Match report

It was good to have another home game so soon after Saturday's poor performance against Hartlepool.
Kenny Jackett brought Lee Trundle back into the starting line up at the expense of Adebayo Akinfenwa and Kevin Austin replaced Izzy Iriekepen in defence. There was a place on the bench for new signing Darren Way.



Earlier in the season we thumped Walsall 5-2 away from home and the two players that impressed for them that day, strikers Fryatt and Letao have both now left the club as has Steve Staunton who has recently taken over as manager of Ireland.

Side- |Gueret, Tate, Monk, Austin, Ricketts, Britton, Martinez, Robinson, McLeod, Knight, Trundle. Subs- Murphy, Watt, Way, Forbes, Akinfenwa.

Swans came out the traps quickly for once and Andy Robinson tested Andy Oakes in the Walsall goal in the second minute with a well struck left foot shot.

Lee Trundle was looking on song early on and forced Oakes to concede a corner from a well struck shot from a Kevin McLeod cross. Garry Monk won a header from the corner and headed goalward. Leon Knight, with his back to goal, six yards out cleverly flicked the ball past Oakes to put Swans 1-0 up.

Swans were playing some great football with Leon Knight and Lee Trundle both making excellent runs creating space for others.

On 15 minutes Leon Britton made a terrific run into the box and seemed to be up ended, but referee Mr Jones turned aside Swans players appeals.



A few minutes later and Kevin McLeod limped off to be replaced by Darren Way. Andy Robinson went wide left with Way slotting alongside Martinez. It must have been one of the shortest midfield quartets seen in a Swansea line up.

Swans produced one breathtaking move which started with Andy Robinson breaking up a Walsall attack deep in Swans own area. The move involved Leon Knight, Lee Trundle and Leon Britton and it was Lee Trundle who got in the final shot that was well saved by Oakes. The follow up move ended with Leon Knight stroking the ball into the corner of the net only to be denied by the linesman's flag.

It didn't take Darren Way to show he has an eye for goal with an excellent piece of control and a powerful shot that Oakes did well to parry away.

If Swans were guilty of anything it was trying too many tricks, few of which were coming off. One goal up at half time was scant reward for Swans dominance of the first half.

Swans almost lost their lead 5 minutes into the second half. Walsall broke clear from defence and Alex Nicholls shot was well saved by Willy Gueret. The ball bounced along the six yard box and Darren Way got in a partial clearance and Ishmel Demontagnac following up totally mishit his shot with the goal at his mercy.



The understanding between Knight and Trundle in the first half had now vanished and Swans attacks were breaking down all too easily. Walsall were looking more and more of a threat as the game went on.

Leon Knight did break the offside trap and with the keeper racing out of his box, Leon got to the ball first but knocked the ball too wide allowing a defender to make up ground and block Knight's eventual shot.

Lee Trundle also broke the offside trap but also had his effort blocked as Swans looked to step up the pace.

Walsall continued to press and full back Craig Pead fired just over Willy's bar with a fine effort. It was little surprise to see Walsall equalise on 69 minutes. A high ball from Walsall's own half should have been cleared by Kevin Austin, but he dwelt on the ball and was comfortably beaten for pace by Alex Nicholls who fired past Willy Gueret.

Walsall began to dominate as confidence seemed to drain away from most of the Swans players.



Leon Britton was replaced by Adrian Forbes but he was often starved of the ball and when he was brought into play gave the ball away far too easily.

Against the run of play Swans went 2-1 up on 82 minutes. Roberto Martinez collected the ball in centre midfield. He found Sam Ricketts wide left. Sam knocked the ball past the full back and put over a perfect cross that Adrian Forbes met. Forbes downward header was turned onto the post by Oakes and Andy Robinson reacted quicker than anyone and hammered the ball high into the net from 5 yards.

Swans immediately went to sleep at the back allowing former Swans target James Constable time and space. He took his opportunity with aplomb smashing a left foot shot past Willy to make it 2-2.

So Swans were facing extra time against a side they should have blown away by half time.

Lee Trundle who had drifted right out of the game was replaced by Adebayo Akinfenwa for the start of extra time.




Leon Knight and Andy Robinson went close as Swans dominated the early stages of the first period of extra time but with both teams tiring the remainder of the half was of poor quality.

Five minutes in the second period of extra time Andy Robinson, who was the one player who still looked full of running, hit a left foot shot that Oakes did well to keep out. The game then drifted to the inevitable penalty shoot out.

Penalties-
1) Standing (Wal)- Low hard into the corner 1-0.
1) Robinson (Sw)- Sent the keeper the wrong way 1-1.

2) Smith (Wal)- Willy got a good hand to the shot and would be disappointed not to have stopped the ball crossing the line. 2-1.
2) Martinez (Sw)- Sent keeper the wrong way.

3) Wright (Wal)- High into the top corner. 3-2.
3) Forbes (Sw)- Replica of Wright's. High top corner. 3-3

4) Gerrard (Wal) - Sent Willy the wrong way. 4-3.
4) Akinfenwa (Sw)- Sent keeper the wrong way. 4-4.

5) Oakes (Wal)- High wide and handsome. 4-4
5) Knight (Sw)- Only just to keepers left. Lacked power, keeper saved easily. 4-4

6) Westwood (Wal) - Struck low and hard to Willy's right, brilliantly saved. 4-4
6) Ricketts (Sw) - Low to keepers left, well saved. 4-4.

7) Fox (Wal)- Top corner. 5-4.
7) Monk (Sw)- Sent keeper the wrong way. 5-5.
8) Devlin (Wal)- Smashed 2 feet over the bar. 5-5
8) Tate (Sw) - Hard and low to keepers right, keeper no chance in hell. 5-6

So Swans through to the final of the Southern Section were they will play Colchester over 2 legs.

Ratings
Gueret 7 - One brilliant penalty save and little chance with the 2 goals.
Tate 7- Another solid performance.
Monk 7- Much better than Saturday.
Austin 6- Gave 100% but beaten for pace a few times.
Ricketts 8- Another top drawer performance.

Britton 7- Usual all action.
Martinez 7 - Broke up numerous Walsall moves.
Robinson 8- Always a threat going forward. Drives Kenny Jackett mad being out of position too often.
McLeod 7- Looked lively until his injury.

Knight 7- Took his goal well and looks a class act.
Trundle 6- Started really well but drifted right out of things.

Subs -
Way 7 - Slotted in really well alongside Roberto.
Akinfenwa 6- Should have given us a fresh pair of legs, but looked jaded like everyone else in extra time.

Forbes 5- One decent header that led to goal but offered very little else.




Swansea 2-2 Walsall - Match Report Paul Nicholas

A crowd of just 6,670 ventured out on this cold January evening for the Southern Section semi-final, or overall quarterfinal, of the LDV Vans Trophy.

A goal by Knight on 8 minutes, and a couple of heavy tackles by Walsall (both booked) early on turned this match into a far more fiery and entertaining affair than most had expected. Walsall were throwing the heavy artillery around quite freely, and at that stage, a dismissal seemed inevitable. Following the second of the tackles, McLeod had to leave the field which saw Darren Way make his debut, albeit a bit earlier in the match than had probably been planned.



Jackett fielded a strong side, no doubt keen for the players to have every opportunity to get back into convincing winning ways, and certainly, there was more edge to our game in the first half than had been displayed on Saturday against Hartlepool.

Robinson, Martinez, McLeod and Britton were all very involved in the game with little Britton deserving most of the plaudits for his skill, vision and work rate.

Up front, Knight was again lively, but unfortunately, Trundle was out of sorts as his first touch had deserted him, and he looked static and lead footed at times.

As half time drew near, the game was starting to show some of the hallmarks of the last league game, and a 1 - 0 lead was fragile to say the least.

At half time, we went to get a coffee, only to find the shutters down, and the place empty. Typical we thought. Had we decided to go down the next set of stairs instead (as we then did) we would have met up with the hundreds of people queuing up at the refreshments hatches that had opened, and been able to bask in the warmth of their combined body heat.



Anyway, coffee-less, we settled for the 2nd half. A video camera sited just alongside the Walsall dugout was suddenly pointed at the pitch to record the game, having followed the noisy antics of Paul Merson for the first 45 minutes.

On 67 minutes, Britton was replaced by Forbes - another strange substitution given Britton's excellent contribution, and the fact that Trundle was still labouring through the game.

The immediate result was a Walsall equaliser when Austin was turned in all directions. At this stage, Walsall had the upper hand, and had greater possession. Our game plan seemed to be falling apart, and mistake after mistake saw us put ourselves under increased pressure.

With the score still at 1-1, extra time and another 5 points on Predictascore was looking very likely, but a Robinson goal, following Forbes' header hitting the foot of the post, gave the Swans hope of finishing this game off in normal time. Within 2 minutes, however, the scores were level once more, and again, Austin must hold his hands up as the culprit. As the 2nd half went on, so Austin was becoming more and more exposed.



I'm not sure who controls the picture scoreboard on the North Stand, but when a Walsall player took a shot at goal, and missed by some distance, the appearance of a taxi advert on that board was perfectly timed !!

So extra time it was then, with the almost exciting prospect of a penalty shoot out beyond that. Trundle was replaced by Akinfenwa for the additional 30 minutes so Watt sat out his 2nd game in the dugout.

Just before the start of the final 15 minutes I had cramp - well, it had been a long game. I was afraid to stand up to stretch my leg for fear of being ejected, but it was so bad that I thought I might have to be substituted and a fresh spectator brought in. Anyway, enough of that, there was another quarter of an hour of falling temperatures to get through.



The football might not have been pretty, and there were many frustrations, but this was a good contest. Nothing was settled in the extra period so it was penalties in the North goalmouth. Choosing the players and having team discussions seemed to take for ever but then it began.

8 straight scoring shots (Robinson, Martinez, Forbes, Akinfenwa for the Swans), many of them superbly taken, were followed by 4 missed penalties. The first was when the Walsall keeper took one and spooned it over the bar. Knight then had his saved, Gueret saved the next, and Ricketts had his blocked also.

Monk then scored, and when Walsall missed their 8th, it was left to Tate to score and take us through to a Southern Section final against Colchester. I'm glad Tate scored; Austin could have been next, and the game he had played tonight made me think that my cramped right leg had more chance of getting the ball over the line.



At least the end result was good, even if the journey to get there was longer than hoped for. I was pleased for the 2 fans sitting on the end of my row, who had obviously foregone their anger management classes tonight to be at the match, but vented it for 120 minutes at everyone in their eye line.

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Swansea: Gueret, Ricketts, Austin, Tate, Monk, Martinez, Britton (Forbes 68), McLeod (Way 21), Robinson, Knight, Trundle (Akinfenwa 90).
Subs Not Used: Murphy, Watt.

Booked: Trundle.

Goals: Knight 8, Robinson 83.

Walsall: Oakes, Pead, Fox, Gerrard, Westwood, Standing, Wright, Smith, Nicholls, McDermott (Deakin 108), Demontagnac (Constable 67).
Subs Not Used: Dann, Gilmartin, Bradley.

Booked: Pead, Standing, Smith.

Goals: Nicholls 69, Constable 85.

Swansea win 6-5 on penalties.

Att: 6,670.

Ref: M Jones (W Yorkshire).











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