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When Kenny Jackett took that decision to release Roger Freestone at the end of last season there were many that questioned the wiseness of that move as the club were turned down soon afterwards by Neil Cutler. Well, for the second time in three days, late signing Willy Gueret was the hero as he saved a penalty to give Kenny Jackett his first win as Swansea manager in the Bank Holiday Sun at the Vetch.
Just under 7,000 people witnessed the first home win since March including watching Welsh internationals John Hartson and Robbie Savage. Were we bluebirds no doubt now we would be speculating on our chances of signing them but it is good to know that the Welsh team realise which club has the better chances this season! Added to that the sight of a red monster munch leading the side out (honestly) and you had the setting for an interesting afternoon at the Vetch.
Kenny Jackett as expected brought Kevin Austin back into the side that beat Cambridge on the weekend, Alan Tate missing out. Brad Maylett was another absentee after failing a fitness test with a groin injury meaning that Adrian Forbes came back in on the right side of midfield.
Swansea didn’t have to wait long to score the opening goal as Izzy Iriekpen had them in front inside three minutes. A corner from the left hand side was only half cleared and it was Izzy who lashed his shot into the back of the net before turning to take the plaudits of his team mates.
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The sight of ‘hoofball’ could not be further away at this stage as the Swans looked to spring some passes around the pitch and some neat passing saw O’Leary volley wide from the edge of the area. There was still the odd long ball but it was, as Jackett promised, a mix between that and some nice interchanges in the middle that would have pleased the home crowd.
Paul Connor was a threat all afternoon in the air but was too often singled out by a referee for something but most of the time it was difficult to see what. In contrast his strike partner Lee Trundle was much less involved in the game and struggled in the first half to create anything much when he did receive the ball.
At the back, the pairing of Garry Monk and Izzy were looking very solid, winning most that Lincoln’s own version of hoofball could throw at them and with Ricketts and Austin getting forward at many opportunities, you really felt a second goal could be coming.
Connor almost had it five minutes from time but his shot was beaten out at point blank range meaning the interval was reached with the Swans one goal to the good. |
SWANSEA |
| Gueret |
| Austin |
| Iriekpen |
| Monk |
| Ricketts |
| Connor |
| Forbes |
| Martinez |
| O’Leary |
| Robinson |
| Trundle |
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Lincoln |
| Marriott |
| Bloomer |
| Futcher |
| Mcauley |
| Morgan |
| Butcher |
| Gain |
| Peat |
| Toner |
| Littlejohn |
| Taylor-Fletcher |
|
REFEREE |
| K Stroud |
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ATTENDANCE |
| 6,948 |
The sight of all substitutes warming up at the break suggested that Jackett was happy with his side’s performance in the first half – less so from Keith Alexander on the opposition bench who seemed lacking in ideas on getting his side into the game other than throw another tall player on.
Even so, it was agreed during the interval that one goal is always too close for comfort and the home fans settled down for the second half hoping for another early goal to settle their nerves.
That goal was never to come although the increasing presence of Trundle threatened on many occasions to create it especially when he linked up with Andy Robinson on the left hand side. Added to that plenty of running from Forbes and some more incisive passing from Martinez in the middle, Lincoln were under pressure although rarely were we testing their goalkeeper with anything meaningful.
Martinez was booked for simply not being able to react quick enough to a quick piece of midfield skill and was soon followed into the book by two Lincoln players, one of which was lucky not to be sent off soon after for upending Forbes – the referee bottling the inevitable red card.
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Monk and Butcher Challenge For The Ball |
The same official then did little to endear himself more to the home crowd when he pointed to the penalty spot to give the visitors the chance to equalise. The decision enraged many of the supporters although personally I would like to see it again as I do believe their man was clipped on the ankles. The theatrical nature of the fall will always give the impression that maybe there was no contact but I think there was.
Interestingly at this point Nugent gave a message to Trundle who in turn passed it to Willy that the ball would be placed to the keeper’s right hand side. Call it ESP or a good bit of homework beforehand, it happened as predicted and Willy became an instant hero with the penalty save.
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Goals |
Maybe this was a sign that things are turning round at the Vetch – at the end of last season or even the beginning of this that penalty may have gone in and we could be facing a different game but this is a side that appears to be growing in confidence and there was some trickery from Trundle as the game neared the end that boosted his crowd popularity a couple more notches.
The tiring Robinson was replaced by Britton and the cramp stricken Forbes by Fisken as Swansea played out time and Kenny had at last celebrated a Vetch victory – almost five months since his appointment.
The players shared that relief at the final whistle with Willy taking the celebratory hugs from his team mates whilst Trundle himself carried out his normal routine of applauding every section of the ground.
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| Swansea |
| Iriekpen 3 |
| Northampton |
| None |
| Card Count |
| Booked |
| Swansea |
| Martinez 55 |
| Iriekpen 76 |
| Lincoln |
| McAuley 56 |
| Peat 63 |
| Futcher 72 |
| Gain 76 |
| Sent Off |
| Swansea |
| None |
| Lincoln |
| None |
| Match Pictures |
| Click Here |
We will get harder tests than Lincoln this year but that is six points from six over the Bank Holiday weekend – something that few were predicting before we kicked off at Cambridge on Saturday.
The team is growing and the team is gelling at times and no doubt the weekend’s results will have lifted the optimism around the Vetch that things can go the way that we all hope this final season at the Vetch. Interesting to note the reception given to Kenny at the start of the afternoon – it is clear his backers far outweigh the doubters which is good for the football club.
Man of the match for me without a doubt was Izzy who put in a powerhouse performance at the back to cap his early goal – the only sour note for him being a pretty needless booking for a spell of handbags after a corner. Willy will again take alot of credit for his penalty save and a couple of saves towards the end of the first half and has to his credit 3 clean sheets in six league appearances and only four goals against in that period. If you don’t concede many then you will do okay and the signs here are good.
No doubt there will be some reading this report that saw it differently to me but my take is that Jackett’s style is almost certainly not hoofball and we are moving in the right direction. Time will tell on this front but the signs to me are good. A tough test for us on Saturday at Yeovil but from then we have five games that are definitely winnable and at that stage, the table could make very nice reading.
Well done Swans, well done Kenny, keep it going.
CLICK HERE FOR MATCH PICTURES |
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