REPORT: Nottingham Forest 3 Swansea City 1

Saturday, 25 September 2010, 16:50
3 mins read

Report – Wales Online

SWANSEA CITYโ€™S away day disasters just keep on coming โ€“ and this time they had no-one to blame but themselves.

Itโ€™s eight straight league defeats on the road now, or more than six months without a Championship win away from the Liberty.

And while many have had a sob story attached about the performances being worth more than a zero return, this was not the case here as Lewis McGugan extended the run.

Sure, there was a big question mark over the legitimacy of the 12th-minute penalty given when Dorus de Vries was adjudged to trip Dexter Blackstock, which McGugan duly converted for the first of his pair.

But there was not a lot else to cling to for Swansea or their supporters in a bad day all round, McGugan grabbing his second on the hour mark before substitute Radoslaw Majewski got the third six minutes from time.

In fairness, Swansea did keep going and got some reward for their efforts when Cedric van der Gun grabbed a last-minute consolation.

But Forest were hands-down the better side โ€“ helped by Swanseaโ€™s sloppiness โ€“ and made sure there were no away-day ghosts buried at the City Ground.

It would be easy to point to the absence of Scott Sinclair, unable to figure because of a hamstring injury, the late withdrawal of Stephen Dobbie as an option, and the early injury suffered by David Cotterill.

A lack of penetration told.

But too many players were off the pace, too many knocked out of any stride by a confident Forest side who have tasted defeat just once at home in a full calendar year.

Still, they were given a helping hand early on as Swansea invited the pressure onto them.

In the first of a series of mishaps, Neil Taylor was guilty of a loose fifth-minute ball that Darren Pratley didnโ€™t do enough to recover and Chris Cohen was able to advance and let fly from range.

De Vries parried well but Taylor was needed to atone pretty quickly as he scrambled clear with Blackstock ready to pounce.

It took Swansea a time to breathe again as Forest represented a dog in sight of a bone, an attitude to their play very similar to that of their managerโ€™s dugout demeanour.

And on seven minutes de Vries was called on to parry once more, this time turning behind Chris Gunterโ€™s near-post cross after the Wales international had cleverly escaped down the Forest right.

With Swansea making silly mistakes and sloppy passes, the pressure told on 10 minutes โ€“ even if it did look by unfair means at first glance.

A bouncing ball not dealt with by Williams, Blackstock onto it and de Vries challenging, giving the referee a decision to make. Skipper Garry Monk was incandescent with rage at the decision, although it was de Vries who was booked as he looked to first referee, then the linesman and the heavens for some help.

He found none and could only pick the ball out of the net when McGugan sent him the wrong way.

Falling behind so early would have been worrying for Rodgers, no doubt all too aware that Forest had the players and the knowhow to pack up their midfield five and utilise the pace of Paul Anderson and Blackstock on the counter.

And it took a full 22 minutes before Swansea started forcing the issue, Frank Nouble achieving the no mean feat of holding off Wes Morgan and winning a corner.

There had been the odd forward advance from Pratley but that had been as good as it had got by that stage, the corner coming to nothing.

But Swansea were finally starting to pass it and wake from their opening slumber, Cotterill and the lively Nathan Dyer linking well for one move that just got squeezed out on the edge of the area before Joe Allen dug out a shot after feeding off Nouble.

But the real openings were not coming, things going sideways and Swansea starting to get impatient.

And if it were not for Dutchman de Vries it would have been a two-goal deficit to claw back inside the first half, the goalkeeper saving brilliantly from Anderson.

It would have been some goal too, Morgan running forward unchallenged before the former Swan performed a chipped one-two with Blackstock to set himself up.

But Swansea were making it easy for Forest to try such things, getting pulled out of position and getting bullied off the ball in key areas.

Replacing Cotterill at the break, van der Gun was involved early on as Swansea tried to inch their way back into things, with Ryan Bertrand snuffing out Noubleโ€™s threat.

Then Allen looked set to finally get the breakthrough when he robbed Morgan, only to be caught in two minds as the chance came.

But, just as Swansea began to pull up their socks, so their shorts were pulled down as a Chris Cohen ball fed the impressive McGugan who sent Monk spinning and the ball lifted into the net.

Rodgers did go for broke as Andrea Orlandi replaced Taylor, but it did little to change the inevitable, especially when Majewski benefited from a long punt forward and a dance around Alan Tate.

And although van der Gun finished after Allenโ€™s shot was fumbled, the away day damage had been done.

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Images courtesy of Getty Images, Athena Picture Agency and Swansea City Football Club.

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