Match report

Report by Peter and Bethan Charles

Grimsby 1 Swans 1

Having been to relatively few games so far this season the jury was still out for us on the form of KJ's high flying Swans. After today's battling but rather scrappy performance, the jury remains that way. The team should take credit though for a spirited come-back which saw us claw our way back into a game in which we could easily have been dead and buried, against (it should be said) a tough and sometimes quite fluent opposition. And credit also to KJ for switching the formation around to good effect when he clearly saw the game slipping away.

The team lined up in standard 4-4-2. Willy was in goal, behind a back four of Guerney (RB), Ricketts (LB), Austin (LC) and Monk (RC). Britton took the problem left midfield berth (Robinson presumably not fit) with Forbes on the right. O'Leary and Martinez occupied central midfield with Trundle and Connor predictably up front.

The game bagan in hazy late autumn sunshine, and both teams appeared to be preoccupied with basking in it for the first quarter of an hour, with a midfield power struggle dominating proceedings, and neither strike force significantly worrying either keeper. The first significant incident on 13 minutes was a booking for Guerney, who (when penalised) chose to voice his disapproval to the referee rather too vigorously. Martinez and O'Leary also joined the discussion, suggesting that a smattering of verbal intimidation is not beyond our current team. The first half hour disappeared, locked in this uneventful posturing between two sides determined to keep their shape, and reluctant to push players forward.

The first serious strike on goal came on 31 minutes from a corner for the home team. A Grimsby defender rose above a statuesque Kris O'Leary to get his head to the ball and, fortunately, direct his header straight at Gueret. A wake-up call for our previously untroubled defence. We responded with a short corner, played to Britton in space on the edge of the areas, but predictably, Leon chose the wrong option and drove a low cross/shot into the side netting. The home side then produced another strike on our goal, this time rather more threatening. The ball broke to a Grimsby midfielder who, with no pressure on the ball from our midfield, hit a speculative drive which forced Gueret into an improvised punched clearance, a moment which almost spurred the home crowd into life. The last ten minutes of the half saw no further action, and the whistle came as a blessed relief.

The home side began the second half with a burst of energy and drive which seemed to come from nowhere, and this forced the game into life on 46 minutes. Firstly Gurete made an excellent asve as a Grimbsy forward rampaged through our defence unmarked, and then from the rebound, Monk tipped Michales reddy and the ref pointed to the spot. With few complaints from the Swans players, the decision seemed justified. Dean Gordon stepped up to take the kick, and his low drive was saved excellently by Willy - sending the visiting fans into reptures and the home fans back into their seats. At this point, KJ decided that we needed shaking up; he replaced the ineffective Leon Britton with Kevin Nugent, and switched to a 4-3-3 formation. Nuge almost made an immediate impact - a Martinez free kick was nodded back across goal by Austin to Nugent, who controlled the ball on his chest and volleyed into the side netting. But the home team continued to look the more likely to score - the excellent Andy Parkinson shot just wide on 55 minutes, and then on 59 minutes an excellent cross from the Grimsby left (with Guerney AWOL) left Colin Cramb with a point blank header which he could not, and did not, miss. At this point, a deserved lead for the home side, and there really seemed no obvious way back for us.

But on the hour mark the Swans burst into life, and produced a fine rally to drag themselves back into the game. Firstly, an excellent low cross from Forbes took out the entire home defence, leaving connor with an excellent chance to slide the ball home at the far post. Regrettably, his rather woeful effort slid tamely wide of the post when he really should have scored. He was rightly substituted three minutes later, and replaced with Fitzgerald. That 2006 contract for Connor is looking a little premature.

Then the lively Trundle, who had constantly struggled for space, began to get some joy from his tiring markers. On 68 minutes he produced an excellent run and shot which took a looping deflection and was bound for the opposition goal, before the home keeper parried over the bar. Two minutes later, Ricketts surged forward down the left side, and produced an excellent cross aimed towards Nugent. It seemed unlikely that Nuge would make contact with the ball, but the nudge he received from his marker was deemed by the ref to be a penalty offence - and Trundle duly accepted the gift, striking the ball firmly into the corner.

The last 20 minutes saw the previously tight game suddenly very stretched, with both sides pressing for a winner, and the Swans looking the more likely. Another good run from Trundle saw him feed the ball to Fitzgerald in space, only for the Watford man to hesitate and lose the shooting opportunity. A minute later a Guerney free kick was struck firmly at goal, but comfortably saved by the home keeper. By this stage, the Swans were pushing players forward in numbers, and the home side looked rather shell-shocked; but they responded by creating a couple of good late chances. Firstly, a Parkinson shot was blocked at the edge of the box, and then as injury time approached, the ball broke to a Grisby striker who volleyed over from 12 yards. Another good run from Fitzgerald could have brought the Swans a winner, but again he lost control of his feet at the crucial moment; and a great low crossed from Forbes to Nugent could have seen us a grab the points, but again hesitation cost us dear, as Nuge tried to control when a first touch finish could have done the job. In the dying moments of injury time a scuffed clearance from Willy presented a half chance to Parkinson, but his attempted long distance finish went mercifully wide. Ultimately, the final whistle brought us a deserved point, and the team seemed rightly pleased with the outcome. All of the Swans players made a point of applauding the visiting fans at the end.

Player ratings:
Gueret - 8 very solid with some crucial saves, including another penalty.
Guerney - 4 Seemed intent on hoofing the ball 40 yards whenever he had it, and was skinned for pace on several occasions.
Ricketts - 6 Some good support to the attack and reasonably tidy in defence, but occasionally caught out of position.
Austin - 6 A decent defensive performance, though perhaps more comfortable at full back.
Monk - 8 Our best defender on the day by a long way...read the game brilliantly and headed everything. Caught out for the penalty though.
Forbes - 7 Worked hard in our very cautious first half formation, often covering for Guerney. Delivered several dangerous crosses in second half, and perhaps had a right to expect one or two of them to be finished off.
Britton - 5 Despite a couple of good first touches, he was ineffective, often choosing to pass to players in no space and frequently ran down blind alleys.
Martinez - 6 Some good attacking contributions, particularly from set pieces late on, but failed to exert the sort of influence that we expect from him for the 90 minutes.
O'Leary - 6 The "horns" effect which has dogged this player for most of his career, has definitely been replaced this season by a "halo". The reality, on today's performance: some excellent challenges and really put himself about in midfield; however, his distribution was poor and he was sometimes caught out positionally. His efforts in the last half hour were definitely influential.
Trundle - 7 Marked very closely, he came into his own in the second half when he terrorised the opposition and brought colleagues into play very effectively. But he takes too long when in shooting positions, and should gamble on his right foot sometimes.
Connor - 4 Failed to win anything in the air, didn't hold the ball up, and did little with the ball at his feet. I'm afraid "worked hard" just aint good enough.

Nugent - 7 Intelligent running...caused some real problems in the revised formation; and won the pen.
Fitgerald - 5 Got into some excellent positions and his running off the ball was intelligent. On the ball he was dire!
Tate (replaced Forbes on 85 mins) - not on long enough to make an impression.

A note on the crowd - Regrettably, the atmosphere was marred by some unpleasant disturbances among the Swans fans, which saw at least one arrested during altercations with the stewards and police. A pity, as the vocal support had been very good, with only one digression into the Sam Hammam song.

We have to look at this as a point gained. Grimsby looked a better side than their position - they were physical and aggressive (not unfairly), but also quite cohesive, and will surely feature towards the top of the table by the end of the season. As for the Swans, we kept our shape in a disciplined, if dour, first half performance but frankly, we looked ragged at times, and an on-form team would surely have punished us. The most worrying was our lack of threat in front of goal. We only forced the home keeper into two or three saves, and the penalty apart, all were relatively comfortable; and neither Connor nor Fitzgerald looked likely to score at any point. We will have to sort this out - we cannot rely indefinitely on generous refereeing decisions and the opposition spurning chances (see Orient). But on the plus side, there was plenty of guts and character about the performance, and we showed the resolve and acumen to battle back when all could easily have been lost. Dare I mention "bounce-backability?! (ouch)

Grimsby 1 Swansea City 1

Report by Clive Gareth & David Hughes

Our first visit to Grimsby, and after last weeks late postponement of the home game against Darlington, the journey up the M1 was slightly worrying as the mist turned to fog. However all was clear as we neared Grimsby although Cleethorpes was our destination.

Blundell Park as with the Vetch has seen better days with one modern stand but the rest of the ground although all seated has seen better days. Today's gate of 4618 included approx 270 visiting fans.

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