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| Scunthorpe United 3 v 1 Swansea City (AET) |
Western Mail
SUPERSUB Gareth Sheldon shattered Swansea’s Wembley dream with two goals in extra time of last night’s gripping promotion play-off semi-final second leg at Glanford Park.
The Swans recovered from conceding a second-minute goal which cancelled out their lead from the first leg at the Vetch Field last Sunday. Teenager Sheldon restored Scunthorpe’s lead on the night in the second minute of extra time, but Swansea scrambled a 98th-minute equaliser when ’keeper Tim Clarke flapped at a Jonathan Coates’s corner and Nick Cusack’s high ball curled into a crammed goalmouth and Tony Bird forced it over the line.
But in the 102nd minute Sheldon swept home a low cross from John Eyre to add a third goal.
Although Eyre was sent off two minutes later for a second bookable offence – his nasty foul on Michael Howard leading to a touch-line fracas involving players from both sides – Swansea could not find the goal to deny ten-men Scunthorpe a Wembley play-off final against Leyton Orient.
An agonising near miss by Jason Price from Julian Alsop’s cross in the dying moments meant that Swansea will again be playing in the Third Division next season but manager John Hollins can look back with pride on an excellent first season in charge.
Swansea made a disastrous start, conceding a goal after 90 seconds. Matthew Bound failed to clear a high ball under a clumsy challenge from John Gayle and the ball broke for Andrew Dawson to beat Roger Freestone with a sweet left-footed drive from the edge of the penalty area.
Scunthorpe’s first goal in 384 minutes knocked Hollins’s team out of their stride for a while. But they fought their way back into the game and twice hit the woodwork. Bound, who scored the Vetch Field winner on Sunday, clipped the bar with a glancing header from an in- swinging corner by Coates after 22 minutes.
Five minutes later Coates touched a short free kick for Martin Thomas to find a gap in the Scunthorpe wall with a low left-footed drive that Clarke dived to turn on to the base of his right-hand post. After that early error, the Swans’ defence worked hard to restrict Scunthorpe to to few chances. Paul Harsley forced a full-length save from Freestone and Alex Calvo Garcia was off target with a free header from a long throw by Richard Logan, flicked on by Chris Hope.
United striker Eyre was booked for a crude challenge on Steve Jones after 34 minutes. Gayle was cautioned for dangerous use of an arm in an aerial challenge with Bound, having already been lectured by the referee for a similar offence on the Swansea defender.
The Swans made an enterprising start to the second half and after Coates had dipped a 20-yard shot just over the bar, Thomas should have scored in the 55th minute. Alsop’s clever chip found the midfielder unmarked some ten yards from goal but he planted his header a yard wide.
Within a minute of Jason Price replacing Stuart Roberts after 53 minutes, the Swans had a penalty appeal for handball by Harsley rejected. The decision incensed some of the 1,200 Swansea fans in a 7,000-plus crowd and a cordon of 50 policemen and stewards formed in front of the perimeter wall.
Gayle fired a half-volley straight at Freestone and Justin Walker’s angled effort was deflected for a corner. But Bird almost snatched victory for Swans in the last minute of normal time with a header from a deep cross by Price.
Scunthorpe: Clarke, Harsley (Housham 118), Dawson, Logan, Wilcox, Hope, Walker, Forrester, Eyre (Sheldon 84), Gayle, Calvo-Garcia. Subs Not Used: Bull. Sent Off: Eyre (104). Booked: Eyre, Gayle, Wilcox, Walker. Goals: Dawson 2, Sheldon 92, 102.
Swansea: Freestone, Jones, Howard, Cusack (Appleby 102), Smith, Bound, Roberts (Price 55), Thomas, Alsop, Bird, Coates (O’Leary 102). Booked: Coates, Price. Goals: Bird 98.
Att: 7,089
Ref: A Wiley (Burntwood).