Match report

Right, have got a chance to be on-line and some perspective is needed.

In the first half, we werent good. We were bullied out of the game by a very physical (and diving/cheating) brentford side.

Both their free kicks were pure cases of players falling over when I don't believe they were pushed. That's no excuse for us defending the back post badly but the free kick should not have been given.



In addition to that, Sodje should have been sent off for a clear elbow on Izzy in the first half.

The linesman and ref were poor but we have to accept that in this league.

Yes our team does need a bit of strengthing and a couple of new signings will give everyone the spark we need.

However, we have just lost twice and we are still 2nd in the league (1 point off the top!!) - That is for those that did not read me correctly, 2nd in the league (in a division that we have just got into)

If Brentford are the best team in the league then i have no fears that with a full strength midfield and 11 men, that we would have beaten them.



Those that wish to moan, castigate players, believe that the world is going to fall in on our season can.

Those of us (of which I am certainly one) who are happy to accept that dips happen in seasons, that sometimes you don't always play well and that you can't win every game will still believe that we are one of (if not the best) team in this league and we will as a minimum get into the playoffs and more than likely to still go up automatically.

We got beaten today away from home at the 2nd place team in the league. 6 weeks ago, we went to Southend and won. You can't win them all and our 2nd half performance was full of battle and fight and that is what pleases me most of all.

A flynn team would have folded at 2-0. A jacket team did not. A Flynn team would not have had the fitness to carry on as they did. A Jacket team did. A flynn team never got us promoted. A jacket team did. A flynn team would not be 2nd in League 1 with his style and approach to the game. A JAcket team is.



Lets enjoy Wed and my guess is that we will be back top of the league very soon!

Onwards and upwards and LETS STAY POSITIVE!!



Brentford 2 Swansea City 1 - Match Views - Richard of Warwick

How depressing was yesterday. Not the game or the result but the sudden reappearance of the knockers on here last night. What a contrast to the Christmas Spirit in evidence on Christmas Eve.



I had the misfortune to sit in front of a Tate hater, a Bayo hater and even a Trunds hater yesterday. Only the presence of my daughter beside me stopped me losing it I think.

Lets put some things in perspective. Anyone who saw Tatey limp off in Doncaster must know the boy had worked to be fit for yesterday. I doubt that he or Izzy were fully fit but needs must.

As for the sending off? Well, first one a booking, second one very harsh. Have just seen it on the box again. Slight touch as he switched behind him, cue Platoon! Down he went. Refs influence matches. Ask Muzzy Izzett of Birmingham!!! And to compound it they get a goal too.

Second goal was poor defending. Two free beyond the far post with only Leon to challenge. His slip meant he did not get above waist height.

All credit to KJ then. Two down and a man short so shut up shop yes? No. He went for it and moved Leon wide to where he can hurt them, moved Robbo in and he became a big influence and we attacked with abandon.



This was high risk stuff and we were as likely to concede as score. Unfortunately Bayo just failed to get on the end of one crossing the six yard box and so the early goal never came.

It's a shame that Robbo's excellent goal was so late as to be an irrelevance. Good training ground move and both Robbo and Freezer knew exactly what they were doing and executed it perfectly.

So we lost. But results elsewhere could hardly have been better. This one was always going to be tough. Lets put it behind us and get back to winning ways on Wednesday.



Until then perhaps the knockers should just spend a bit of time staring at the league table.
Brentford 2 Swansea City 1 - Match Report - Western Mail

BATTERED in the first half, brilliant in the second. Had 10-man Swansea started the match as well as they finished it, they might have been celebrating a victory over their closest challengers in the League One promotion race.

As it was, Swansea's slowness to find their feet in west London meant they were unable to avoid a second straight defeat and, with it, concede top spot to Martin Allen's impressive Brentford side.

A magnificent 90th-minute strike from Andy Robinson came too late to provide the platform for Swansea to salvage the draw that their second-half efforts merited.

It may have been a festive fixture, but there was little peace and goodwill on show during a volatile first half in which several X-rated tackles flew in and heated words were exchanged all round.

The major flashpoint came on 24 minutes when the Swans had a man sent off for the second successive game, right-back Alan Tate sparking angry reactions when he tugged back Lloyd Owusu minutes after picking up a booking for a late tackle on Sam Tillen.

Referee Trevor Parkes brandished red for Tate's second bookable offence and Brentford took advantage when Gareth O'Connor struck straight from the free-kick.

It could not be said that Tate's dismissal changed the course of the game, though, since the Swans had come under considerable early pressure long before he trudged off the pitch for an early shower.

But you certainly feared the worst when Kenny Jackett's men conceded another goal straight from a set-piece as Eddie Hutchinson profited from more slack defending to head home O'Connor's free-kick.

The Swansea defence had been all over the place as Bees strikers Owusu and DJ Campbell repeatedly tormented them and Jackett's reshuffled midfield was slow to get a grip on things.

But it was a classic case of two contrasting performances as the Swans produced a rousing second-half display that deserved more than Robinson's late consolation.

Strong displays from the likes of Robinson, Lee Trundle, Owain Tudur Jones and Sam Ricketts will have given Jackett and the travelling fans plenty of hope that the Swans can bounce straight back against Gillingham at the Liberty Stadium tomorrow.

Having a man sent off yesterday was the last thing Swansea needed since this was already a big test of their capabilities given three players - midfielders Roberto Martinez and Kevin McLeod and defender Kevin Austin - were already missing through suspension.

It was just as well that Tate and Izzy Iriekpen had recovered from injury ahead of the trip up the M4 - even if Tate's contribution turned out to be so short-lived.

A major defensive headache averted, midfield was the area in which adjustments needed to be made. Jackett's approach was to shift Leon Britton into the centre alongside Tudur Jones, stationing Adrian Forbes on the right flank and Robinson on the left.

But four across the middle became three when Tate was dismissed - Forbes having dropped back to right-back - which only served to reduce Swansea's attacking thrust as Trundle and the ineffective Adebayo Akinfenwa had to drop ever deeper to collect the ball.

The tone for an ill-tempered opening half was set on six minutes when Garry Monk scythed down Campbell, the Swans defender extremely unlucky to escape without even a booking.

Brentford - up to second in the table at kick-off after winning four of their previous six matches - pushed Swansea back from the first whistle, Campbell all too frequently beating the defence for pace.

And he gave a sign of things to come on eight minutes when he fired just wide after Tate and Ricketts had been slow to react to impending danger.

Minutes after picking up his first yellow card, Tate made a superb covering block to prevent Owusu pulling the trigger after Marcus Gayle had provided the perfect right-sided cross.

Willy Gueret then produced a superb stop to keep out an Owusu volley after Monk had been caught in possession and Campbell filtered the ball into the Swansea box.

Then came the moment that was to make Swansea's task that bit harder. Tate could have few complaints at being shown the red card as, finding himself caught slightly out of position, he tugged back the rampaging Owusu 22 yards out, sparking an angry reaction from Brentford and Swansea players who claimed Owusu had exaggerated his fall.

Tate's first offence had come on 16 minutes, the former Manchester United trainee perhaps a little unfortunate to be booked on this occasion as he simply got in Tillen's way and ended up going through him.

As Tate forlornly trudged off for an early shower, all Swansea shoulders were slumping two minutes later when O'Connor took immediate advantage by bending the resulting free-kick low around the wall and past an unsighted Gueret.

The Bees stung the Swans again on 36 minutes from another set-piece. Robinson was the offender this time as he brought down Tillen, and O'Connor lofted over the free-kick that Hutchinson converted with a thumping downward header.

Two nil up they may have been, but Brentford kept on pushing. The 10 men of Swansea, though, managed to pull down the shutters as Ricketts provided their only first-half moment of hope with a decent 25-yard effort that flew just over the bar.

Trundle was much more involved after the interval, giving Swansea a glimmer of hope with some clever runs and crosses which his colleagues failed to make the most of.

The Scouse marksman had a shot easily saved on 57 minutes, but soon turned creator with an excellent ball across the face of goal that fell perfectly for Akinfenwa.

But Swansea's big No 9 - typical of an all-round poor display - failed to connect with the ball even after stealing in ahead of his defender.

With Ricketts a constant menace down the left flank and Robinson pulling the strings in midfield, Swansea continued to dominate as Tudur Jones had a close-range effort blocked following another fine Trundle cross.

Swansea finally managed to beat Stuart Nelson in the home goal - even if it came too late to amount to anything but a consolation.

But what a spectacular goal it was. Marc Goodfellow, on for Forbes, swung in a corner that fell to Robinson on the edge of the box. Robinson controlled the ball with his knee and then his chest before finding the net with an exquisite dipping volley.

It failed to blunt Brentford's excitement, though, as Allen's players did a mini-lap of honour after the final whistle and home fans sang, "We are top of the league!"

Swansea's job is to make sure Brentford don't stay there long.

Brentford: Nelson, O'Connor, Tillen, Sodje, Turner, Brooker (Mousinho 83), Hutchinson, Campbell (Rankin 66), Lewis, Owusu, Gayle.

Subs Not Used: Bankole, Peters, Charles.

Booked: Brooker, Sodje.

Goals: O'Connor 26, Hutchinson 35.

Swansea: Gueret, Ricketts, Tate, Monk, Iriekpen, Britton, Forbes (Goodfellow 70), Robinson, Tudur-Jones, Akinfenwa, Trundle.

Subs Not Used: Murphy, Thorpe, Connor, MacDonald.

Sent Off: Tate (24).

Booked: Tate, Robinson.

Goals: Robinson 90.

Att: 9,903

Ref: T Parkes (W Midlands).

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