Swansea 2-0 Luton - Nigel Gigg, Pictures Dai Smith
After a great run in the League, tonight's LDV Vans Trophy game was one Kenny Jackett could probably could have done without. After a League run of three straight wins and conceding just one League goal in six games, an encounter with the team an incredible nine points clear after ten games in Coca-Cola League One was not ideal.
To add to playing a rampant Luton side, Swansea continue to be troubled by a few niggling injuries with Izzy Iriekpen (thigh), Paul Connor (dead leg) and Lee Trundle (calf) all missing out. New loan signing Scott Fitzgerald stepped straight into the side to join Adrian Forbes in a new striking partnership.
Gueret
Gurney - Monk - Austin - Ricketts
Maylett - Martinez - O'Leary - Robinson
Forbes - Fitzgerald
Subs: Murphy - Tate - Fisken - Britton - Nugent
First positive sign was the referee Mr S. Mathieson, who will always have a place in our hearts after awarding us two penalties in the decisive game with Hull in May 2003. Second positive sign was the Luton side, which apparently had eleven changes from Saturday. The starting side had only two players in shirts up to number eleven, with squad numbers up to forty-five on display. Some confusion with two O'Leary's and a Leary on view.
Just ten seconds into the game and Scott Fitzgerald burst through and fired a twenty-five yard piledriver that was well saved by Luton Slovenian goalkeeper Dino Seremet. This was the prelude to an incredible opening spell, totally dominated by the Swans and creating three clear cut chances, all well saved by Seremet.
On first impressions Fitzgerald looked an excellent loan signing, combining electric pass with skill.
On ten minutes the referee blew up for a freekick on Adrian Forbes on the edge of the box, when there was a clear advantage with the ball falling through to Fitzgerald. Incredibly the referee showed the red card to the eighteen-year-old centre-half Leon Barnett. The free kick from Robinson was hit straight into the wall.
A minute later, goalkeeper Dino Seremet was booked for throwing an arm out at Adrian Forbes, an incident that seemed to warrant a red card more than Barnett incident.
At this stage the action was almost exclusively in the Luton half, with Forbes, Maylett and Fitzgerald all causing Luton's defence all kinds of problems.
On twenty-five minutes Luton bolstered their beleaguered defence with David Bayliss coming off, to be replaced by ex-Cardiff defender Russell Perrett. The substitution had little effect as Swansea continued to have the better of things.
On twenty-eight minutes Adrian Forbes turned his marker and fired a cross/shot that flashed past the far post.
Luton's first serious threat on goal came on thirty-four minutes when Calvin Andrew, although appearing three/four yards off side, was through on goal, but fired over the bar from eighteen yards.
Swansea continued to have the better of things and the Luton goal had a charmed life. Half time saw Swansea very unlucky not to be at least one up.
On fifty minutes Swansea almost took the lead. Neat interplay between Forbes and Maylett resulted in Maylett being put through on the keeper. He just failed to get to the ball, but the ball bounced off the keeper's knee straight to Adrian Forbes twenty yards out, but his first time volley sailed over the empty goal.
Five minutes later and from a Swansea corner Seremet came out to punch, missed the ball, and from beyond the far post Andy Gurney headed towards goal, with the only defender on the line climbing to head clear.
Robinson had a forty-yard effort cleared away by the keeper, as the game developed a similar pattern to the first half.
On sixty-seven minutes Kevin Nugent came on, to replace Scott Fitzgerald, who had had an excellent first half, but unsurprisingly had not been as involved in the second half.
As the game went on Swansea's dominance grew and grew, and Dino Seremet in the Luton goal, continued to have lady luck smiling on him. His tricks included punching away a Maylett cross that was no more than six inches off the ground.
With ninety minutes up, and having just about given up, Swans got what was surely the winner. Forbes battled superbly for a lost cause on the edge of the box, the ball fell to Robinson on the left, his cross just evaded Forbes but Nugent lunged at the far post to turn the ball in.
With just second to go Swansea got the second, which their play surely deserved.
Ricketts went down the left, hugging the touch-line, and closely marked by two defenders. He cut between the two and raced toward goal at a narrow angle. Forbes intelligently pulled away from his defender and was in acres of space near the penalty spot. Ricketts ignored the obvious pass and hit an unstoppable drive into the top right hand corner of the net, sending the 3,559 crowd into raptures.
An excellent all round performance, which showed the side is now full of character. It would have been all too easy after dominating the game for ninety minutes, unable to find the net, for heads to drop. This Swansea team seems to be made of sterner stuff.
Gueret - 7 - Totally untroubled.
Gurney - 7 - One memorable crunching tackle from which there was going to be only one winner.
Monk - 8 - Commanding as ever.
Austin - 8 - As above.
Ricketts - 9 - Capped a superb performance with a wonder goal.
Maylett - 7 - Excellent first half, but disappointingly tired and faded in the second.
Martinez - 8 - Dominated the midfield and passed the ball superbly.
O'Leary - 8 - Another Vieira-like performance.
Robinson - 7 - Far more involved than of late, but took the option to shoot rather than pass far too often.
Forbes - 8 - Pushed Sam Ricketts for the man-of-the-match with a superb, committed performance.
Fitzgerald - 8 - Almost a dream debut with a great effort in the first ten seconds. Did well for forty-five minutes but tired in the second half.
Subs:
Nugent - 8 - Gave his usual 100% and deserved his goal.
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