him to be out for at least a week.

The first half was dominated by the Posh who threatened without any real attempts on goal apart from a couple of blistering shots from their No 18 Hanlon the first from a free kick for which he seemed to take a cricket bowlers run up. Both shots were superbly saved by Rog (what would we do without him). The whole team battled well closing them down at every opportunity. We never really threatened and our thoughts were how long could the defence hold out. But from our first real attack of the game Watkin was bundled from behind, no doubt a penalty. Bound blasting straight into the net. We had scored after 400mins this season.

Posh brought on Guy Wittingham for the restart, which the first couple of minutes were played with the half time records still on. As it was switched off Swans took a quick throw in Walter broke into the area went for the near post the Goalie only managed a block which rebounded off Jason Price and into the net. No shot, but he was in the right position. 2-0. Two further subs by Posh who were now going for it and the next twenty minutes we defended heroically, blocking and getting tackles in allowing them no real shots on goal. The pressure eased and we had a few counter attacks where with a bit of luck could have got a third. The match was played out with us knocking the ball around as by now Posh realised it was not to be their day. As usual I will not score individuals but just a few comments.

The defence did their usual excellent job, supported by the midfielders. In fact there was support all over the pitch, with only a few bad passes. The only down side was the performance of Walter Boyd whose work rate needs improving as on at least 2 occasions Nick Cusack screamed at him to close down their defenders. Hopefully this was down to him still being affected by his injury.

In summary a good team performance, watched by approx. 250-300 travelling fans, and although a great result, our lack of penetration up front is still evident We were the away team and could break using Prices’ speed, but this cannot carry us through the season.

To end on a bright note 5 games played 1 defeat only 2 goals conceded.

Speaking as the Peterborough Swans, any kind of victory for the Swans at London Road instantly confers deified status upon the players and management involved, even if fluked. But today we achieved it with a performance of confidence, steel and no little style, leaving us wondering how this season could possibly get any better (!) and making us very anxious to get back to work, to make some of our Posh supporting colleagues suffer accordingly!

Other than Thomas coming in for Jenkins, the Swans kept faith with the team that capitulated so lamely to Colchester on Saturday, but it was clear from the kick off that this was a different side in terms of spirit and resolve. A strong looking Posh side, packed with physical and skillful players, came at us all guns blazing, bouyed up by their 4 -1 rubbing of Oldham on Saturday. Andy Clarke and Francis Green both caused us problems with the tricky wing play, and a confident Posh looked likely to get an early breakthrough. However, despite this early pressure, the tenacity of our defence limited Posh to only a few chances, none of them clear cut. The best efforts were two powerfully struck long range free kicks from the impressive Ritchie Hanlon, both of which were excellently parried by Freestone. When Francis Green went on a mazy run from the right and set Farrell free in the box, he seemed certain to score from 12 yards, but was foiled by a superb last ditch tackle from Steve Jones. During this period, we responded with a couple of low shots from Watkin, and a header from Cusack which cleared the bar by some distance.

But after the first 20 minutes, we began to draw the sting from the Posh attack, with Jones and Price doing an effective job on Andy Clarke. We began to enjoy more possession, and slowly clawed our way into the game, a similar pattern to what we saw at Brentford. Today, however, we got the break we deserved. Shortly before half time a long cross from Coates was heading towards Watkin who seemed poised to strike it first time, when a Peterborough defender jumped at him from behind, clattered him to the ground, and conceded a blatant penalty. The pressure must have been immense on Boundy, but credit to him for slotting it away and sending 4 - 500 Swans fans wild. We endured some pressure in the final moments of the half, but clung on to our slender lead.

In the second half, Posh introduced veteran Guy Whittingham to the fray in an immediate "Fry-style" gamble to try to get back into the game. But it was the Swans who took the game by the scruff of the neck. Some good work from Coates led to Boyd getting possession on the left wing; he ghosted past a two defenders before hammering in a low shot which was well saved by Tyler, but there was Jason Price to hammer in the rebound from close range. A great goal and a very welcome one.

There followed an expected phase of Posh pressure, which created a few half chances. Andy Clarke blazed over from close range, a Farell header went well over, and a long range shot from a Posh defender narrowly cleared the bar, but to be fair, our defence was superb during this spell - Smith and Bound headed everything, Howard and Jones blocked crosses, Price and Coates dropped back to support and Cusack and Thomas worked their socks off to help out. Gradually, as more space began to appear, we started to create the better chances on the break. A low cross from Price reached Boyd in the area, but his shot was blocked; a great low cross from Coates nearly found Price in the area; and the same combination nearly brought us a late third. Watkin also had a great chance to seal it but he shot over when Coates seemed better placed. In the last quarter nearly all the controlled possession was ours, as it became apparent to a dispirited Posh side that they were just not going to breach our defence. There was a great ovation from the Swans fans at the end, and well acknowledged by the obviously delighted players and management.

Player ratings: Freestone: 9 Two excellent saves and not a foot wrong.
Jones: 9 (and MOM) A match saving tackle and generally great all round defensive performance
Bound: 8 Rarely missed a header
Smith: 8 As above
Howard: Tenacious at the back, and more impressive going forward in every game he plays
Price: 7 After a slow start, very dangerous and a constant thorn in their side.
Thomas: 7 Combative throughout
Cusack: 7 A great leading performance (we spoke to him before the game and he was not dissmissive of internet fans)
Coates: 7 Transformed from Saturday - dangerous up front and covered well in defence
Watkin: 7 Some decent strikes on goal; beginning to find some form
Boyd: 7 Ran his heart out for us, and a great assist with the goal. Obviously still not fully fit.

Subs not used. But why change a team that is winning?

Just as we shouldn't see Saturday's game as the end of the world, we also shouldn't see this as championship form. But it did restore a lot of faith, both for us fans, and in the team themselves. This was a genuinely good performance against an experienced and talented side; it was also a game which confirms that our style of play lends itself better to away games than home. OK, we all know we need another striker and let's hope we get one soon, but today we were strong tactically, superb in defence, and in attack we looked dangerous in spells. Perhaps most impressive was the spirit of the team, which was evident throughout. Well done to all concerned...roll on The Hawthorns!

300 Swans fans singing " We have scored a goal" summed up the clubs need for a target man despite a 100% effort from all 11 players which produced 2 goals,one either side of half time.

My impressions of our players performances.

FREESTONE: Totally comanding in the box, Rog was under almost constant pressure at times. His handling was exceptional and one save in the first half saw him diving full stretch to his left to palm the ball away superbly, a better save you will have to go a long way to see.I've often thought how would Rog' do in the premiership ? I think for sure playing at a higher level would eventually give him the No1 spot for Wales. 9/10

S.JONES: Solid again today, Steve seems to improve every match. Needs to concentrate on his distribution at times though. 7/10

HOWARD: Mike was allowed a bit of freedom at times to contribute down the left flank. Defended well when the need arose and provided a bit of extra impotence for the front two.7/10

SMITH: He may have had a problem Saturday with Lua Lua but Clarke (who is quick and tricky) came up against a brick wall today. A superb rock like performance today dominating in the air 8/10

BOUND: Thank you Mr Hamer for having the sense to agree a new contract with Boundy. The sheer strength and arial dominance Matt has, along with that almost telepathic understanding with Smith and Freestone makes him an irreplaceable asset this season. His converted penalty was a sheer power shot that was bolted straight into the centre of the POSH goal.8/10

COATES: Coatsy was a good play maker today and combinded some nice touches with some good hard tackling. Good commitment today but still has a long way to go consistancy wise to fullfill his obvious talent. 7/10

THOMAS: Unusally quiet today but came from nowhere just failing to connect with a low cross inside the POSH 6 yard box.6/10

J PRICE: Menacing, fast, super fit, 100% commited : all qualities that were utilised in this game. JJ is such an exciting player to watch especially when he goes on one of his runs which he did on several occasions, causing problems down the POSH left hand side.By virtue of his fitness and commitment, JJ was to be found in the perfect position to take advantage of the loose ball from Tyler's parry to put us 2-0 ahead just after half time.Booked for a tackle from behind on POSH's Farrell. 8/10

CUSACK: Nick worked tirelessly today and gave us that much needed height just behind the front two. Several well won headers created openings for Watkin. Nick was also to be found joining forces at the back during an onslaught from POSH after we went 2-0 up.8/10

WATKIN: Had his work cut out today with an unfit partner up front. A good run latching onto a ball in the box saw him held back to earn the penalty for the Swans. Stevo needs someone big to play off for the team to appreciate the way he holds the ball up. 7/10

BOYD: Walter WAS definately carrying an injury today but is it a case of an unfit Boyd is better than a fully fit Mutton ? Wasn't in the game much today, but one lovely turn, combined with a shot at the POSH keeper created enough of a chance for JJ's goal. Maybe that was the justification for playing him. 6/10

CONCLUSION: