Planet Swans ArchivesA very crisp autumn day saw the Swans win 3-1 at Cheltenham and now face Stockport away in the next round. A bigger than average crowd of 4551 saw the game due mostly to the 1,600 Swans fans that travelled to the game. With Gurney suspended it was Alan Tate who came in to play at right back with Andy Robinson returning to midfield after missing three games. Swans Line-Up Gueret Tate Monk Austin Ricketts Forbes Martinez O’Leary and Robinson Trundle & Connor Subs Murphy Jones Britton Fiskin and Nugent
The game started off very slowly, with neither team taking control. It was a case of each team taking wrong options and giving the ball back to the opposition. There was one very early scare for the Swans as a corner was cleared out of the area and with no-one going to close down Bird sent a powerful shot high and wide. Not to be outdone at the other end Trundle shot very, very high over the bar clearing the netting at the back of the terrace. Ricketts was caught late by Devaney who came one of many players booked. Just over 15mins had gone when it looked as if the Swans were to go ahead. A clearance to the edge of the box, came to O’Leary who totally missed the ball, Martinez stretched to put the ball back into the area but it was deflected for a goal-kick. We only had to wait a couple of minutes when a repeat performance from O’Leary this time saw the ball hit the back of the net before keeper Higgs could move. A sweet shot and sheer power. The Swans were now bossing the game with Cheltenham restricted to long range shots that were in most cases blocked without troubling Gueret. So much was the domination that with 5mins to go to half-time we went to sleep at the back allowing a deep cross reach 2 players on the Cheltenham left inside the six yard box. Devaney headed for the near corner only to see Gueret clear with his legs. The corner also caused problems with Austin having to clear.
Half time saw us deservedly in the lead, but those scares towards the end of the first half were a little worrying. Within 2mins of the restart that worry had gone as a deep cross from the left by Ricketts was headed in at the far post by Trundle to double the lead. Cheltenham used subs now and became more attacking minded, but although the change in attack was causing the defence more problems than the first half, they were holding well and again there was no real threat on the Swans goal. What was needed was a third to kill the game off. As the game came towards the mid point of the second half, what had been at best a niggly game, came close to boiling over, as some late tackles and off the ball pushing and shoving crept into the game. On 70mins Cheltenham got a goal that they hadn’t looked like scoring A free kick into the area saw players from both sides hack away at the ball as it bounced around in the area with Spencer getting the final touch to put the ball over the line. A bit of pushing and shoving on the goal line then resulted in most players getting involved in ‘hand bags’.
The result was a booking for Trundle. A surprise as many others could easily have followed. The next 10mins saw a different game as Cheltenham played the direct approach, getting the ball high into our area as soon as they could. There were some close shaves as the defence for the first time came under concerted pressure. There were some heroic last ditch blocks by the team who weren’t going to give the game away. Around the 80th minute mark the Swans had seemed to have taken all Cheltenham could throw at them and were now back in the game. Connor put the ball over from close range and Robinson sent a shot wide. A double substitution saw Britton replace Forbes and Nugent replace Trundle. A couple of half hearted attempts on goal by Cheltenham, before Fiskin replaced Robinson for the last few minutes. With us looking as if we were to hold out for a 2-1 win Britton put a ball through to Connor on the left of goal. With the keeper advancing he coolly lifted over him into the net. 3-1 and it was all over. 4minutes of added time, but nothing much was going to stop a well earned win.
Player Comments Gueret – Not much to do in the first half, solid when called on Tate – Not a bad performance but is not a right back Monk – Very good all round display. Solid in the rough and tumble period in the second half. Austin – As Monk Ricketts – Good game, not as many attacking runs. Forbes – Full of energy but failed where it mattered most. Martinez – Slow start but then controlled midfield O’Leary – Much better performance than last week, and what a goal Robinson – Clearly not match fit. His aggression boiled over a couple of times. Trundle – Quiet game, his reputation worried the defence more than today’s performance Connor – Worked very hard today and finished his goal well. Subs – Not on long enough Overall a professional display but should have killed the game off earlier. Cheltenham had a period of 15mins throughout the game when they were on top, the players dug deep and earned the win. This was not a ‘footballing game’ with classic moves but a game that hard work won through. We are no longer a lightweight team that others can steamroller and are capable of grinding results. ( Yellow card count going up though) One final thought. Last week we commented that the ref at the Bristol Rovers had a good game. Sad to say the opposite today. He was very poor, very weak and brandished yellow cards to try and keep control. If only he had tried talking to players earlier. Out of his depth
