Match report

The portents for today were not good, after we received news of long delays on the M5 following an accident. We took a route through Merthyr, Abergavenny, Hereford, Leominster and Shrewsbury and hit road works what seemed like every 10 miles of the journey.

My driver for the day, Andrew Thomas, obviously wanted to spend as little time in the Stoke area as possible as he recounted stories of what a miserable, unfriendly place it was. He wasn't far wrong.

If Stoke's not a pleasant place to visit then Burslem, the home of Port Vale, would take the biscuit. It reminded me of the rougher parts of Luton. The shops were like something from the land that time forgot with a huge proportion of fast food shops. The was a little old fashioned DIY shop that had an array of paints and brushes in the window but included in the merchandise on display was a bottle of lemonade and a bottle of Comfort fabric conditioner!

Still despite the poor retail outlets available for the residents of Burslem I guess they are amongst the fittest people in the UK judging by the number of 'Health Studios' we passed.

We finally arrived at the ground having toured the whole, or should that be 'hole', of Burslem and received directions from characters that would not have been out of place in 'The League of Gentlemen'.

Kenny Jackett had made just one change to the starting line up from the Football Trophy final with Leon Knight replacing Andy Robinson.

Side- Gueret, Tate, Monk, Lowe, Ricketts, Britton, O'Leary, Jones, Knight, Trundle, Akinfenwa. Subs- Murphy, Martinez, Forbes, Robinson, Fallon.

The game started in near freezing temperatures and a light drizzle and the weather worsened throughout the first half until we had driving sleet.

Swans soon looked the better footballing side and Lee Trundle and Leon Knight seemed to be taking turns to go up front with Bayo with Trunds dropping back to wide right and Leon dropping to wide left in turn.

Trundle caused their right back all sorts of problems as he tormented him with his array of skills. Most often this ended with Trunds being brought down but the referee Mr Curson soon made it obvious he was going to do us very few favours.

Despite Swans looking much the better side, Vale looked dangerous on the break and Sam Ricketts was often left exposed to a tricky winger with Leon Knight nowhere to be seen.

Despite long periods of domination Swans efforts on goal were few and far between with a glancing header from Owain Jones being the closest to a goal.

With half time approaching Sam Ricketts was again left exposed and Chris Birchall took full advantage and sent over a perfect cross for Sam Togwell. Togwell was given the freedom of Burslem and had time to pick his spot with a header from 12 yards out. The spot he pocked was chest high in the middle of goal and it should have been an easy save for Willy. Unfortunately Willy had decided the ball was going to his right and was wrong footed and could do no more than watch the ball hit the net.

The experiment of 3 strikers was not working and Andy Robinson's head down approach was called for. Kenny Jackett saw things differently replacing Kris O'Leary with Roberto Martinez at half time.

Without coming out with any more purpose, Swans equalised 90 seconds after the restart. Superb work from Lee Trundle, for once on the left, saw him beat his man and take the header out with a superb chip to the far post where Bayo Akinfenwa gratefully headed home with what looked like a deflection off a defender.

Against a very average Vale side this should have been the key for Swans to go on and win the game comfortably, but it was Port Vale that looked the livelier.

On 58 minutes Swans went 2-1 down. Slack marking allowed Vale to find Michael Cummins free just outside the box. He struck a right foot shot that should have been a regulation save for Willy but he only succeeded in pushing the ball into his own net. It was a real gift.

Kenny Jackett finally took off the ineffective Leon Knight and brought Andy Robinson on. Within 5 minutes the game seemed beyond Swansea as Vale grabbed their third.

Alan Tate, who was otherwise outstanding, was beaten all end up by Jeff Smith who sent over an excellent cross. I thought Willy should have come out the 10 yards or so to collect but in any event Garry Monk was close to Leon Constantine. Monk never left the ground and allowed Constantine a free header that he powered past a static Willy.

Some of the Swans travelling support were not helping their team with barracking of several players and Sam Ricketts in particular. Sam had not had a good game but he was often faced with 2 attackers bearing down on him with little of no support.

Swans now had more of the ball but Vale still looked dangerous and seemingly able to run through our midfield at will.

Rory Fallon replaced Leon Britton with 15 minutes to go and Swans were bordering on 4-2-4 with Robinson and Trundle both playing advanced roles. At last Swans started to create real chances and the Vale keeper was the busiest man on the pitch.

With 2 minutes to go Swans pulled it back to 3-2. Owain Jones put Lee Trundle through. Trundle fired a shot on goal that was deflected over the keeper and Rory Fallon reacted quickly to volley home from 6 yards.

It was the Alamo revisited from there with Lee Trundle orchestrating Swans attacks. With seconds of the 90 minutes left Trunds looked to have equalised when to lifted the ball over the keeper, but with the Swans support just starting to celebrate a defender popped up to make a goal line clearance.

Deep into injury time it was Trundle again who fired a shot that beat Goodlad in the Vale goal but it smashed against the bar and rebounded to safety.

Swans, despite playing the better football didn't really deserve anything today. Kenny Jackett got his tactics wrong and too many players had off days.

Ratings-
Gueret 4- At fault for 2 of the goals and needless to say his distribution was hopeless.

Tate 8 - Excellent game. Never let his head drop and still pushing forward deep into injury time.
Monk 6- Did OK but went to sleep for the third goal.
Lowe 5- His poorest game for us.
Ricketts 5- Left exposed and not helped by some so called 'supporters' .

Britton 7- Good first half and just about pick of midfield.
Jones 6 - Good first half was overrun second half.
O'Leary 5 - Looked a bit jaded.

Trundle 8 - Played wide right most of the game but unlike Leon Knight didn't sulk in playing unaccustomed role. Was a constant threat and set up both goals and desperately unlucky not to score himself.
Akinfenwa 6- Despite another goal didn't have a very good game. Won few aerial challenges and let down by his touch too often.
Knight 4- Barely seemed interested and walked straight past KJ and down the tunnel on his substitution. Doesn't seem a happy bunny at the moment.

Subs -
Martinez 6- Did OK and improved the midfield.
Robinson 6 - No doubt he should have started.
Fallon 7 - Can't stop scoring! .

Port Vale 3 Swansea City 2 - Peter and Bethan Charles

So last week it was the cup and this week the pottery (ouch). But certainly a bringing back to earth for our somewhat tired looking outfit. We said beforehand that this game would show what we are really made of – regrettably it did: it told us that we are currently not good enough to go up out of this division. It also hinted at a potential relegation fixture for next season.

The team selection seemed bold enough, though not at all obvious why Robinson was on the bench. But a midfield featuring both Leons showed plenty of attacking intent, whilst the centre midfield pairing of O’Leary and Tudor-Jones suggested that some steel and grit would also be in order, and clearly KJ felt that these would be the two to provide it.

In defence Tate and Ricketts began at right and left full back respectively. Lowe and Monk were in the centre in front of Gueret. Trundle was up front, partnered by Akinfenwa, whose recent run of form saw him (probably rightly) selected ahead of Fallon.

The conditions in which the game commenced were truly awful. The wind was swirling, and driving rain came and went in patches, with intermittent sunbursts barely concealing the difficult conditions as the pitch began to cut up. For the first twenty minutes or so, the Swans hardly joined in. Port Vale mastered the conditions more quickly, but also generally showed more desire. Without ever looking like a particularly good team they battled their way into some threatening positions. A couple of headers flashed wide, and Willy was forced into one full length save. During the spell, the Swans chased shadows. In particular, our lamentable centre midfield watched the game go round them, over them, past them and sometimes through them, with no impact either in defensive or attacking mode. We quickly resorted to the long ball, but with Bayo being out-jumped and Knight and Trundle out-muscled there was little penetration or control on our part. The only bright spot was the excellent forward running of Leon Britton, whose trickery and pace belied the conditions and the general state of play. But with little support his impact was minimal.

However, as the half wore on the very limited Vale side began to surrender control and looked increasingly less threatening. The Swans managed to get something of a foothold, mainly because Britton drifted into a central role and managed to provide some much needed creativity from the middle of the park. Curiously, Trundle found himself drifting into a wide right position to compensate. This improved spell resulted in a couple of blocked efforts (from Trundle and Knight respectively) and Tudor-Jones header which flashed just wide. On 40 minutes we had gained the upper hand without actually playing well, and when the home side took the lead it was actually against the run of play. Ricketts, who had been skinned more times in this half than the Canadian seal population, once again failed to prevent a cross from the PV right – this time it was met easily by the unmarked Togwell who nodded past stranded Gueret. The home fans burst into life and celebrated as torrential rain swept across the pitch and into the stands.

Curiously, the sun came out at half time, and things looked generally brighter when O’Leary was substituted at half time for Martinez – reminiscent of Tranmere earlier in the season, when the same players were swapped in an attempt to save the game. And it was a transformed Swans team which started the second half, suddenly swarming forward with renewed vigour. The reward came quickly – Britton started the move which resulted in Trundle being played into a wide left position. Trunds turned his defender before floating a delightful cross towards Bayo, who headed home at the far post. A nice goal, which should have been the platform for greater things. And for a while this looked likely, as we continued to press forward and control the game, without creating any really clear cut chances.

But then on 58 minutes we contrived to pass the initiative back to the home side. A simple ball from the PV left found Cummins some 25 yards out. To the astonishment of all observers, no-one from the Swans midfield or defence made any attempt whatsoever to close him down. The Vale man was able to control the ball, set himself, take aim (I even think he stooped to initial the ball) before unleashing a shot on goal. It wasn’t a particularly good shot – not that hard and at very save-able height. But inexplicably, Willy managed only to palm it into the back of the net. From a position of control we had contrived once again to self-destruct. But it was obvious that PV weren’t that good. Surely we could still get something from this? Knight gave way to Robinson in an attempt to put more impetus into our attack. But with the wind in their sales it was the home team who extended their lead 5 minutes later. Another deep cross from our right side bisected Lowe and Monk, and Constantine headed home from close range. A well executed goal, but we have to wonder whether our centre half pairing has lead in its boots. A partnership of Izzy and Watt for next season, methinks?

For the next half an hour or so the Swans pretty much dominated possession, certainly keeping the ball far better than in the first half. This period saw us produce a couple of impressive long range efforts from the lovely Robinson, both of which were beaten away by the home keeper. But we always looked vulnerable on the break and one sweeping Vale move saw a shot flash just past our post with Gueret beaten. Fallon came on for Britton and we found ourselves in a 4-3-3 formation in a late attempt to save the game.

We certainly managed to exert some pressure, with some decent delivery from Tate and Trundle, but it was in the last 10 minutes that we managed a real assault, with Vale seeking to close the game out. First, Trundle tested the keeper with a trademark lashing left foot drive. Then, on 88 minutes, Trundle tried the same thing again – this time his shot looped off the defender’s foot and fell kindly to Fallon who was able to volley into an open goal. This spurred the Swans into a late rally in which nearly nicked a point. Firstly Trundle was played through on goal – with keeper advancing, Lee nicked the ball over him, and we were almost celebrating before a Vale defender cleared the ball off the line. Then we created a couple of goal mouth scrambles before Tudor-Jones lashed a close range shot against the bar when perhaps he should have scored.

The players were clearly devastated at the end, and to be fair they had come very close to nicking a point. But this was not a good side we lost to today – we made them look better than they were and in the end a defeat was probably what we deserved.

Gueret – 6 One good save, but certainly at fault for second goal.
Ricketts – 5 Really struggled today (but not worthy of the “scapegoat” insults from the crowd)

Tate – 7 the most combative of our defenders
Lowe/Monk – 5 apiece (or 2.5 each if you like). Not strong enough at the heart of the defence
Britton – 8 Some excellent play for 65 minutes – our most creative midfielder.
Knight – 6 Some determined running but wasted on the wing
O’Leary – 5 Got one good tackle in.
Tudor-Jones – 6 Not great but had a couple of moments in attack
Bayo – 6 Battled hard and got his goal.
Trundle – 7 showed his class in patches, often marked by three players. Our other strikers don’t seem to be able to exploit that. Two assists and nearly stole it.

Martinez – 6 As always gave some shape to the midfield, although nowhere near his best
Robinson – 7 Some real drive and energy from the impact man
Fallon – 6 Did little, but like Bayo he popped up for his goal.

KJ/KN tactics and motivation – Sadly, the team didn’t seem to play with much pattern or cohesion. The players didn’t really seem to know the game-plan. We are devoid of natural width, and are trying to force strikers and central midfielders to play as wingers. We are looking increasingly reliant on the individual brilliance of our more skilful players to make things happen. PV gave us a lesson in how to create space in wide positions and deliver quality crosses. Despite our late rally, this was horribly reminiscent of some of our lamentable efforts in the winter and early spring of last season (e.g. Notts Co away). But this time there seems no time left for the late run to automatic promotion. Let’s hope we can still scramble a play off place. See you at Blackpool – hope the weather improves.



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