Halifax
Richardson
Jules
Mitchell
Stoneman
Woodward
Bushell
Houghton
Middleton
Richards
Fitzpatrick
Kerrigan

A straightforward trip up to Halifax despite the radio warnings of traffic snarl-ups and snow. Parking was easy just 50 yards opposite the ground.

Probably the best food counter I've seen at an away ground this year - excellent selection of food on offer and very cheaply priced.

The away fans were housed in a large covered standing area behind one of the goals with the serious home support at the opposite end of the ground in a similar structure. Running the length of the field was a new unfinished stand which will sadly make this one of the better grounds in the Conference next season.

Swans were forced into changes because of suspensions to Cusack and Mumford and so they lined up as follows

Freestone
Todd O'Leary Sharp
Phillips Lacey Brodie Coates Howard
Watkin Sidibe

Subs: Jones, O'Sullivan, Casey, Williams, De-Vulgt

The match started pretty dreadfully and gradually went downhill from there. Neither team, looked like they wanted to be on the field and there was little continuity of play from either side.

Within a quarter of an hour Swansea were one up. A corner from the left was smartly struck by Lacey and with no one from the Halifax team attacking the ball's flight, Watkin found himself unchallenged in the centre and his deft glancing header saw the ball end up in the corner of the net.

Uncharitable chants of you're going down did little credit to Swansea's fans, especially as this could have been us some weeks ago.

Despite their superiority, Swansea weren't having it all their own way as Kerrigan caused moments of havoc in the Swans defence. What let down Halifax was a combination of poor finishing and some excellent reaction saves from Roger Freestone. Again it must be a worry for the management of how easy our defences are being breached - even by the bottom team.

Swans reached the safety of half-time with their lead intact but against better finishing wouldn't have been so fortunate.

Swansea had so many chances to sew this up in the second half, but extremely poor finishing by Sidibe left the scoreline unchanged. Twice he was clear through on the keeper but each time hit his shots directly at the keeper's body.

Despite having the lion's share of possession, Halifax didn't really look like scoring. Their best efforts were a floating header that was headed off the line by Phillips and a fingertip last-minute save from Roger.

In between this there was much last gasp tackling going on around the edge of our box. Special mentions to Todd and O'Leary in this respect.

To sum up this was the perfect advert for the lower leagues going part time.

A deserved 3 points at the end, but those looking at the play-offs would do well to chat to fans that were at the match.

Players ratings:
Freestone 8 - his four great saves earned him my MoM award as well as his team the 3 points
Phillips 6 -dogged perforemance but relied on his elbows a lot to compensate for his lack of pace
Todd 7 - no goalscoring chances but some excellent defensive tackles
O'Leary 7 - as for Todd
Sharp 6 - good first half but faded a little 2nd
Howard 6 - average
Coates 7 - got involved in the midfield battle
Lacey 6 - some reasonable distribution as well as making the goal with his cross
Brodie 6 - did OK today and came a bit stronger as the game went on
Sidibe 5 - a very poor game by his standards - lacked accuracy with his shooting and also lacked paced - surprisingly
Watkin 7 - looked sharp today and took his goal well

Subs: Williams (for Lacey) 6 - tried but with no real penetration

Winter returned with a vengeance today, well for the journey north anyway, with periods of snow blizzards. Nearing Yorkshire we were met by a clear sky and sunshine. Another short flurry around 2.00pm but then a clear cold day for the game.

With Cusack and Mumford suspended the Swans lined up in a 5-3-2 formation of Freestone, Phillips, Sharp, Todd, O'Leary and Howard. Coates, Lacey and Brodie, and Sidibe and Watkin up front. There was a crowd of 1600 including approx 120 Swans. The ground now has 2 new covered terracing behind the goals the old North Stand and the new South Stand nearing completion.

The opening minutes were played showing the nervousness of both teams without either stamping any authority on the game. It was all stop start with both teams getting caught offside or giving away silly free kicks, all this on top of a team of officials who themselves wouldn't look out of place in the Conference.

We only had to wait until the 10th minute, before the game had its first of few highlights when a cross from the left was met by Watkin on the six yard box to the left of goal glancing a header passed Richardson into the far right corner. As it was at the far end it was a couple of seconds before the Swans fans realised it was a goal and started the celebrations. Apart from the goal there was not much action in the first half apart from two golden chances for Halifax where from the edge of the box mid area, Kerrigan & Richardson missed good chances with only Rog to beat, one shooting wide and the other allowing Rog to block the shot. Watkin was clattered from behind resulting in a booking for the Halifax player and anger from Watkin. Around the half hour mark Roger either fell awkwardly or was caught by a player and fell to the ground under a challenge and was in great pain, this was ignored not only by his own players who trotted up field but also by the ref who made him play on. Rog managed to clear into touch before requiring long treatment. Halifax took the throw in and started to build an attack until, under a chorus of boos one of their players rightly kicked the ball out. Their unsporting behaviour didn't end there as they put the Swans under pressure from the resulting throw in. Half time arrived after with us holding on comfortably to the 1-0 lead.

Halifax started the second half brightly and we found ourselves under constant pressure and unable to clear our half. With a mixture of offsides and weak attacks we weathered the storm. Sidibe had to gilt edge chances to make life easier for us when in similar one on ones with the goalie shot tamely both times when 'goal' was written on both efforts. This only encouraged Halifax who continued to battle in midfield where we offered very little. On 75 Lacey was replaced by Williams, with Watkin dropping into midfield. With each Halifax attack slicing through our midfield it seemed only time before they got the equaliser, in fact an attack down their left found Phillips chasing an attacker who bore in on goal, just inside the area just as he was about to shoot, Phillips managed to get in a crunching tackle to save the day. With the Swans retreating more and more it was only a mixture of Phillips & Todd with a combined tackle blocks that saved another attempt on goal. Roger played his part yet again with many good saves especially one on the 90 when he tipped over the bar a certain goal, a world class save. In the last 10mins there was a period of about 2 minutes when we could not get out of our area, and only a series of defenders throwing themselves at the ball prevented Halifax drawing level.

One late attempt on goal saw Williams in the box, and blatently falling to the ground in an attempt to cheat the ref for a penalty. It was not given, and strangely no yellow card.

What can be taken from this game? A better side than Halifax would have taken us to the cleaners. Sidibe should have scored twice but Halifax had more of the play and with better finishing would have beaten us. On this showing Halifax are destined for the Conference and to the few Swansea fans who took delight in mentioning that fact, think on, 'But for the Grace of God'.

This game was all about the result, we got it, and are now 16 points clear, and can now believe we are safe. There must now be a hard long look at the playing staff, many were found wanting today, passes went astray, positioning sense seemed non existant. They must learn to attack the ball and not automatically retreat and defend, we so often give the opposition time to play their passes. No one takes responsibility for their actions or influence the play.

After an away win, and making it three wins in a row, we wish we could be more positive, but reality tells us we need major surgery, even with the return of Smith, Cusack, Mumford and Jenkins our team lacks a general who can dominate midfield and make other teams react to us and not vice versa.

Only a month ago we won our biggest battle, lets not let it be wasted.

A surprisingly lethargic and disjointed performance, from a depleted Swans team which, despite their recent good run, seemed lacking in confidence. Nonetheless, the scrambled three points, which can only be described as fortunate, have now surely elevated us to a position of safety for the season. No doubt the four-game current form projection will now show us finishing in an elevated position - but we shouldn't carried away by that: on this evidence we will not be troubling the play-offs positions this season!

Per-match, our Halifax hosts did everything they could to reinforce the Yorkshire stereoptype, by staging nothing less than a "chip pan fire demonstration"! The 250 or so Jacks waited for the next instalment - would it be whippet racing, hovis eating, or flat-cap wearing?! We were disappointed - it was the game that came next, proving that chip pan fires can easily be the most explosive action to be seen in Halifax on a Saturday.

This was pretty dire fayre all round. To be fair, Halifax looked a better side than the one which will almost surely drop into the conference for the second time, and a neutral would have had a hard job identifying the "bottom" team from the "mid table" one, as the Swans struggled to a get a grip on the game from the first whistle. The absences of Mumford, Jenkins and Evans (and of course Smith) meant that our defensive options were limited. Phillips took on the right wing back role and looked uncomfortable there, despite his tenacious style. Sharp, Todd and O'Leary were the centre back three, with Howard on the left side of course. Coates, Brodie and Lacey made up the midfield three (Cusack absent through suspension) and Watkin partnered Sidibe up front.

This part of Yorkshire had been experiencing heavy snow showers since early morning, the most recent just an hour before the game, and as a result the pitch was very heavy. It was clear from the outset that the Swans midfield was going to struggle with this, and with the tenacity of the fired up opposition. The early exchanges saw the home team have the better of the play, but we took the lead against the run of play with our only noteworthy attack of the first half - Watkin glancing home a neat header from a Lacey corner on 10 minutes. Halifax responded well, and quickly took a firm grip in the centre of the park, with Coates, Lacey and Brodie unable to get a foot on the ball, our wing backs retreating, and our centre back three looking hesitant and ponderous. The Shaymen created three chances in quick succession, contriving to blow them all. First Fitzpatrick carried the ball across our back three before dragging a shot wide. Then on 16 minutes a long punt from keeper Richardson completely evaded all of our defence, allowing Marc Richards to latch onto the ball in a one on one with Freestone, but he shot wide of Roger's goal. And a couple of minutes later a neat ball sent Scott Houghton (Posh reject!) through on Freestone, but he drilled his shot straight at Roger.

During this spell we could barely string two passes together, but we were not helped by the creative refereeing of Mr Webster, who seemed to award a free kick to the home side every time a Halifax player went to ground. The first card, though, went against Shayman defender Pal Stoneman, for a late tackle on Watkin. A minute later Stoneman again took out Watkin from behind, and was very fortunate to stay on the pitch. The Swans then began to claw their way back into the game in terms of possession and territory, but again the best chance fell to the home side - a Houghton free kick was taken quickly on 31 minutes, and Roger was forced into a scrambling save. We fashioned a half chance shortly before half time when a well paced through ball from Brodie set Coates bearing down on goal, but with defenders closing him down he struck his left foot effort well wide of goal. Over the half time Bovril, the travelling Jacks were pretty unanimous that we were fortunate to be ahead. The 1400 or so home fans also betrayed their own frustration and perhaps resignation to their fate - they had barely raised a cheer in the first half, and their response to the crucial other half time scores from around the division was complete silence.

The second half was a more potent affair all round, and a neutral may at least have enjoyed the amount of chances if not the quality of the play. The home side were still well up for it, and created two excellent opportunities right at the start of the half. First a close range volley was blocked over the bar, and from the resulting corner a clean header from Richards was cleared off the line by Phillips. This wake up call prompted an improvement in the Swans effort. On fifty minutes a neat through ball from Watkin set Sidibe through on goal, but lacking composure, Mama drilled his shot straight at the keeper. A couple of minutes later, Coates worked himself a chance on the left side of the area, but his shot flew wide of the angle. The on 57 minutes an excellent through ball from Brodie again set Sidibe through on goal, but for the second time his fluffed his chance in front of goal, this time allowing the keeper the luxury of an easy save. This had been our best chance to kill the game off, and we knew we would pay the price at least in terms of some late pressure. Indeed a rally from the home team on 61 minutes saw Phillips make a superb last ditch saving tackle to prevent a certain goal.

A shake-up was needed in the Swans line-up, and Addo withdrew the ineffective Lacey, replacing him with Williams, and withdrawing Watkin to a midfield role. This immediately gave us more of a grip in the centre of the park, and on 69 minutes a great run and low cross from Williams came within a whisker of setting up Sidibe for a tap-in. From the resulting corner, Sidibe headed over under pressure from a defender. This was our last clear chance as the Shaymen wound up for a final assault, and the last 10 minutes saw some tremendous pressure exerted. The best effort on 89 minutes saw Roger make a superb flying save from a Middleton strike, and in injury time a remarkable series of rebounds, ricochets and blocks in our penalty area failed to result in our goal being breached, much to the frustration of the home support. The final whistle brought great relief to the Swans fans and players, who punched the air in celebration - as though promotion had been secured (and perhaps, in a way, it has!).

Freestone - 8 Some good saves and a steadying presence
Howard - 6 Ineffective going forward
Phillips - 6 A sound effort but hopelessly out of position
Sharp - 6 Seemed uncomfortable under pressure
Todd - 7 Our best defender on the day
O'Leary - 5 Neither mobile nor robust enough to be an effective centre half long term
Coates - 6 Some neat link play, but lacking strength in the tackle
Brodie - 6 A couple of neat through balls to Watkin and Sidibe
Lacey 5 - If he is ever going to fulfil his potential, he needs to start taking games like this by the scruff of the neck; today he was hopelessly ineffective.
Watkin 7 - A neat goal, and a decent effort in midfield (perhaps cause for thought next season - Mumford and Watkin in midfield with Phillips, Coates or Cusack?)
Sidibe - 6 Caused plenty of problems with his pace and energy, but his finishing was dire
Williams - 6 A decent substitute effort, but tired very quickly

Addo/Nicholas tactics - The 3-5-2 has its limitations, and games like this show it. When our midfield lacks physicality or guile and creativity, then we just seem to concede ground and possession, even against poor opposition. This becomes particularly exposed when we fail to get our wing backs into play. Today Phillips was out of position and Howard was just out of sorts, so our attacking options became restricted to the ball over the top to Sidibe or Williams - rather limited. Our centre half trio are not robust enough as a unit, even though they played the off-side game quite well today, and we desperately need the return of Smith to shore things up in there. There certainly needs to be some re-engineering, and probably a few replacement parts, if next season is to be any more encouraging.