Planet Swans ArchivesFederico Fernandez was on hand to help Gylfi Sigrudsson’s free kick into the back of the net in the second half in what was the Swans only shot on target during the game where the problems that we have were all too easily exposed for everyone to see.
A defensive line up, too many passes going astray and a lack of desire to win from some players summed up the evening for me but as said right at the beginning it was the win that was the most important and with a points total of 36 points we should now have enough under our belts to secure a 6th successive Premier League season and the supposed riches that go with it (or at least go in the player pockets)
Making changes in line up and formation from the side that played against Bournemouth last week I am not sure was the right call given the fact that we did look pretty good going forward seven days ago and it meant an overcrowded midfield for much of the first half that for me was dominated by the visitors.
Given their status at the bottom of the Premier League table and just waiting for the inevitable confirmation of their relegation it doesn’t seem natural that we would go defensive against them but we can probably count ourselves a little lucky in the first half that we did not find ourselves behind.
And should that have happened then the boos that rang around the Liberty at half time would have been louder and led to potential more problems for the team.
The goal when it came should have immediately followed a red card for the visitors but Mike Dean elected not to show a second yellow card to the Villa player who hacked down Mo Barrow but he did give two yellow cards later in the game for similar instances. Why referees never give the second yellow when they are deserved it way beyond me but maybe he felt Villa needed a decision going their way.
The Swans never looked like increasing their lead and despite the best efforts of our defence we never really looked like conceding one either. We turned more defensive with the introduction of Naughton for Barrow but in truth this was a relatively easy afternoon for the two keepers.
The win – as said at the beginning – has probably secured our safety for another year but you have to wonder just how much work is needed during the summer to ensure that we do not find ourselves in a worse position this time next year.
The Jacks are staying up and for me now that is just about guaranteed but it wasn’t pretty to watch.
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