Swansea City 4 Hull 2

More Hull Pictures from Paul Nicholas

There are instances in football when a detailed account of what happened during a game becomes irrelevant against the importance and outcome of the match itself.

Today, just over 9.500 fans witnessed such an occasion as the Swans did exactly what they had to do to ensure their league survival.

With gates open at 1.45pm the atmosphere was building for a long time before kick off, with each player taking the field for the warm up receiving applause and encouragement. No matter what the reception given however, the looks on the faces of the fans told the whole story of what rested on this game. There was nothing but apprehension and fear. Not one spark of anticipation.

By the time the teams lined up, the only spaces were in the away end where just over 200 Hull fans were gathered.

The rain was falling and the surface was greasy but this was one game where the players just had to keep their heads and their feet to deliver the only result that the fans wanted and deserved; a win.

The national anthem at 2.45pm brought early watery sparkles to the eyes of many who would later be flooding tears as the emotional roller coaster ran its course over the 90 minutes. The team:

Cutler
Jenkins – Tate – O'Leary – Howard
Britton – Martinez – Johnrose – Coates
Thomas – Nugent

Subs: Freestone – Williams – Richards – Hylton – Smith

Within 5 minutes of kick off the Swans went one up from a calmly taken James Thomas penalty following a foul on Leon Britton. Two minutes later it was all square again following a defensive blunder. The rise and immediate fall in excitement was already too much for some fans to take, and the plentiful supplies of Handy Pack Tissues were brought out into the daylight.

Worse was to follow on 25 minutes when another defensive lapse saw Hull take a 2-1 lead. News from Exeter that it was goalless, and that Southend had missed a penalty did not help.

Some relief came when just before half time, a second penalty award to the Swans for hand ball saw James Thomas demonstrate his superb composure to convert a second spot kick and send the teams in at the interval on level terms.

There was further relief at half time when the Ice Babes didn't make an appearance.

The Swans started the second half with the same fight that they had shown throughout the first. Within two and a half minutes, they took the lead when Johnrose latched onto a ball laid off by Thomas following a cross. This turned out to be a goal that, after the match, no one could recollect in any detail, so exactly what happened will remain a mystery until we all watch it on TV on Sunday.

No one in the crowd was ever going to be comfortable with a single goal lead, so we were all very grateful when, on 56 minutes, Thomas completed a well deserved hat-trick when he chipped the ball over an advancing Hull goal keeper from all of 25 yards. To quote Richard Lillitrust from a previous report – mayhem.

This was exactly what the crowd and the players needed, but were there really 35 minutes still left to play?

By now, every player was like a rock, the midfield and front runners were playing some excellent football with great runs and touches. The defence had settled and those responsible for earlier lapses (names are irrelevant now) had got their heads together and played their part.

Cutler had been faultless in goal, with one superb save from a 'lying on the floor' position when we were 2-1 down possible being the game's turning point. His handling in difficult conditions was excellent.

Player comments:

Cutler - Let down by defenders mistakes for goals. Made a great crucial save late on. 
 
Jenkins - Nerves seemed to get the better of him first half (little wonder), but to his credit he steadied himself second half.
Howard- At fault for second goal, but otherwise had a very good game. 
Tate - Outstanding, gave nothing away all afternoon. 
O'Leary - Has had his problems this season but has come good when we needed him. Another great display today. 
 

Britton - Back at his best. We can only dream of having him grace the Vetch Field next year.
Martinez - Brilliant, Captain Fantastic.
Johnrose- Saw little of him first half, but steadying influence second half and again scored an all important goal. 
Coates - Considering what he has been through in the last 10 months he did incredibly well today.
 
Nugent - Ran, ran, and ran. Gave his all.
Thomas - Fantastic display. Took his penalties well and scored a breathtaking third.


This is not a day to criticise, this has been done throughout the season, this is a day to breathe again, and start thinking of next season. The crowd loved the match because the result was fantastic, the atmosphere was as good as it gets, but please – let's never have to face a situation like this again.

With Jan and three fellow countrymen capturing all the emotions of the crowd, with very close attention to the family Gigg, on his Dutch TV camera, football fans in the Netherlands can look forward to watching a 50 minute documentary on the battle for survival between us, Exeter and a couple of the other clubs that slowly drifted to safety over the past couple of weeks. They can also look forward to seeing the Giggs at work and play as they follow them continuously for 2 days in the build up to this match.

A similar event was taking place in Exeter with Jan's colleagues, but one thing is for sure, the Giggs had the biggest smiles on their faces when the camera lights went out.

When the crowd were asked to arrive so early, some had hoped for some pre match entertainment (on top of the youth football we all saw) to pass the time. None was provided, although a very likely candidate appeared from nowhere in the second half standing on a crush barrier in the North Bank. Scantily dressed in a bright red number, no one is quite sure where this anonymous wrestler emerged from, although photos that will be circulating shortly may help solve the mystery of his identity.

The end of another season, and already we are all looking forward to our next in the Nationwide League. To all the players and staff who eventually got us to safety – thank you. And from the players and staff then there must surely be the biggest thank you of all – to the fans.

Good night until next season from the Famous Five

Swansea City 4 Hull 2

What a day, awake at 5.30, this was THE day, would we, wouldn’t we, could we, couldn’t we. We had bad feelings about the Exeter game on Easter Monday, good feelings about Rochdale away, this morning again good feelings, but were we just kidding ourselves. The rain of yesterday had gone and it was blue skies as we started off at 8.30. The Swansea City Song blasted out as the first few miles flew bye. The first good omen, passing an Owens of Llanelli lorry on the M42. Anything helps? The journey down really did fly by, but as we turned towards the Heads of the Valleys the grey clouds gathered and the rain started. By now the Swansea City song had given way to Talksport. That’s all we got was what might happen today in the premiership. Not a word on Swansea or Exeter going out of the league. Enough of that so it was back to the song and then Radio Wales, which had many good luck wishes for the Swans.

Arriving in Swansea the rain got heavier, but did relent as we queued outside the NB. The ground filled quickly and by gone 2.30 most people were already in. The crowd of 9585 included only around 200 from Hull, so much for the predicted 500. The crowd were in full voice and the National Anthem was sung with gusto. With the noise at times deafening surely things couldn’t go against us.

So to the game. The team was as at Rochdale, keeping the 4-4-2 formation that had served us well in that victory.

From the start the players went for the jugular, and were biting into tackles. Burgess was booked for a late tackle on Cutler and the scene was set. We had two attempts on goal early on as the team wanted to get ahead as soon as possible. So it was to be in the 8th minute when a run into the area from Britton came to an abrupt ending in a sandwich. The ground roared as a penalty was awarded but it was nothing to when Thomas sent Fettis the wrong way to put the Swans 1 up. As the fans celebrated Hull attacked and with Jenkins needing to clear into the North Bank he took too long and Elliott took it off his feet and played the ball past Cutler in the acres of space at the near post. What a change in mood as the ground went silent. We lost our early storming play as Hull took control and their pacey attack causing many problems. Things did look worrying as we were chasing shadows and on 25 things got worse as they got a second. This time from the left as this time Howard was caught in possession, allowing Reeves to chip over Cutler into the net. The team did battle as half chances came our way as the heavy rain continued. A through pass from Coates found Thomas at the edge of the box and with Fettis off his line he chipped over and with the crowd on their feet found the net over the bar. With half time fast approaching, things did look bad, but in the last minute we were awarded another penalty for handball. Thomas again taking the penalty, to see us go in 2-2 a great relief.

The Swans came out for the second, as they did the first, and pressured Hull. With only 3minutes of the restart gone, Martinez put over a kick to the far post which was met by Thomas allowing Johnrose to scramble the ball in. Thomas needed lengthy treatment as the fans went wild. With thoughts of letting Hull back into the game, the team settled quickly and controlled the next ten minutes. The goal we needed to settle our nerves came on the hour, when Thomas blocked a clearance and ran towards goal, coolly chipping Fettis for our fourth goal. The relief was there for all to see as for the first time we could see that bright light at the end of the tunnel. Although we couldn’t yet believe we were safe, Hull started to look a beaten team as the Swans found extra effort into challenges, there was no way they were going to give this game away. Elliott did give us a scare as his goal bound shot was turned away for a corner by Cutler. A through ball by Martinez found Coates in on goal but Fettis managed to clear. Again Hull came back and it was that man Elliott who produced a snap shot that was saved at the second attempt by Cutler. That was it, as the clock ticked down we could all see league football being retained, but could not relax until we saw the board for 3 extra minutes. Nothing eventful happened and at the final whistle, cue the pitch invasion.

How do we sum up this day? That’s simple Please, Please never again.

There were the odd mistakes, two ending in goals, but the team did themselves proud today as they met their task full on. They could have frozen under the expectations, but battled for everything. Some of the players will not be there next season. I hope they will have a place for Swansea in their hearts, as they will not be forgotten for their part in keeping Swansea in the league.

It has been one hell of a season, this has been the culmination of many problems over the last few years. It is now three months until the next season. We have to take stock, on and off the field. There were over 9,000 fans there today, the bandwagon is rolling, the interest has been revived, let’s hope we can now move forward as a club. This starts in August in Division Three. That sounds so good, let’s repeat it Division Three.

I think we all can do with the three month holiday to recharge our batteries, but let’s not forget that there is one more game to go. On Tuesday night, it’s Roger’s night, make it a party night.

Until next season. Goodnight

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