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Bury was like a mini Wales this afternoon as it was descended on by 5,000 plus Jacks all intent on one thing – seeing their side win promotion, something which they duly delivered but not before we had endured an afternoon of high tension at Gigg Lane.
With two sides of the ground decked out with Swansea fans and flags – it was more like a home game for the Swans who were backed by a noisy travelling contingent before the inevitable after match celebration.
Much deliberation on the tactics on the way to the ground from the fans but it was only Kenny Jackett who could pick the team and he sent his side out in a 4-3-3 formation as follows
Gueret
Ricketts Monk Iriekpen Austin
Britton Martinez O’Leary
Forbes Thorpe Trundle
Subs: Anderson, Connor, McLeod, Gurney, Murphy
As the game kicked off there were many with one eye on the game and one ear to the radio waiting for news for elsewhere but it was Swansea that delivered the first action of the afternoon when they found themselves a goal to the good with less than a minute on the clock.
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Breaking down the first Bury possession of the afternoon, Kris O’Leary played a long ball forward which was chased by Forbes. Winning the chase, the winger ran onto the ball and lashed an unstoppable shot past Garner to send the 5,000 fans into ecstasy and to give the Swans a lift that they needed on a nervous afternoon.
A small pitch invasion followed from some over excited Swans fans which took a few minutes to bring under control. The Swans were a goal to the good and soon after there appeared to be news that Southend were the opposite although that soon died down as the real news of a goalless scoreline at Blundell Park filtered through.
For the rest of the first half it was very much a Swansea side under the cosh as Bury took plenty of possession and always looked dangerous. Willy saw a free kick deflected just wide of his goal for a corner and a point blank header hit him rather than he saved it but as the half filtered to a close there was a blank next to the home side’s name on the scoreboard and the Swans were halfway towards promotion following a 0-0 scoreline at Grimsby. |
BURY |
| Garney |
| Barry-Murphy |
| Challinor |
| Kennedy |
| Flitcroft |
| Kazim-Richards |
| Mattis |
| Scott |
| Whaley |
| Woodthorpe |
| Shakes |
|
SWANSEA |
| Gueret |
| Ricketts |
| Iriekpen |
| Monk |
| Austin |
| Britton |
| Martinez |
| Forbes |
| Trundle |
| Thorpe |
| O’Leary |
|
REFEREE |
| C Webster |
|
ATTENDANCE |
| 7,575 |
| Swans Fans Prior To Kick Off |
Could we maintain the position in the second half? In truth we could have got more but in fairness I remember little about the half. Thorpe shot at the keepers legs and Monk (?) had a goal bound header cleared off the line but it was the Bury attacks that were keeping me extremely worried. News came through that Grimsby were a goal up and the Swans were effectively two goals clear in the promotion race. Southend’s equaliser halved that advantage almost immediately it seemed and we always knew that Bury were more than capable of notching a goal.
This, however, was to be the day that the Swans defence stayed strong and some great challenges kept Willy’s goal at bay. Bury had a half decent penalty appeal towards the end but the referee waved play on to our delight.
| Willy watches a free kick head wide |
The ineffective Trundle was replaced by McLeod whilst Thorpe made way for Connor as Jackett used all his options. And it was Trundle who led the appeals of the players to get fans off the pitch when they invaded again with time almost run out. Running from the bench to behind the goal he asked for the fans to get off the pitch as play was held up for five minutes with 90 minutes already showing on the clock.
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Goals |
By this time we knew that Southend had only managed a point and that a clean sheet would see us promoted. Jackett used some of the stoppage time up y bringing on Anderson and Forbes could have sealed his double in the dying minutes but saw his shot blocked by the keeper after seemingly rounding him.
As the whistle blew the appeals to keep of the pitch were on no more than deaf ears as the JackArmy invaded and the Swans were back in League One without having to suffer the tension of the end of season play-offs.
But if we thought that was the end of the action then we were very much wrong. As the players celebrated in the directors box, there was a slight scuffle – someone said it was Willy’s wife pushed away by the police – which ended in the Swans keeper being led away from the celebrations by the police – celebrations which by that time had become somewhat muted by what we saw. |
| Bury |
| None |
| Swansea |
| Forbes 1 |
| Card Count |
| Booked |
| Bury |
| Flitcroft 19 |
| Kazim-Richards 38 |
| Barry-Murphy 82 |
| Swansea |
| Austin 30 |
| Martinez 33 |
| Thorpe 45 |
| Sent Off |
| Bury |
| None |
| Swansea |
| None |
| Match Pictures |
| Click Here and here |
What exactly happened is better said for those that had a closer view than myself but there seemed an over reaction from the police somewhere in there which could – and by some accounts did – cause trouble outside the ground.
| Robinson Leads The Celebrations |
But nothing can take away from the fact that the Swans are now a League One side and Kenny Jackett has delivered the promotion he said he would. 80 points was his target – 80 points we got and it’s back to the Vetch for the promotion party on Wednesday night ahead of the Wrexham game.
THE JACKS ARE GOING UP – NOW IT’S OFFICIAL!
Click Here For More Pictures
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