Match Report

Histon (0) 1 Swansea City (2) 2

By Oliver Brown

On a pitch the consistency of a Fenland field, Histon’s agricultural tactics finally met their match on Tuesday night in the silky style of Swansea’s continental aesthetes.

Roberto Martinez has cultivated a team in his own image, the young Spanish manager injecting some signature flair into the Championship side, and here they moved serenely into the fourth round courtesy of strikes from those two renowned Welshmen, Gorka Pintado and Guillem Bauza.

It was strange to reflect that this time last season, Swansea were as careless as to be undone in the third round by non-League opponents. But where Havant and Waterlooville prevailed, Histon failed to demonstrate the same courage of their convictions and retreated back to their Blue Square Premier with Leeds and Swindon still safe in their memory bank of Cup slayings.

Swansea must have departed this sleepy corner of Cambridgeshire with relief. Histon’s Glass World Stadium surely counts as one of the odder outposts on their travels – it is not often substitutes have to shelter in a dug-out protected at the back only by a sheet of glass, against which some of the home support banged all evening, telling jokes about sheep.

Histon coach John Beck had forecast, a little bleakly, that Swansea would have too much ammunition and he was proved correct.

While Patrick Ada and Michael Langton have been acclaimed in non-League circles as an effective centre-half combination, they were nowhere to be seen when Pintado struck from 30 yards for the opener.

Thereafter Histon’s resolve diminished, even if their concentration did not, and there was scant shock when Bauza, pouncing on Pintado’s adroit near-post cut-back, cut back for the decisive second five minutes before half-time. Swansea were denied what would have been denied a flattering third when Pintado’s second-half penalty hit a post.

Lorry driver Josh Simpson at least ended the campaign on a good note when he bundled in a consolation goal from Mat Mitchell-King’s assist.

Match details

Histon (4-3-3): Naisbitt; Patterson (Bygrave h-t), Ada, Langston, Oyebanjo; Knight-Percival, Simpson, Mitchel-King; Reeves (Andrews h-t), Wright, Murray.
Booked: Naisbitt, Ada.
Subs: Pope, Kennedy, Barker, Welch (g).
Swansea (4-3-3): De Vries; Tate, Williams, Monk, Serran; Britton, Jones (O’Leary 57), Orlandi; Butler (Dyer 64), Pintado, Bauza.
Subs: Scotland, Gomez, Macdonald, Rangel, Dyer, Pennock (g).
Referee: P Crossley (Kent).

Guillem Bauza and Gorka Pintado both found the net as Swansea overcame a tense finale to claim a 2-1 FA Cup third-round victory over Histon at the Glassworld Stadium.
The Spanish attacking partnership were a constant threat to the Blue Square Premier outfit and were both on target as Swansea cruised to a two-goal advantage at half-time.

Histon came back fighting after the interval and pulled a goal back in the 84th minute through Josh Simpson but Swansea - for whom Pintado had missed a penalty two minutes earlier - held off some late pressure to secure a fourth-round trip to holders Portsmouth.

The home side had begun positively and Mat Mitchell-King unleashed a fierce volley from the left edge of the penalty area which flew over Dorus De Vries' crossbar in the third minute.

Swansea contrived to create a good chance in the 11th minute when Albert Serran picked out the head of Bauza with a dangerous cross but despite fumbling at the first attempt Histon goalkeeper Danny Naisbitt was able to gather the ball.

Antonio Murray struck a speculative effort at goal which De Vries caught comfortably a minute later, but the Histon midfielder worked the Swansea goalkeeper in the 18th minute with an attempt from a similar range which was parried to safety.

Swansea striker Bauza saw a shot from inside the penalty area saved in the 20th minute but the Histon rearguard was breached two minutes later when he set up compatriot Pintado.

Bauza cushioned a header from the left into the path of Pintado on the right edge of the box and the Basque forward exquisitely curled a shot past Naisbitt and into the top-right corner of the net.

The Coca-Cola Championship side proceeded to dominate the remainder of the half and doubled their advantage in the 38th minute after clever play by Andrea Orlandi down the right flank set up Bauza, who stroked the ball home into the bottom-left corner of the net.

Roberto Martinez opted for a defensive counter-attacking approach after the interval and Histon's frustrations began to show as Patrick Ada was booked for a foul on Bauza.

The Stutes came close to pulling a goal back in the 65th minute when Nathaniel Knight-Percival created a shooting opportunity but could only direct his shot straight at De Vries from close range.

Swansea were given a chance to put the game to bed in the 82nd minute when Naisbitt brought down Nathan Dyer inside the penalty area but Pintado blazed the resulting spot-kick wide.

Steve Fallon's side eventually got the reward for their pressure and reduced the arrears through midfielder Simpson in the 84th minute to set up a nervous finale.

Mitchell-King directed his header back across goal and Simpson stole a yard in front of his marker inside the six-yard box and smashed the ball past De Vries.

Buoyed by a vocal home support Histon pressed for a dramatic equaliser in the remaining minutes but, despite a late Murray free-kick, they were unable to level as the Swans held on to earn a trip to Fratton Park to face Portsmouth in round four.

Would you like your match report printed here? Email it to the site straight after the match.
Click here to return to the main page.