Match report

Rochdale 0 Swansea 1

Report by Dave Williams

Maybe the gloom and despondency amongst Swans fans in the aftermath of Tuesday's home defeat and the news of Smudger's enforced retirement never quite reached the depths of misery experienced for most of last season but the news of Alan Tate's return and the addition of yet another potential loan starlet seemed to inspire a complete change of mood in the travelling faithful.

The traffic on the way to Rochdale was dreadful and the weather was getting worse all the time. However, the match started in bright sunshine and even before he had kicked a ball in anger for the Swans, there were chants of "Nardiello, Nardiello, etc, ........" coming from somewhere amongst the 400 or so fans in the away seats.

Swans lined up with the welcome figure of Tate alongside Izzy flanked by Jenkins & Howard. Durkan, Martinez and Wilson shared midfield while Britton seemed free to roam in support of Nugent & the debutant Nardiello up front. This seemed to leave us a little short of attacking options down the left.

Swans immediately took control of the game and it seemed the game plan was to give the ball to Martinez for him to conjure some magic and it was very effective with Martinez finding Leon & Nardiello making darting through runs, knocking passes out wide for Durkan to put crosses in and even for Howard who was making some uncharacteristic forward runs exploiting the space left by the absence of a wide left midfielder much better than Rochdale were. Rochdale were creating very little threat with Alan Tate and Izzy looking very comfortable dealing with what they had to offer.

It looked only a matter of time before Swans made their slick football tell and 15 minutes in they did just that. With Nardiello chasing a through ball down the right channel and taking it to the dead ball line, Nugent raced for the far post but Nardiello found his space for a cross closed down by a defender. Instead, he cut the ball back to the onrushing Wilson who, under pressure from a defender who had run back with him, smacked the ball inside the keepers near post from about 15 yards out. It was no more than the Swans deserved as, up until then, they had looked a division above Rochdale.

Still Rochdale were creating very little but as we have so often found in this division this season, they were a very physical side and as the half wore on, they began to use fair means or foul to get more and more possession and for the last 15 minutes of the half time they enjoyed their best period but without creating any clear cut openings. The half time whistle came as a bit of a relief.

The second half was a much more even affair in terms of possession but again it was the Swans who created the clear cut chances with Nardiello going very close to a one-on-one with their keeper on a couple of occasions latching onto superb through balls from Wilson and Tate. Not surprisingly, Martinez was only a shadow of his first half showing but Wilson was getting though more work than of late and Leon was a continual threat. Towards the end, Leon managed to beat 3 defenders in a space seemingly no bigger than a matchbox just inside their area and looked certain to score but smashed his shot across the goal and wide. Nardiello was regularly thwarted by the linesman's flag and a couple of these decisions looked more than a bit harsh from my position. For all Rochdale's second half possession, their only memorable efforts were a shot from the edge of the box that skidded along the ground which seemed to give Roger more trouble than it merited and one from the right that flew past his left hand post but it was impossible to tell by how much that one missed.

With Martinez tiring and too many players starting to givi the ball away unnecessarily, the second half was a lot closer than it should have been but the defence held strong and Swans were worthy winners in the end although a deserved second goal would have made things a lot less edgy for the final 15 minutes when Rochdale clearly sensed that they could still have snatched an undeserved point.

You can't always win every game with dazzling football and sometimes you have to just work extremely hard, keep your shape, keep plugging away and grind out a result. Today the Swans did this to a man. The defence was solid, the midfield inventive and the strikers willing and hungry. You can't really ask for more and the players celebrations at the end looked like they felt they had won more than just a league game.

Man of the Match. Alan Tate - was a colossus today and how we wished he had come to us earlier in the season. Time and again he cleared up any threat that Rochdale created. Only one error, when he gave away a blatant and needless free kick on the edge of the area in injury time by pushing a Rochdale player. Nobody seemed to make any glaring errors today although Rochdale's inability to punish them may have made them less conspicuous. Roger was rarely tested, Izzy was strong throughout when things got rough and Jenkins and Howard did little wrong although their distribution could have been better at times. Durkan is no winger as he has no pace but he can cross well with both feet and did so for most of the game. Wilson worked hard and did well when Martinez was tiring alongside him. Leon was everywhere and tireless as usual and Nugent worked his socks off again. Nardiello was unlucky not to score and I'm sure he won't leave Swansea without doing so.

Freestone - 7, untroubled
Jenkins - 7, untroubled
Tate - 9.5, would have been a 10 but for that late push.
Izzy -8, unruffled
Howard - 7, got forward more
Durkan - 6, faded second half
Britton - 8, ran them ragged
Martinez - 7, (9 first half, 5 second)
Wilson - 8, great strike, worked hard
Nugent - 7, tireless
Nardiello - 7, will score soon
Subs: Coates for Durkan

Finally, who was the "gayboy" amongst our support? Anyone know him? And did the two linesmen break the record for combined weight? In more than 40 years of watching football, I don't think I have ever seen two such overweight linesmen. What is the world coming to?


Rochdale 0 Swansea City 1
BBC Online

Loan stars Mark Wilson and Daniel Nardiello combined to give Swansea three welcome points at Spotland.

Swansea got the goal their pressure deserved when Nardiello beat Daryl Burgess to a hopeful long ball, raced to the byline and cut back for Wilson to rifle home.

Rochdale, who created few chances of note in the first half, upped the tempo after the interval.

Leo Bertos went close with a curling effort that beat Swansea goalkeeper Roger Freestone and his far post, while Chris Shuker was again frustrated when his dipping volley from 18 yards was tipped over the crossbar.


Rochdale 0 Swansea City 1

Manchester Online


ROCHDALE boss Alan Buckley made changes in an effort to find an improved performance, but failed to find it as Rochdale slipped up against a determined Swansea side.

The visitors were good value for the lead given to them on seventeen minutes.

Two players on loan from Manchester United, Alan Tate and Daniel Nardiello combined to allow former Red Mark Wilson to slot the ball home from twelve yards.

Disjointed Dale threatened only briefly with Paul Connor off target twice and Mickael Currier shooting straight at Swans keeper Roger Freestone.

Dale tried to apply pressure in search of an equaliser during the second half, but failed to break down Swansea's defence and slumped to defeat.

Stats supplied by Soccernet.com

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