Swansea City 0 Oldham Athletic 1 - Soccernet.com

Swansea's promotion hopes took a turn for the worse as Paul Warne`s goal gave league leaders Oldham a deserved 1-0 victory.

The Swans rarely threatened a visitors defence in which Will Haining and Sean Gregan were outstanding and it was only in the second half following the introduction of Bayo Akinfenwa that they carved out any openings.

Swansea made four changes to the side beaten last time out but it was the visitors who impressed in the opening period.

Tricky wing play from Chris Taylor constantly opened up the home defence and it was no surprise when they broke the deadlock on the half-hour.

A Chris Porter shot came back off Willy Gueret and Warne was on the spot to side-foot home from inside the area.

Swansea improved slightly at the introduction Akinfenwa but defeat now sees them 11 points behind the leaders and an automatic promotion spot would now appear to be beyond them.

Swansea City 0 Oldham Athletic 1 - Ratings and Comments Guto Llewelyn - Ystalyfera

Oldham treated today's game like a home match. They were passing well, using the ball sensibly, and playing to their strengths.

As I viewed the match, I noticed there wasn't one move that looked like we'd practiced it in training. It was un-organised hopefullenss. We had no passion. And against the 2nd (now top)placed team in the league, we didn't raise our game. Set plays were useless, running was halted easily, and eventually we deterierated into long-ball tactics after Leon was taken off. God help us if his injury is serious.

Ratings:

Gueret-6- Solid enough in goal, yet the communication was non-existant. The mix up with Lawrence in the first half should hae cost us a goal, only Tate's incredible tackle prevented it going to 2-0. His kicking is amazingly bad. Slowed the game down inhe dying minutes.

Tate-4- Would have given him a 3 but for his terrific tackle to deny them a second after Lawrence and Gueret's hash. His passing was dangerous. He didn't concentrate. Numerous times the Oldham winger walked past him as he stood still. Nearly scored an own-goal with a thundering header at the start. Deserved to subbed at HT, worst game in a very long time.

Izzy-6- Was frustrated by the amount of decisions that went against him. He had trouble controling their strikers. His basic defending wasn't bad, and was very sensible with the ball at his feet. He didn't track runs that well. I am angry though that Jacket rghtly leaves him out, then as soon as he wants a move, he's back in!

Lawrence-7- A good commanding performance. We needed his cool head in an erratic back four. Was very good with the ball appart from the odd mix up with Willy. Was commanding in the air and did his job. Supported everyone on the pitch.

Duffy-7- His best performance since coming back. Was good in the tackle, and controled their wingers. Going forward his performances are still questionable. Though all in all he was very secure.

Britton-6- Had a difficult game, marked so hard he couldn't move. Yet always tried, always made a massive effort. Yet there was no end product. I don't think he delivered one cross today, good or bad. He showed his effort when he went in for that tackle. Stupid really, but you must applaude him for it. I don't know what will happen if his injury's serious.

Pratley-7- He huffed and he puffed.... Ran all day, trying his best to run through a solid Oldham defence. He had more skill than any of our other players today. He tried to create something, but the other players were too despondent.

Craney-5- Wasn't able to do anything in the build up. Was slow to react when he received a ball, and was closed down very quickly by the impressive Oldham defenders. His corners weren't good, and his shooting from distance was desperate.

Robbo-5- We had no left flank today. When Butler plays there, there's an option, running late, looking for the cross-field ball. Robbo was too central when we wanted a winger. He was slow to react to movement in front of him. Wasn't allowed to shoot, and when Painter came on he didn't link. Tried hard but wasn't benefiting the team.

Abbott-5- Couldn't get into the game. He needs service and he's not going to get it from this team. He hasn't got the speed we need up front. He really didn't have opportunities. I don't know why he was starting. Was rightly subbed, we needed someone that could create something.

Trundle-4- He's so off-form it's amazing. He's not fit and can't run. He's not making the runs he was last season, and can't get a break when trying a skill. He can't turn defenders as they placed 3 nvy shirts on him today. He had no room to move. Didn't have chances, and isn't going to score in matches like these.


Subbs:

Painter-6- He must be so frustrated playing with Robbo. He offers support yet Robbo's so arrogant he doesn't use him until he's right out of options, ten supplies him with a pass that's far too short. Painter runs up and down that wing and gets no support. Defensively he was pretty good.

Bayo-6- Found life hard. When Britton was on he had the support of the midfield, as soon as he went off it was long ball, and he couldn't do anything. It was the usual, run for the ball, chest it then run, before getting tackled. Unless there's someone running with him we'll never see anything more.

Austin-6- Didn't have much to do. Came on because there weren't any other options. I don't understand why he wasn't starting (though Izzy was pretty good). He didn't have much to stamp his authority on.



The referee didn't help mind.

However Jacket's obviously lost the dressing room as well as the fans. There's no spark, like we saw from the opposition today. The pitiful attendance shows what fans think. I can't see us getting promotion now. There are other teams that are playing better than us.

What will Jacket say tomorrow? "We can still make it!"
"We knew it was going to be tough."
"Considering....."
"If....."
"But...."

Does he now realise he has no hope of keeping his job if we don't get promotion.

I saw Southend yesterday, and I thought "Wow! Is that what you've got to do to stay up in the Championship?" we aren't capable of that!

Today is the day I stopped believing in a play-off finnish.