Swansea City 2 Macclesfield 0
- Nigel Gigg
A mild clear Good Friday night, a massive crowd and the visit of high riding Macclesfield Town. Swans tonight had the chance to regain some of the ground they have lost over the last five or six weeks.
Kenny Jackett rang the changes playing three strikers in Lee Thorpe, Lee Trundle and Paul Connor. Andy Robinson and Roberto Martinez returned to midfield, and Andy Gurney came back at right-back to replace Sam Ricketts who will hopefully be playing for Wales against Austria tomorrow.
The midfield had a strange look about it with no obvious width, and with two by-strikers this seemed strange.
Macclesfield bought more fans than they usually manage but their support and in a successful season remains disappointing.
Gueret
Gurney – Iriekpen – Monk – Austin
Robinson – O’Leary – Martinez
Trundle – Connor – Thorpe
Subs: Murphy – Anderson – Forbes – Britton – McLeod
The crowd certainly played their part prior to kick-off with a magnificent atmosphere created.
Lee Trundle started virtually on the right wing with Andy Robinson playing on the left of midfield.
Macclesfield had a golden opportunity after just five minutes when a cross to the near post caught Swans defence off guard, but Matt Tipton missed from just six yards to give Willy an easy save.
Swans responded well and Lee Thorpe should have done better when put through by Andy Robinson but his rolled shot from fifteen yards was easily saved by Alan Fettis in the Macclesfield goal.
The Swans front three were seeing plenty of the ball and Macclesfield were being stretched time-and-time again.
Izzy was booked on seventeen minutes for an inocuous challenge by referee Mr Marriner, who was as fussy and pendantic as ever.
On twenty five minutes Robinson was brought down on the wide right. He took the free-kick himself which was perfectly floated and was met expertly by Lee Thorpe, whose bullet-like header flew into the net. The goal was no more than the Swans deserved for their enterprising football.
Mr Marriner then booked Paul Connor and Kris O’Leary in quick succession for late challenges.
Shortly after, Andy Robinson again provided an opening with a superb thirty-yard ball between two defenders. Either Trundle or Connor could have taken the opportunity but Trundle stepped aside to leave the chance to Connor, who made no mistake with a perfect finish.
The opening had a been created by stretching Macclesfield’s back-line, with Trundle, Connor and Thorpe all moving well and creating space for one another.
Lee Trundle, after starting on the right, had moved into more of a free-role and was popping up left, right and in the middle causing havoc wherever he went.
Macclesfield’s only answer was to give away free-kicks which referee Marriner was happy to award, but was reluctant to produce the yellow card. Mr Marriner finally showed a Macclesfield player a yellow card when Jon Parkin committed a dreadful late tackle on Roberto Martinez, which left the Swansea captain writhing in agony.
Swans saw out the rest of the half and fully deserved their 2-0 interval lead.
At the start of the second half, Izzy almost scored a rare goal with a turn and a shot that flashed just over the bar. Paul Connor also came close after being put through by Thorpe, but he shot straight at the goalkeeper. A minute or two later, Connor was provided with yet another opportunity after Lee Thorpe stole the ball off a Macclesfield defender and put Connor through on goal, but with just the ‘keeper to beat, he shot well wide, when at the very least he should have forced Fettis into a save.
After missing three clear cut opportunities to kill off the game, Macclesfield inevitably started to play football and Matt Tipton in particular looked dangerous.
Andy Robinson picked up a needless booking for speaking out of turn.
After about ten minutes of Macclesfield pressure Swans regained control and pegged Macclesfield back in their own half for long periods. Lee Trundle, Paul Connor, Kris O’Leary and Andy Gurney all went close but again Swans failed to find the net and kill the game off.
With ten minutes to go Izzy and Jon Parkin both dived in for the ball, and ended in a heap on the floor. Andy Gurney stepped in to clear the ball and as Izzy was climbing to his feet Parkin lashed out with his boot, catching Izzy in the face. The referee had no option but to give Parkin the straight red card.
Lee Trundle was replaced by Adrian Forbes who quickly became the fifth Swansea player to be booked for a high challenge on the goalkeeper.
Swans saw out the final minutes comfortably to record just their second League win in nine games. Strange in a season in which earlier we had so much problems beating a top-six side, these two victories have been against Scunthorpe and now Macclesfield.
Tonight’s performance was excellent but a repeat will be required on Monday to get the Swans back in the chase for an automatic promotion spot.
Gueret – 7 – Virtually redundant.
Gurney – 8 – Excellent, and as tough and uncompromising as ever.
Monk – 9 – Didn’t put a foot wrong all night
Iriekpen – 8 – Came out on top against an awkward opponent in Parkin
Austin – 7 – Solid as ever.
Martinez – 9 – Comfortably his best game of the season.
O’Leary – 8 – Superb first-half, quieter second half, and cause for concern when he limped off late on.
Robinson – 8 – Three bits of magic in the first half, two of which led to goals.
Trundle – 8 – Constant threat and pulled defenders out of position all night.
Thorpe – 8 – Worked hard and superb header for goal.
Connor – 7 – Took his goal well but guilty again of a dreadful miss when one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
Subs:
Forbes – 7 – Didn’t really get much opportunity to get into the game.
Anderson – Only on for a couple of minutes.
Swansea City 2 Macclesfield 0
- Gary Martin
Velvet Jackett and the Iron Fist
(With apologies to JK Rowling)
I should have known when I saw Dai Smith stroll by with his tousled locks and Hogwarts-like lucky scarf blowing in the wind.
I should have known when, muffled by the roar of a 9809 crowd, and over a Hypervalue tannoy system, I thought I heard that Harry Potter was playing No 3 for Macclesfield.
I should have known it was going to be a magical night at the Vetch.
It started with the announcer playing an excellent part in stoking up the atmosphere, announced, "The players are in the tunnel" a full minute before they actually appeared.
It was one of those magic atmospheres - full stop.
KJ rang the changes and a selected a slightly lop-sided midfield in a 4-3-3 formation. A move to be applauded in a sh!t or bust home game.
Gueret
Gurney Monk Iriekpen Austin
O'Leary Martinez Robinson
Trundle Thorpe Connor
Subs: Murphy Britton McLeod Anderson Forbes
The Swans started hesitantly and the first chance fell to Macc with a shot from 5 yards - thankfully into Willy's midriff.
The midfield took some time to get to grips with the extra numbers Macc had in that department and O'Leary was finding it strange playing wide right. Martinez and Robinson both occupied the centre mainly.
But all 3 were to shine throughout the match. The most telling contribution of the 3 came from Robinson who was responsible for setting up both goals. The first from a wide right free kick which Thorpe deftly glanced in to the net; the second a superb through ball for Connor to run onto and calmly lift over the advancing keeper.
Connor had another very good chance in the second half when played through behind the Macc defence but he had too long to carry and think what to do about the advancing keeper and his shot went wide of the post when everyone on the North Bank just KNEW that they themselves would have no problem dispatching it.
The Swans started tghe 2nd half well but it wasn't long before we surrendered territory and invited pressure by sitting back. This pressure lasted for around 20 minutes before the Swans again took the dominant role.
Lee Trundle was a particular thorn in Macc's side, but although his magic was entertaining, the end product lacked the quality that we have seen him produce in the past. Nevertheless it was a good tactic as it won us possession from the resulting tackles or fouls.
With about 10 minutes left, SWans task was made a little easier when their giant No 8, who could amazingly be easily knocked over, clashed with Izzy after the ball had gone. As it was over the touchline and out of sight of the West end of the NB, we'll have to rely on others account if what actually happened. My guess was Izzy had his goolies in some way and he decided that a sending off was a fair to pay for retribution.
Despite having 4 minutes added, the Swans comfortably saw out the game to a tremendous ovation from the fans.
KJ got it spot on - even with his late substitutions - Anderson for Trundle and Forbes for the heavily bandaged KoL.
A special mention to Gurney, Monk, Martinez, Robinson, KoL, Thorpe and Connor who were superb tonight, and the ones I didn't mention were very closely behind.
Willy - handled well and as previously mentioned below, wasn't overly troubled. Threw the ball out well too - usually 40 yards to Trundle.
Gurney - an excellent match. Not quite flawless so the boo boys had an opportunity to show off. I only hope that at Chelt tomorrow, any stick handed out by these 'fans' is immediately countered by shouts of encouragement from the rest of our support, so at least he'll realise it's a tiny minority only that gets on his back.
Monk - battled very well against a physical opponent. The fact he gave very few free kicks away is a sign of how well his direct approach for the ball worked.
Izzy - ably aided assisted and Monk in the above. A couple of trademark sliced clearances but the defensive unit was so tight, those blips were easily covered.
Austin - looked up for it tonight and got in some crunching tackles. He even tried a few forays upfield 2nd half a la Ricketts.
KOL - another excellent game after taking a while to adjust to his new surroundings wide right. Heavily bandaged knee didn't seem to hinder him in any way. Hopefully the 2 matches in 48 hours will not take its toll in this respect.
Martinez - this was the Robbie of old. Biggest plus for me tonight from him was his willingness to get stuck in - something that has been lacking from his game for a while. Illustrated by one crunching 40/60 tackle just outside our box late on. Welcome back Roberto.
Robinson - revelled in the 'middle' role. Was at his creative best and didn't try to score every time he got the ball. Very aware of the best option when looking for his colleagues. Candidate for MoM.
Trundle - some great twists and turns in the box and even had the confidence to try 2 or 3 shots with his right. A major worry for the Macc defence and frequently attracted 2 and 3 markers. Coaching staff might work on taking advantage of this by getting other players to make themselves readily available in these situations?
Connor - outstanding goal and looked very dangerous throughout. Will be disappointed not to have made it 3-0 when 1 on 1 but didn't let that affect him. Very good understanding with his 2 striking partners. (Why go after Holt when he's in this form?)
Thorpe - looked class tonight and certainly put to bed the jibe that he's not good enough for BR so shouldn't be good enough for us. Took his goal superbly and set up Connor for his missed chance with a gloriously weighted pass.
Anderson - on for Trunds for 10 minutes and got involved immediately. Very competitive which broke up any rhythm Macc strived for. Also involved in some handbags which went on after the match.
Forbes - stood out in his white boots and his first contribution was to chase for a 50/50 with their keeper. With the ball about to enter the keeper's hands he went in with a challenge and caught him full on the chest with his boot. It wasn't malicious but several Macc players ran towards him to remonstrate. Was correctly booked imo.
KJ - tactics were brave tonight and they could easily have gone wrong. Thankfully they didn't and there was no one more delighted than him at the end when he came over to milk the NB's applause.
Macc - a good well organised team with everyone knowing their role. Despite being the form team, they were comfortably beaten tonight and demonstrated respect in the way they congratulated their opponents after the match. A word of criticism on them - I didn't like their play acting and writhing on the ground when tackled/fouled.
Ref - card happy but decisions were on the whole correct. Quite a difficult game to handle given the atmosphere and Trundle's showboating wind ups. I'd read somewhere that's he's had 2 premiership games this season.
Crowd - fantastic. We'll miss the Vetch, but before we leave, if it happens to be the play offs for us - we just might have one more night like that.
Would you like your match report printed here? Email it to the site straight after the match.
Click here to return to the main page.
|
