Planet Swans ArchivesThe LDV Vans Trophy first round may not have the appeal of the final date in the Millennium Stadium but for the 3,500 that turned up for this game tonight they were treated to an entertaining game which the Swans deservedly won despite having to rely on two late goals to seal their victory.
Handing a debut to on loan striker Scott Fitzgerald, the Swans paired the Watford man with Adrian Forbes up front, bringing Brad Maylett into the side to fill the space left by Forbes on the right hand side.
Luton on the other hand fielded a much weaker side than normal with one eye for them on their top of the table clash at the weekend against Tranmere Rovers.
Fitzgerald almost had the dream start to his debut forcing Seremet in the Luton goal to tip over within the first ten seconds as Swansea set the tone immediately for their evening’s work.
O’Leary continued that tone within the first two minutes when he forced a save from the opposition keeper as well with a crisp shot from the edge of the area. Swansea wanted to stamp their authority on the game and had set their stall out very early on.
The job in hand was potentially made easier on 12 minutes when Forbes played the ball passed defender Leon Barnett on the edge of the area and was felled by the defenders challenge. The free kick was given and as the last defender the red card was produced reducing the visitors to ten men for the remainder of the game.
This was potentially lucky not to be nine just two minutes later when keeper Seremet was shown a yellow card although it did appear that he had swung a punch at Kevin Austin after the ball was spilled from a cross.
That part aside, the game was in Swansea’s control already and they continued to pass the ball around to create the space to get the ball into the area although once again we found the end touch often lacking. Maylett and Gurney were combining well on the right whilst Robinson and Ricketts were equally as effective on the left.
Forbes was next to take on the Swansea assault at goal firing a shot at goal just wide of the post after some neat interchanges on the left hand side of the field.
Luton in return were rarely threatening the Swansea defence marshalled superbly by Monk and Austin whilst captain Roberto Martinez was back to his best in the middle and dictated the play around him.
Russell Perrett was introduced into the fray for the visitors halfway through the half as Mike Newell sought to change things but the only surprise in the first half was that Swansea’s greater possession and play did not produce the goal that they deserved and the interval was reached goalless.
Sometimes in games like this you see a change in the play second half but tonight was not to be as the Swans started the second half with as much determination to stamp their authority as they ended the first half with.
The pace of Forbes was a constant threat to the Luton defence and a couple of occasions saw him felled mainly because he was too quick for the Luton defenders.
More and more of the play was taking place in the Luton half and it seemed only a matter of time before the Swans broke the deadlock with Gurney, Forbes and Robinson all going close and several crosses from both sides just eluding the Swansea attack.
Assistant manager Kevin Nugent was thrown on halfway through the second half for the tiring Fitzgerald to try and give Swansea a new threat up front. After his explosive start, Fitzgerald had faded somewhat by this time but I had seen enough of him by this point to realise that he can be a useful addition and will test defenders with his mobility. His first minute shot also tended to suggest that he has a good eye for goal although he never really had another chance past that.
Robinson hit a couple of long range shots which were blocked by diving defenders and Maylett had a strong appeal for handball in the penalty area turned down as extra time loomed with most of the Swans crowd wondering on how the game was still goal less.
The fourth official was board in hand ready to signal the minutes to extra time when the game was sealed by Nugent.
Yet another Swansea attack was looking as if it was ready to break down when Andy Robinson brought the ball down on the edge of the area. His ball played into the area was missed by Forbes but rebounded to Nugent who slid in for his third goal of the season which looked enough to put the Swans into round two.
It would have been but this was what Swansea needed and there was still time for a second in the two minutes of stoppage time allocated. Robinson and Ricketts combined well on the left and as Ricketts left two Luton defenders for dead he hammered his shot past the keeper from just inside the penalty area for his first Swansea goal and to put a more accurate reflection on the game itself.
2-0 it ended and it was no more than Swansea deserved for their play on the night. Man of the match for me without a doubt was Martinez although special mentions to Maylett, Austin and Forbes for all giving great performances in a very good Swansea effort.
Six wins in Seven games for Kenny Jackett – all to the score of zero – and the run is gathering momentum and the play itself is looking better. Whether we would have done the same against Luton’s first choice side is open to question but quite frankly who gives a toss. We deserved to win and controlled this game start to finish.
Well done Swans
