1. Freestone
2. Jones S
3. Howard @
4. Bound
5. Smith
6. Lacey *
7. Keegan *
8. Watkin
9. Boyd
10. Cusack
11. Coates #

    ---

12. Thomas C
13. Jenkins # (76)
14. Alsop @ (21)
15. Thomas M * (62)
16. Roberts

 Peterborough

1. Tyler
2. Scott
3. Chapple
4. Edwards
5. Drury
6. Hanlon
7. Green
8. Castle @
9. Gill #
10. Charles
11. Lee *

    ---

12. Hooper A (74)
13. French # (74)
14. Rea * (84)
15. Griemink
16. Shields

POSH HEAVEN !
About 500 travelling Swans were sent into delirium today by a comeback of gargantuan proportions from a Swans team that showed commitment and determination in great abundance. At half time few Swans fans thought that any kind of comeback was possible, but some concerted pressure, plenty of effort, no little skill and an inspired substitution, turned things around, and left 5000 home fans baying for the head of Barry Fry.

The game began very brightly for Posh when, from their first attack, the ball broke to Gill after 2 minutes, and his speculative shot took a wicked deflection and looped into the net over the stranded Freestone The loss of the 750 minute clean sheet record seemed to rattle the Swans, and they found it difficult to get a foothold in the game. Posh nearly extended their lead when Freestone made a spectacular one handed save from close range from a Jason Lee shot (these days minus the pineapple). At this stage we were struggling to cope with a pacy and athletic Posh team who seemed particularly up for this one, and in particular with their outstanding left winger Andy Clarke, who was posing all sorts of problems for Keegan and Jones. Jason Lee too was making sure that Smith and Bound earned their match fee. However, we began to get a grip on the game after about 20 minutes, following the unfortunate departure of Howard through injury and the arrival of Alsop. This led to Coates dropping to left full back and a 3 up front formation. We then began to fashion some chances - a long range shot and a header from Watkin were easily saved and a terrific passing move put Boyd in the clear but his shot was well saved by Mark Tyler.

Just when we seemed to be edging it territorially, we were dealt what seemed to be a killer blow. A strong run from Jason Lee took him to the edge of the penalty area where a tackle from Smith was judged to be unfair by referee Philip Dowd. Castle slotted the penalty home, and we were sent to the coffee bar in half time despair, contemplating a very depressing return to work here in rainy Peterborough.

But our first half performance did not warrant being 2-0 down and clearly this had not been lost on JH, as the team came out for the second half fired up for a recovery. Cusack and Lacey immediately began to impose themselves on the midfield and began threading simple passes through for the strong running of Watkin and Boyd and for the head of Alsop. Despite our early pressure it was Posh that almost extended their lead on the break when Freestone produced a magnificent close range save. However, we were certainly the more likely side, and when Thomas replaced Keegan (on the face of it a curious substitution) the tide turned. With his first touch he battled his way onto a through ball from Cusack, burst clear of the defence and tucked an excellent low shot past Tyler. The Swans crowd erupted, sensing that at least a point could be salvaged, and the Posh fans launched into yet another round of "Fry out!"

At this point it was all Swansea, and we nearly equalised through an acrobatic low drive from Julian and from a sublime volley from Boyd. Walter was looking lively and terrorising them down both flanks, but it was again super sub Thomas who made the impact with a darting run down our right resulting in a low cross which keeper Mark Tyler spilled under pressure from Watkin, and Alsop (yes the big man himself!) lashed in from close range. His relief was obvious, and his team mates and Swans crowd celebrated with him. At this point we really believed we could do it and the team continued to swarm forward. The ultimate reward came in the 80th minute when a Boyd corner was only half cleared and Cusack, in front of his former home fans, hit a low shot into the corner possibly with the aid of a deflection. Scenes of great joy followed, and we think Barry Fry may have needed a change of underwear at that point.

Some inevitable Posh pressure followed, made worse for us by Coates being stretchered off with an injury, and they nearly grabbed a late equaliser but for a third superb Freestone save. This was a game of immense passion and commitment, and undoubtedly the best side won. The joy of the team was plain to see as they all ran to the Swans fans to celebrate with them at the final whistle, and marched off to the sounds of "Johnny Hollins Barmy Army"

Player profiles
Freestone - 9 for his three match winning saves (5 for his kicking!!!)
Jones - 9 despite the attentions of Andy Clarke he was an inspiration and he supported Keegan well Howard - injured too early to rate
Bound - 8 struggled early on but thereafter excellent
Smith - 8 a bit unlucky with the penalty but otherwise handled Jason Lee superbly
Coates - 8 covered very well for Howard at left back
Keegan - 6 delivered a few useful crosses but his touch let him down
Cusack - 8 inspirational second half performance, good captaining to keep them going.
Lacey - 7 better in the second half than the first
Watkin - 7 some good running and link play but needs to find the killer touch
Boyd - 8 some lovely touches, and worked hard. Unlucky not to find the net today

Subs -
Alsop - 8 really mixed things up in the air and his hard work brought him a deserved goal at last.
Thomas - 9 (MOM) Good to see his passion back - a lovely goal a great assist and a really uplifting performance.
Jenkins - 7 covered well in an unfamiliar left back role to keep the 3 points

Summary:
A thoroughly determined performance characterised by excellent team spirit. It could have gone either way, but the so could most games in this division. But it has been many years since we have seen a Swans team with the character and ability to bounce back in this way. We, like many observers, have been left unconvinced by some of our recent wins, but this one has really got us believing! Well done to JH and the boys, and congratulations also to the Swans fans who sang throughout and got right behind the team. Peterborough now seems very sunny through the grey clouds and we are looking forward to our trips to work tomorrow

Bloody Nora what a second half, I still haven't come down yet, me, Jen & Dave W were riding the crest of the wave!

If you missed it boys you gonna be pissed cause it was the best second half performance for bloody years, probably the best I've seen.

The North Bank roar swelled over the Posh faithful as the crowds came out as a 1000 boyos came down for the game.

The game started frantically with the Posh scoring a well deflected shot, which looped over Roger in the 2nd minute. The Posh then started to dominate the midfield and the Swans only got one well saved shot on target in the first 20 min when Wato let rip.

The Swans found it had to get out of their own half in that first 20 min spell but then worked their way into the game with some excellent grafting by Lacey and Cusack.

Howard went off with an injury to be replaced by Alsop, reverting the team to a 4-3-3 (about bloody time Hollins!).

Then a minute b4 ht the ref awarded a penalty to the Posh for a challenge that i) Was not a foul & ii) Not even in the area

Bound was furious and was lucky to get away without a booking for dissent. The hardman Castle put the penalty away sending Roger the wrong way.

Half time 2-0 down and a very pissed & pissed off Keiron starts praying for a WBA turn around. ;-)

At the start of the second half the team started fired up and ready to pounce. The team showed 150% commitment and challenged every ball, this commitment unfortunately helped Coates into what looks a serious injury in a 50-50 collision.

The passing was fluid and precise and apart from a few chances on the break Posh were under the cosh the whole second half.

After a hopeful ball forward Psycho (sub for Keegan) chased a one on one with the keeper, he slotted the ball away comfortably the Swans behind the goal went mad, there's a glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel. A 2-2 draw if we're lucky me thinks.

The noise from the Swans support got louder & louder until I personally found it hard to breath, but attack after attack we pushed and pushed and 20 min to go we equalised which from my position looked a little dodgy, a low shot from Boyd was seemed to be catched by the keeper but Watkin challenged and prised the ball free and in the fracas Alsop slotted the ball home.

The support went mad there was still time for a winner, the noise from our support just got louder again and with 5 min to go the pressure took it's toll when after the 5th consecutive attack the ball reached Cusack who let rip from 15 yds took a slight deflection, wrong footed the keeper and slipped in the near post.

ECSTASY!!!!!!!!!!

To be honest we deserved it we played like a possessed Premiership team in that second half.

A few hopeful long balls was all Peterborough could muster, and that was it the best away game I have ever been to, and the least distance to cover too ;-)

The Low-down

Roger - Outstanding not a fault in the game
Howard - injured early on but played well b4 his injury
Bound & Smith - Infallible
S. Jones - The best game I've seen him play crossed well
Coates - Looked a little wary in the wing-back position, gave penalty away
Cusack - Played a captains role, and the match winner
Lacey - Won everything in the midfield after the first 20 min
Keegan - Looks a little out of depth (Bring back Stu)
Boyd - Put an effort in, won a lot of ball from Alsop's flick ons
Watkin - Held the ball up well, still would be better in midfield

Subs
Thomas - Harried the defence, The psycho chants scared their defence shitless
Alsop - Won everything in the air, catalyst for the win, and finally scored!!!
Jenkins - kept their wings out well

A match not to miss, The 4-3-3 worked so well with Wato and Boyd living off Alsop's flick ons. This has really settled my nerves whether the team is just on a run flash in the pan stuff, I think I'll be venturing further on our away travels.

Sorry for going on but it was Bloody marvellous and I was THERE.

Whoever said Boring, boring Swansea couldn't be more wrong, take me on the rollercoaster ride Hollins Baby!

never felt more like singing the blues .......

those words could have been written for days like today - a last minute decision to go rewarded by one of those games that makes it all worthwhile. It looked like one of those days as we conceded the type of goal you do to end a clean sheet record as a deflection took it over Freestone's head. We came back into it without really threatening besides a Boyd shot well saved before a debatable penalty (was it in the box?) left us 2-0 down at half time

we came out fighting in the 2nd half and took the game to Posh playing nicely around the edge of the box but every shot seemingly destined to go straight to the keeper and noone able to make a telling run through off a 1-2

then the match changing substitution - Thomas on for Keegan - Thomas worms his way through - 2-1 - a chance now ...

before long the ball seems to be in the keeper's hands but goes loose and Alsop forces it over - we wait for the ref to blow but he gives it - cue mental jumping around and 2-2

and then, a corner ends up with Cusack who shoots and it deflects past their mouthy keeper - wherever you stood at this point you ended up 10 yds away within seconds as you just jumped up and down fists clenched hugging people

today showed what confidence does for a side - superb spirit!

potentially worrying injury to Coates - stretchered off - Howard also went off but looked ok

we left horns blazing to the sound of "Fry out" behind the players lounge

ratings:
Freestone's kicking is still awful (did he really take our pens?) but he earned his coppers again with several great stops to keep us in it at 2-0 from their right wing area - 8
Jones - troubled by Posh attack at times but pretty solid - 6 - came over to us at the end until pulled away by steward who he told to stick it - mark therefore revised to 7
Howard - left back position is not great for us - 6
Keegan - wanted too long on the ball - taking time to adjust to strength and speed of players in senior football but did have some nice touches - heckled by Swans fans a bit which won't help - 5
Bound/Smith - pretty solid - Andy Clarke, ex Winbledon, was good on the ball but did not expose them
Cusack - ok - 6
Lacey - can't make up my mind about him - a grafter but is he good and strong enough - not yet - 6
Coates - did well with 1 great tackle to stop Posh going through on goal, rescuing himself after farting about and losing the ball - one of our few skilful players - 7
Boyd - great ability to unsettle defences as no-one knows what he will do - at times too selfish but must keep him in the team as he gives us something extra - 8
Watkin - coming back to top form as a provider rather than scorer - key player for us - makes Alsop look even more unskilful if thats possible - 8
Alsop - made a nuisance of himself when he came on for Howard (?! how does Hollins' mind work?) - no skill whatsoever except ability to jump - looked knackered at end - 6
Thomas - great runs into the box when he came on -turned the game - 9
Jenkins - on for Coates - like Keegan gets knoecked off the ball too easy but got stuck in - 7
Hollins - unsure what his tactics are - Alsop for Howard? - Roberts, Price and Thomas need to be in for Lacey, Keegan and Howard with Alsop on the bench and Boyd and Watkin as our front 2

highlights
visiting a ground where the away fans are guaranteed the pub next door to themselves as its gay ("Jimmys")

singing "are you jimmy in disguise?" to Posh lads in the stand nearest us

scaring the living daylights out of Mr Sinclair sneaking up behind him after the game - he moves quick when he needs to

players running over to our bench when we went 3-2 up

lows
did Swans fans really need to lob a bottle onto the top of the goal when we went 2-0 down?

Swansea produced a thrilling second-half comeback to extend their unbeaten run to 12 games and leave Posh sliding further down the Division Three standings. John Hollins' troops were two down at the hour but the 62nd minute introduction of impressive substitute Martin Thomas turned the game their way. And it was former Posh star Nick Cusack, who was on the London Road staff a decade ago, that grabbed the winner ten minutes from time in front of fans past and present. A delighted Cusack said: "It's always good to win away from home but it adds that little bit extra when you secure the winner against one of your old clubs. "After my time at London Road, I played for Motherwell where I had a great rapport with the fans and it was fantastic for me to see their flags in the crowd today." Posh boss Barry Fry moaned: "Swansea came here with a great record and we knew it was going to be tough. Several of my players were suffering from the flu but I am not going to use that as an excuse. "Our second-half display was poor and we must get better." Matthew Gill gave Posh the best possible start with his first senior goal in the second minute. Richard Scott's corner was only half cleared and the young midfielder volleyed home with the help of a wicked deflection off Matthew Bound. Posh controlled the first period but had to rely on Mark Tyler to keep out a snapshot from Jamaican striker Walter Boyd. In stoppage time Steve Castle doubled Posh's lead from the penalty spot after Ritchie Hanlon had been fouled by defender Jason Smith. After the interval Posh continued to press and Francis Green twice wasted great chances in the space of three minutes. Andy Clarke was the creator on both occasions, speeding past visiting defenders and setting up wideman Green who first fired wide and then saw a weak effort smothered by Roger Freestone. And Posh paid the price for their inability to find the net as Thomas pulled one back with his first touch, intercepting Hanlon's intended backpass and comfortably beating Tyler. Following the 5-0 Boxing Day rout at the hands of Rotherham, Posh again collapsed and Julian Alsop bundled the ball home for a close-range leveller. And ten minutes from time former London Road star Cusack fired home from the edge of the area through a crowd of bodies that left Tyler unsighted. Posh desperately battled for an equaliser but Clarke headed wide with five minutes remaining as the home fans again shouted for the head of forlorn manager Fry.