Match report

Boston 2 Swansea City 3 - Peter and Bethan Charles

Here is the verdict of the Peterborough jury. Nice to only have a 35 mile drive home! Peter


"As we left the ground today, someone asked me "which Swans did we see today?" My response was "both". In the first half we saw the half-hearted, leg-weary and generally clueless outfit that looks as though its rightful place in the league is somewhere between Rushden and Oxford. In the second we saw the motivated, enervated and creative team that so nearly ousted those premiership wannabes from the cup on Monday. No excuses for a jaded first half guys - Boston played 48 hours more recently! Perhaps the rutted pitch had something to do with it, but Boston actually passed the ball quite well. Or perhaps there is a little bit of arrogance about the side which makes them think they can "pick off" teams like this with ease. If so, then the first half wake-up call was timely; and the second half response was superb.

The Swans lined up with Murphy in goal (due to Willie's suspension, if you know what I mean!), Ricketts at right back, Austin at left back, and Monk/Izzy in the centre of defence. Ijah Anderson was awarded a place on the left side of midfield, with Forbes on the right, and Gurney and Britton in the engine room. Connor partnered Trundle up front.

The first few minutes of a very poor first half saw the Swans create a couple of half chances. On 5 minutes Trundle was played through in a left sided position, only to see his shot well smothered by Abbey in the home goal. A few minutes later, a Swans corner led a series of shots being rained in on the home goal, all of which were blocked or parried. After this initial flurry we lost control of the game. Our midfield failed to get a grip, and we seemed unable to string any sort of passing move together.

As has often been the case recently, each time a Swans player got the ball, he would find himself with virtually no passing options, and would respond by putting his head down in true Forrest Gump style, and try to beat four opposition players before losing the ball. Boston on the other hand played the poor surface well, with carefully played balls threaded down the line for their two pacy wingers. They also began to boss the midfield, and seemed able to move forward at will, as our centre midfield two dropped deeper and deeper (this is a characteristic we show irrespective of which two players occupy the centre midfield roles - so it must be a coaching thing).

Having said this, Boston didn't look particularly threatening and the quality of their crossing was poor. So the goal on 14 minutes was something of a shock - the ball was played back into our box after being cleared from a corner; a Boston player outjumped Forbes to nod back across goal, and there was Kirk unmarked to turn the ball past Murphy with no pressure exerted on the ball whatsoever by our defence. At this stage the game could have got away from us - Murphy made a fine save on 19 minutes from an effort by Mark Greaves, cutting in from the wing.

But for all their pressure and control, a somewhat mediocre Boston side found it hard to make any real in-roads; so despite our total lack of cohesion, and inability to move forward with any penetration, we were able to stay in the game. On 33 minutes we forced a corner. Ricketts appeared to have over-hit the ball as it drifted out to Connor at the edge of the penalty area in a left sided position - but the Swans striker found a sweet contact with the ball and his volley struck the cross-bar. Our best bit of play so far.

By this time we had begun to take the sting out of the home side, and were slowly getting a foot-hold. But this almost collapsed on 40 minutes when Murphy rushed out to the left edge of the penalty area to gather the ball ahead of the on-rushing Andy Kirk. The Boston striker seemed to foul Murphy, but the ball bounced free from his grip, and fell to Kirk's feet. Fortunately for the Swans, he dragged his shot wide, when any attempt on target would have finished us off.

It was clear that something had to be done at half time, so KJ responded by ditching the guy to whom he has just given an 18 month contract (Anderson - pretty ineffective) and replacing him with Robinson. Within a minute of the restart it almost became academic - a Gurney(?) back-pass almost presented Boston with a gift goal, and but for the alertness of Murphy (who rushed out to clear) it would have been game, set and match. Two minutes later, another flying save from Murphy kept us in the game. But then there was a sudden and unexpected transformation. Robinson in his wide left position suddenly took the game by the scruff of the neck, and began to drive us forward with all the pace, energy and guile he could muster.

Suddenly we were threading passes through the defence, getting wide men forward and winning the ball in midfield. The game was transformed on 50 minutes when an terrific run from Robbo took him past four players, and his through ball to Trundle was inch-perfect, allowing Trunds to burst through and finish clinically past the on-rushing keeper. Trunds' response to the home fans, who had been giving him undeserved grief, was subtle but poignant! Seconds later, he was in the game again - from a Gurney through ball he sublimely flicked the ball through to Connor, whose low drive was parried at close range. We were now having our best spell and completely running the game. Another fine move on 58 minutes saw Gurney feed the ball to Connor in a right sided position; he checked inside his marker before laying the ball back to Britton who fired over. Then on 62 minutes we took the lead that our enterprising play now deserved. A deep cross from Trundle found Connor at the far post - his intelligent header back across to the near post was met by a brilliant run from Robinson, who ghosted past defenders and keeper alike to touch the ball home. A superb team goal which brought delighted celebrations from team and supporters alike - and silenced the rather nauseating drum beating of the home fans.

At this point the game was there to be won, but predictably we lost our grip again, and began to invite some pressure from the home side. This was not helped by the loss of Forbes, who appeared to take a knock before being replaced by Tate. A fair enough substitution - but curiously, KJ chose to switch the solid and accomplished Ricketts from the right back position to left wing in order to accommodate Tate at right back, and thus pushing Robinson into the centre and Britton further right. For several minutes our midfield didn't know where they were, and more pressure was invited. Unsurprisingly, this weakness was exploited when a cross was delivered unchallenged from our now exposed right side, and was met by the a close range header from Simon Rusk, with our defence looking on (and a frustrated Ricketts observing from 40 yards away).

But the rejuvenated Swans, to their credit, did not let this shatter their confidence too much. They responded immediately when a through ball from Britton was chased by Trundle, who somehow managed to past three defenders before toe-poking the ball against the post from close range. Clearly, this game was still there to be won - by either side. And indeed both teams remained quite enterprising for the last 15 minutes. The Swans put some good passing moves together, but didn't succeed in forcing a save from Abbey - a wayward shot from Gurney being their best effort in this spell. And the home side forced one routine save from Murphy from a Jason Lee header.

Then just as the game seemed to be drifting towards the draw, the Swans pulled out one final passing move which culminated in some twisting and turning from Trundle just inside the area, in a central position. It looked as though he was going to beat his marker and loose a shot on goal, but instead, he hit the floor following what seemed to be fairly minimal contact from the defender. A dive or a foul? - possibly a bit of both - but we were delighted when the ref pointed to the spot. And crowd and team went wild when Daps converted the spot kick with ease. The ref contrived to find almost 5 minutes of over-time, and we had to survive one or two scares as the ball was lumped into our area - but we held firm to claim three points, when frankly, one would probably have been a fairer reflection of the game. The Swans team and management were justifiably delighted with the win, and came over to the fans to join exultant celebrations at the end. Trundle's solo walk past the home fans to exit the field - clapping them, but pointing out that he had scored twice - was a lovely moment.

Murphy - 8 only one flap, no chance with goals, and some excellent saves
Ricketts - 7 Generally very solid against a tricky attack
Austin - 6 Struggled for pace once or twice
Iriekpen - 6 A fair game but our centre half pairing was wanting when in it came to the goals
Monk - 6 See above
Anderson - 5 The poorest game I have seen him play; generally ineffective
Forbes - 6 Our most energetic attacking player in the first half, but really didn't show much end product in terms of crossing today
Gurney - 6 Seem far better in midfield than in defence, but distribution can be wayward.
Britton - 6 Some lively promptings from centre midfield, particularly in the second half; but overall could have given a bit more
Connor - 6 A good impact in second half, after a poor first 45 ... he really needs to show more aggression and movement towards the ball
Trundle - 8 A fine freeplay goal, some great individual skill, and did well to earn and score the penalty. Should gamble on his right foot more.

Robinson - 8 Only on at half time, but for me his bite in midfield, and his direct running, changed the game. He made the first and scored the second - a man of the match second half performance.
Tate - 6 Came on at right back, but found himself coming forward into a wide midfield position as Britton drifted back into the centre. This almost created a lop-sided 3 -5 -2 formation at times (which a better side would have punished).

Summary - Our second half play was far more cohesive, as we found men with our passes, and Trundle and Connor moved closer together to form more of a partnership. But the game still showed up our three main weaknesses. Still very little genuine width, especially when Forbes went off. In particular, the left side problem is screaming at us, as is the centre midfield dynamo issue - no-one in the squad is completely fitting that bill at the moment. The other weakness is lack of another quality striker - still not convinced by Connor leading the line. But these three problems have been outstanding now since the latter part of the Flynn days and we still haven't addressed them. Perhaps we never will. But it was great to get the three points, even though it could easily have gone the other way. The league table is beginning to suggest that we might be in a different division next year. If we are...we will need to be better than this. Well done to the 350 - 400 or so Jacks that made the long trip - generally good vocal support, and the team showed their gratitude at the end."


Boston 2 Swansea City 3 - Clive & Gareth

The game was given the go ahead after a pitch inspection. Much has been said about the pitch in the past, well it was very sandy, had no life in it and the ball didn't run smoothly. It's the same for both teams but it must give Boston a slight advantage as at least they know how it performs. With the team still struggling with injuries and Gueret missing the game through suspension the team lined up.

Half Time saw Robinson replace Anderson.

The second half again saw the Swans slow to start and Boston went straight for the jugular. It was a very worrying 5mins as we struggled to clear our lines. Murphy pulling off an excellent diving save from Noble. The game turned as Robinson put a slide rule pass through to Trundle on the left side of goal at the edge of the area. Trundle took two steps and sent the ball past the keeper into the right corner of the goal. Maybe a goal that was against the run of play, but it was a goal that was needed as the Swans now took control for the first time in the game. For the next 10mins it was all Swans with Trundle having a couple of half chances. On the hour mark we took the lead. A cross from Connor was headed back into the six-yard box by Trundle for Robinson to turn the ball inside the post.

With the Swans looking stronger and with Boston heads seemed to drop it looked as if there was only one winner. We nearly gifted Boston an equaliser, when Austin chested a ball back to Murphy who had to dive to his right to save a certain own goal. Boston made a double substitution which saw the game swing in their favour as we again came under pressure. With 20mins to go Tate replaced Forbes. Within 5mins of us going ahead Boston made it 2-2 when a cross from their left saw Rusk put in a glancing header inside the six yard box. The match was now anybody's as the game opened up, maybe due to the sapping condition of the pitch. Trundle and Connor went close but both from very tight angles.

Gurney also set himself up nicely on the edge of the box, but his left foot shot went well wide. Murphy was also kept busy as Boston put in long range efforts from outside the area. With the game looking to end all square Trundle turned a Boston in true Trundle style a couple of feet inside the area and went down. A debatable decision, there did seem to be contact but whether worthy of a penalty, but the ref had no hesitation and pointed to the spot. Trundle sent the ball to the right with the keeper diving the other way. 3-2 with only 3 minutes of added time to play which proved uneventful.

Players Comments

Murphy - Shaky start, but kept us in the game with three excellent saves. Grew stronger as the game went on. Still quiet and tends to stay in his six yard box although did come out twice as sweeper to tidy things up.
Ricketts - Not much seen as an attacking force as he was kept busy against a very lively winger
Monk - Solid partnership with Iriekpen
Iriekpen - As above
Austin - struggled for most of the game against pace. Centre defence is a better option than on the left.
Forbes - A very quiet game, and never really got involved.
Gurney- A fair game but again shows that he was being played out of position.
Britton - Good involvement breaking up attacks but struggled after crossing the half way line.
Anderson - Not in the game and was sub'd at half time.
Trundle- Kept trying his magic but on an uneven pitch close control was not the best option. Took his goal well and cool for the penalty.
Connor - Suffered from poor supply.
Robinson - Did improve the team. His reaction after the goal (Kicking the hoarding behind the goal) shows a very frustrated player.
Tate - Caught for pace a couple of times, but cleared danger on a few occasions.

Overall View.
A very poor ref for both sides, but seemed a homer (apart from the pen)
About 250 travelling fans
At the end of the season, we might look back at this game and result. The first half Boston deserved their lead. We battled back into the game and deservedly went 2-1 ahead. Again we sat back and conceded a sloppy goal. With a draw looking a fair result we'll take the pen and the three points. What we can't forget is that we still have players out injured. The platform to go forward is still there, alive and kicking