Match report

Views on today's game: Stockport 0 - Swans 0

It's difficult to know what to make of this Swans team. Don't get me wrong - this was a good performance and we deserved to win. But that's just the point - we spent most of the game in positive mode, moving forward, playing the better football and (occasionally) looking very effective - but we didn't score, and for the most part, we only ever looked like we might get one goal at most. We played well enough to bury today's mediocre opposition, and had enough chances to have killed them off easily, but we still had to spend the last five minutes biting fingernails.

The Swans line-up was pretty much as expected: Gueret was in goal, Gurney filled the right back position and Ricketts was on the left. Tate and Austin (arguably second choice pairing after a fit Monk and Ireikpen) held the centre half berths. Martinez and O'Leary were the midfield engine room, with Forbes wide right and Goodfellow wide left. Connor partnered Trundle up front.

From the off, this proved a highly entertaining and fast paced encounter, with opportunities arising at both ends. Swans started the better, and played the more accomplished football. Goodfellow gave good balance on the left, and a rejuvenated Forbes surged relentlessly up and down the right side. Martinez looked composed, and orchestrated matters from the centre, whilst in the early forays, O'Leary sought to get a foot in wherever he could. This enterprise brought several chances for the Swans in the first half hour. A great run by Forbes on 10 minutes nearly took him into a shooting position but for a late intervention by a defender. Two minutes later some lovely footwork by Trundle resulted in his delivering a teasing cross, from which the ball returned to him, leading to his own fierce shot being blocked. And on 16 minutes a lovely one two led to a fine effort from Goodfellow being well saved. There was also time for another great turn and run from Forbes culminating in a blocked shot - three Swans corners were forced during this period of pressure, and it culminated in a fine turn and shot by Trundle on 24 minutes, which saw his dipping effort come back off the bar.

But we weren't having it all our own way. As we tried to push forward, our back four became exposed, particularly at right back where Gurney's forays into attack left some gaping holes. Stockport nearly stole an unlikely lead on 14 minutes with a header just wide, and on 25 minutes Austin had to be sharp to block a shot from Bridge-Wilkinson. As the half wore on the Swans began to run out of steam and the home side took control. On 25 minutes Stockport seemed certain to open their account, as the lively Bridge-Wilkinson burst through unopposed only to see his point blank effort brilliantly saved one-handed by Gueret. The Swans responded with a fine run by Forbes, which saw the ball break to Connor with the goalie out of position, but his long range effort was poor.

On 34 minutes Gurney was beaten in the air at the far post, only for Austin to head clear from under his own bar when a Stockport player seemed certain to score. Gurney featured again a few minutes later, blocking a vicious long range effort from the home side. There was still some good movement from the Swans at this stage, and neat move involving Goodfellow and Connor almost set trundle through on goal. But immediately, the Swans were under the cosh again, and Tate was forced to head clear from within the six yard box. With both sides exhausted by their efforts, the finals minutes of the half were uneventful.

The second half began with the Swans playing more of a pressing game, seeking to force the play into the opposition half. This worked well in the opening exchanges, and a great piece of solo play from Trundle on 50 minutes aw him fashion a shooting chance for himself, only to blast high and wide. A good low effort from Forbes quickly followed, along with another Forbes effort - headed over from a Goodfellow corner. Then suddenly the home side, looking much the poorer team, decided to burst into life. First Bridge-Wilkinson shot inches wide after a surging run (with no intervention from our midfield); then Stuart Barlow brought a smart save out of Gueret, and then an excellent cross from Stockport right back John Hardiker found the head of Barlow, who brought a fine full length save out of Willy. Suddenly, having had them on the rack, we were clinging on!

The game continued to ebb and flow. Trundle delivered an exquisite cross towards Connor after some determined approach play by Forbes, only for Hardiker to head clear. Forbes sent a glancing header just over from a Martinez corner. A Stockport corner led to a mad scramble in our six-yard box, which could easily have resulted in a home goal. A terrific run and delicate left foot cross by Goodfellow ended up bisecting Trundle and Connor, with the on-loan winger probably feeling that one of them should have got there. Then Trundle himself burst through, after an excellent through ball from Tate, held off two defenders, but then chipped over when perhaps a low shot would have been more effective.

Stockport continued to threaten largely on the break, but they were playing like the away side, whilst we created the clearer chances. On 70 minutes Martinez played a superb ball inside the full back which allowed Trundle to reach the bye-line and drive in a stinging low cross-shot - any touch would have taken it in. On 75 minutes a similarly smart left sided run from Goodfellow saw him hacked down inches outside of the area. The free kick was played to Gurney whose shot was blocked, and from the rebound Bridge-Wilkinson travelled 40 yards to fashion a shooting opportunity, and chipped the ball narrowly over.

On the last 10 minutes the Swans fashioned two great chances to win it, both resulting from strong runs and low cross-shots (left to right) from Trundle. The first of these found Conner on the burst, whose first touch effort went inches wide from 8 yards. The second, almost identically, arrived at Goodfellow, whose effort was deflected for a corner. Between these two opportunities, Forbes had hooked in a close range effort from a corner, which was blocked. Similarly, the home side pushed forward, but failed to create any real scares for Willy. We couldn't help but feel that the fresh legs of Nugent, had he been introduced in the last 15 minuets, might just have swung it our way. The final whistle was greeted with applause from the 400 or so visiting Jacks, derision from the home fans, and an overwhelming sense of near but not quite.

Gueret - 8 Two genuinely top class saves and a good all round performance

Gurney - 5 Often out of position and showed poor touch. But did support the attack well and delivered a couple of good crosses.

Ricketts - 7 A solid game and looked composed on the ball.

Tate - 8 Our best defender on the day; calm on the ball, headed well, and played the ball out of defence with confidence

Austin - 7 Assured in defence.

Forbes - 8 A terrific all round effort. Some good strikes on goal, some really determined challenges, worked hard in defence and looked very dangerous moving forward.

Goodfellow - 7 some lovely tricky wing play, and looked to get shots in. More solid in the challenge than his appearance would suggest. A really promising player.

Martinez - 7 Played some lovely through balls in second half and generally marshalled proceedings. Could have been more involved in first half.

O'Leary - 5 Got in some very good challenges early on, but really his involvement ended there. When we had the ball he contributed very little, often taking up poor positions, and inevitably arriving at the action a fraction too late. The second half passed him by.

Connor - 6 Won almost everything in the air, and his flicks for Trundle worked time and time again. But with the ball at his feet he was poor, and he never really looked like scoring.

Trundle - 8 Did everything but score. Some great creative play, some really strong running, and some good efforts on goal. The shot off the bar summed up his (and our) day.

This was an encouraging all round performance, and will give the team a lift for the difficult games coming up. Some of the football was terrific, and we were unlucky not to win. But the lack of cutting edge still causes concern - we cannot afford to keep spurning chances, and we can't rely on inspired goal-keeping and desperate defending, or the cracks will begin to show. The lack of a positive substitution late one, which could have won us the game, perhaps showed an overly cautious attitude from KJ. But we are in the draw, and there is no reason why we cannot put away this Stockport side in the replay.


Stockport 0 Swansea City 0

Match Report - Clive, Gareth and David Hughes - Pictures Dai Smith

Well today was a complete contrast to our last away game at Shrewsbury. A very low crowd of 2680 included approx 300 following the Swans. With the return of Martinez & O'Leary from one match suspensions the 4-4-2 line up was

The few minutes started off at frantic pace with both teams unable to hold onto the ball with wayward passes the name of the game. First touch and control was lacking as both teams were trying to get the upper hand. The game then settled into a lacklustre affair with very little in the way of good football, most moves falling over before threatening either keeper. We had to wait for 25mins before the match woke up. Trundle cut across from the right of the penalty area across towards the left. Seemingly being ushered away turned in a looping shot that cleared keeper Spencer only to see the ball rebound off the bar. Forbes following in could not get a shot in as the ball went for a corner which came to nothing. Within a few minutes we had our own scare as Barlow who had earlier replaced the injured top scorer Feeney was through on a one to one with Gueret. Gueret stood his ground and managed to block the shot which was then cleared by the defence. For the rest of the half the Swans looked comfortable without threatening with Stockport having the better of half chances. Goodwin had been booked for an early late tackle and O'Leary also saw a yellow which was not warranted.

The second half saw ex Swans loan keeper Cutler replace Spencer in goal. It was Stockport who upped their game but again chances were few and far between. On the hour Stockport were dominant with three attempts on goal. The last one being a header from Barlow that had goal written all over it until a dive from Gueret saw him tip it around the post. At this point Stockport were bossing midfield and were looking the more likely team to break the deadlock. The Swans took the sting out of the game and for the next 15mins it was more and more pressure from the Swans as the game opened up as players tired. More of the game was now being played in the Stockport half but chances were being kept to long range. Martinez having 2 shots but neither troubling Cutler. Trundle twice put crosses across the six yard the second with slightly too much force, not giving anyone a chance to react. At this stage it looked like the Swans could wrap the game up, but the final 5mins saw the game settle for a 0-0 although a heart stopping moment as we went into time added on when Ricketts slice cleared a ball into the six yard box for a corner

Player Comments
Gueret - Save as always but a couple of wayward kicks.
Gurney - Not one of his best being caught for pace.
Tate - A solid performance, but on a couple of occasions wanted the extra second.
Austin - Again Mr Dependable.
Ricketts - Overall a good game but caught out of position a couple of times.
Forbes - Again most of his better work was in defending although did close down defenders clearances setting up attacks, but did not have the skill to turn them into chances.
Martinez. - The playmaker, played a captains role but not much going forward.
O'Leary - Good to have his presence back in midfield, some good tackles.
Goodfellow. - A good game hopefully will offer more when match fit. Good crosser.
Connor - Battled well but as a striker not offering much on goal. Won some flicks.
Trundle - Again saw both sided today. Can turn a game but also overplaying when a simple pass was a better option.

No subs used.

Overall thoughts.

For most of the time the game was played at a low tempo, with a few periods of faster football. Stockport looked a team that are very low on confidence but did pass the ball well in midfield. If we could have raised our game the tie was there to win at the first attempt. It did seem that we were more intent today with keeping our discipline and not losing after our 2 defeats in the league than taking the game by the scruff of the neck. We sat back on many occasions allowing Stockport control. This allowed them to grow in confidence for that early second half spell. A better team would have put us out. The good news is that we live to fight another day, but our lack of killer instinct in front of goal is becoming more and more evident.

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