Referee
D Gallagher (Banbury)

Attendance
4555

Swansea kept in touch with the leading pack of division three with a hard-earned 2-0 win over Brighton.

The Swans opened impressively at a rainswept Vetch Field as Steve Jones sent in a skimming, low angled drive which was well saved by keeper Mark Ormerod.

Five minutes later, Brighton failed to clear as a Jason Price volley from 25 yards was wide of the target.

Price then featured in a brilliant 40-yard run and dribble, but his effort was foiled by a fine tackle from 19-year-old debutant defender Ryan Palmer.

The Swans took a deserved lead after 22 minutes as Albion defender Andy Crosby was penalised for handling just outside the area.

Captain Nick Cusack stepped up and drilled the free-kick through the Seagulls' wall into the corner of the net as Ormerod stood helpless.

Three minutes later, Albion defender Jamie Campbell was shown the red card for his second foul within a minute on the lively Price as tempers flared.

Swans capitalised on the situation and the midfield of Cusack, Jonathan Coates and Damian Lacey constantly probed and stretched the Seagulls' defence, in which Crosby and Danny Cullip held a firm grip on twin strikers Steve Watkin and Julian Alsop.

Three minutes before half time, Brighton defender Cullip collected the fourth yellow card with a touchline challenge on Coates, which brought a remonstration from Albion manager and former Swansea boss Micky Adams.

The Swans continued to dominate the early stages of the second half, and a clear flick-on from Watkin put the menacing Price clear, but Swans' top scorer was chopped down by Crosby, who collected another yellow card for the visitors.

Lacey drove in the free-kick, which narrowly missed the post, with the diving Ormerod well beaten.

In the 60th minute, the Seagulls made a rare excursion into the Swans' half, when Lorenzo Pinamonte's left-footed shot was saved by the alert Roger Freestone.

Four minutes later, the Albion produced their best move of the game, when the burly Pinamonte, on loan from Bristol City, crossed beautifully from the left for Ryan Palmer to flick on a header to the unmarked Paul Rogers, whose right-foot shot was magnificenty saved by Freestone to deny the visitors.

Pinamonte again showed his skills six minutes later with a left-footed shot from the edge of the box, but again Freestone saved comfortably.

Swansea, though, continued to impress in the atrocious conditions and increased their lead in the 78th minute, when striker Watkin put Coates clear on the left and the midfield dynamo drilled in a low, left-footed angled shot.

The quagmire of a pitch made creative football almost impossible in the closing stages, but manager John Hollins will be delighted with the performance of a team which has now shown six consecutive clean-sheets, the best run since John Toshack's side of 1982.

Swansea 2, Brighton 0 Last three meetings Swansea 2, Brighton 2 (5/2/1999) Brighton 1, Swansea 0 (5/9/1998) Brighton 0, Swansea 1 (10/1/1998) Final Final Results Swansea 2 Brighton 0 Name, Minutes Cusack, 22 Coates, 78 Name, Minutes No Scorers Yellow Cards Name, Minutes Howard, 10 foul   Name, Minutes Aspinall, 18 foul Campbell, 24 foul Cullip, 42 foul Crosby, 51 foul Red Cards Name, Minutes No Red Cards   Name, Minutes Campbell, 25 second bookable offence Match Stats 9 Goal Attempts 8 5 (On Target) 5 0 (Bar/Post) 0 13 Fouls 15 3 Offsides 3 10 Corners 2 Match Squads & Ratings 3 stars (out of 5) Swansea Brighton G 1. Freestone - 7 D 2. Jones, S - 7 D 3. Howard - 7 M 4. Cusack - 8 D 5. Smith - 7 M 6. Bound - 7 F 7. Alsop - 7 F 8. Watkin - 8 F 9. Coates - 8 M 10. Lacey - 7 M 11. Price - 8 G 1. Ormerod - 6 D 2. Watson - 6 M 3. Campbell - 5 D 4. McPherson - 6 D 5. Cullip - 6 D 6. Crosby - 6 7. Palmer - 5 M 8. Rogers - 6 M 9. Oatway - 6 M 10. Aspinall - 7 F 11. Pinamonte - 6 Substitutes Substitutes F 9. Casey (83) 12. Thomas, M 13. Jones, J 14. Mutton 15. Keegan 7. Wilkinson (69) - 7 M 10. McPhee (83) 12. Thomas 13. Cameron 14. Hobson *Players ranked from 4 (lowest) to 10 (highest) Referee: D. J. Gallagher Color codes indicate player substitutions, red for red, green for green, etc.

Fourth consecutive league win in appalling conditions.

The first half was quite entertaining with us dominating. But we only had one goal to show for our superiority.

Swansea pressure saw their centre back handle in the "D" whilst he was on the floor attempting to challenge for the ball.

Up stepped Cusack to rifle a low shot through? the wall.

With less than half hour gone, Brighton were reduced to 10 men when their right back received two yellow cards within 10 mins of each other.

With the rain pouring down throughout, the second half saw the ball stick in puddles and turn the contest into a bit of a lottery.

To their credit, Brighton foreced Swansea back for periods despite being a man short and could have emabarrased Hollins' men on two or three occasions.

However, it was Swansea who struck the killer blow when Coates was put through 25 yards out and he made no mistake despite the advancing Ormerod.

With 10 mins to go, Coates limped off with what looked like a serious knee twist.

It would be unfair to mark the players in today's conditions, but Julian Alsop did look out of sorts against a physical Brighton defence.

Lots of chants for Adams and Cork - none for Hollins (neither positive nor negative) - and perhaps the only surviving bastion of political incorrectness where there were regular chants of "queers" and associated phrases.

One for future quiz books: There were 4 recent Swansea managers in the dug out at today's match; Hollins, Curtis, Cork and Adams!

SWANS: Freestone 7, Jones 6, Howard 7, Bound 8, Smith 7, Price 7, Lacey 9, Cusack 8, Coates 8 (Casey 80, 6), Watkin 7, Alsop 6.

STAR CHOICE: Damian Lacey

ATMOSPHERE: 6/10

CONDITIONS: wet & windy

VERDICT: A very polished Swans performance in quite dreadful conditions. The players seemed obviously up for it due to the visit of Messrs Adams & Cork and the first half provided superb entertainment. The in-form JJ Price produced several of those mazy runs which have become his trademark but failed to pull the trigger at the critical moment. The Swans then won a free kick on the edge of the Brighton box. Cue Boundie, we all thought, but skipper Nick Cusack stepped up to drill a low shot through the wall and beneath the diving body of Mark Walton. Cue celebrations and chants of "Adams, Adams what's the score?!". Salt was then poured onto Brighton's fresh wound when their shaven-headed left back was dismissed for a second yellow card after scything through a marauding JJ. The Swans continued to dominate the remainder of the first half but when the teams re-emerged after the interval, it was Albion who enjoyed the more possession as the Swans failed to make the extra man count. However, as always, the Swans' defence showed why they have not conceded a league goal in seven matches and once again held firm. The Swans then scored a second when Cusack found Coatesie on the left and he finished in style with angled shot into the corner of the net.

To complement the back five, unsung hero Cusack and my Man Of The Match Damien Lacey were excellent in the centre of the park, with JJ and Coatesie providing the wide options to good effect. However, it is up front where the Swans continue to struggle and it is plain for all to see. Steve Watkin & Big Jules are simply not goalscorers. As I've previously mentioned on this list, I believe Stevo would make a perfect central midfielder. As for Alsop, however effective he can be in the air, he is no Jimmy Gilligan, who I believe was our last complete striker. Walter Boyd has already proved he can score goals so he must be given a run to enhance our promotion push.