Phil SumblerThe Swans beat Stoke this evening thanks to a very last minute Andre Ayew penalty to ensure that we returned to winning ways and, possibly more importantly recovered from an early defensive mistake from Marc Guehui to record an eighth away league win of the season.ย One point off the top two with two games in hand.ย ย Oh how quickly things can change in football.
Steve Cooper made four changes from the side that started against Bristol City on Saturday with Kyle Naughton, Ryan Manning, Korey Smith and Jay Fulton all recalled to the starting line up as he looked to restore some confidence back into a side that had been on the back of two reasonably heavy defeats in recent weeks.
One of the things that Cooper would have wanted after the defensive horror show on Saturday would have been a solid defensive display but hopes of that were blown away inside seven minutes when Stoke took the lead.ย ย And – as was the case on Saturday – the Swans were the cause of their own undoing when Marc Guehi played a dreadful ball presumably aimed at Roberts but really never got anywhere in the right direction or pace.ย ย It was intercepted by Fletcher who played in Powell and he had the easiest chance to fire past Woodman to give the home side the lead.ย ย The worst possible start for us and the days when the defence looked unbroachable all of a sudden are nothing more than a distant memory.
In fairness to the Swans they did not let their heads drop too much from this early issue and were level inside 19 minutes thanks to a familiar goalscorer these days in Connor Roberts.ย Full credit must go to the Swans for this goal as well.ย Ayew worked the ball from midfield out to Manning on the left and his ball into the middle was met perfectly by Roberts and gave the keeper no chance to bring the Swans level.ย ย This was the kind of move that we have been lacking in recent weeks and it was superbly made and finished and just what was needed after the early setback of our own making.
Stoke can certainly class themselves as unlucky not to have taken the lead just before the half hour mark when a long range effort from Tommy Smith rattled against the post and rebounded to safety as Stoke started to push forward more after a short period of two midfields cancelling themselves out following Connor’s equaliser.
From the Swans point of view Manning had his own long range shot which tested the keeper who was only able to parry it but again the rebound went to safety whilst just a minute later Roberts was on target again but didn’t really test the keeper as his shot lacked any serious power.ย The Swans though were gradually getting on top and another long range effort from Manning was deflected just wide with the keeper struggling as both Swans full backs were showing the front players how to shoot at goal.
If the full backs were having most of the shots at goal they were also at the heart of everything that we were doing as the game moved towards the half time mark.ย ย Both seemed to have been given a licence to move into the middle of the park as well and the continued threats of a Manning corner or a Roberts long throw was definitely causing uncertainty in the Stoke defence.
With the first half deep into stoppage time Woodman was called upon to make his first save of the game when he reacted quickly to parry a shot from Souttar for the corner after a scramble in the Swans area from a Stoke corner which was the last of the action for the first half.ย A first half in which the Swans were more than deserving of going in level although the frustration in which we conceded was still there on the face of Steve Cooper as he headed off for his half time team talk.
The Swans were let hugely off the hook early in the second half after a strong Stoke move that saw Fletcher hit the post with an open goal ahead of him and as the rebound came out it was blasted well over the bar by James Chester when it looked like a goal was an almost certainty.ย The Swans were also grateful to Freddie Woodman again a few minutes later when Brown appeared to have got in behind the Swans defence but a great block from the Swans keeper prevented the danger and kept the scoreline level.ย ย As was the case last Saturday the Swans had started the second half at this point more on the back foot than they finished the first which is starting to beg questions as to why the half time interval seems to see us start the second half more slowly than is comfortable.
As the game ticked towards the 70 minute mark Cooper decided the time was right for a change and Hourihane was introduced to replace an ineffective Jamal Lowe.ย ย It was a tactical change from Cooper and coincided with our best spell of the second half as Stoke retreated onto the back foot as the Swans went in search of the goal that we hoped would win the game and secure the three points.
The Swans were keen to press home the advantage that they were creating and Connor Roberts can count himself unlucky not to have given us the lead in the 82nd minute when he timed a run perfectly to meet a cross from Grimes but his shot was unfortunately straight at the Stoke keeper and rebounded to safety.
Stoke have become one of the draw specialists in this division and as the clock started to run down it was almost as if they had settled on the point being the right result for them with the bulk of the game being played in their half.ย For their part the Swans became more reluctant to commit too many men forward and it was therefore looking more and more likely that the game would end level.
That was until the very last minute when Clarke appeared to clip Naughton and, after what seemed like an age, the referee pointed to the spot.ย If there is ever a man that you want to take a last minute penalty it is Andre Ayew and he sent the keeper the wrong way to secure the points for the Swans and really make this a very good night indeed.
One of the key elements that we had to ensure tonight was no back to back defeats, turning that mission into a win feels all the more sweeter and to do it in the last minute is even better as it meant that we had no chance to wonder whether we could hold onto the lead.ย ย With Brentford being beaten at Norwich you would be forgiven for looking at the table now and thinking that we could easily be promotion favourites as we closed to within a point of both Brentford and Watford and still have those two games in hand.
Sweet moments!
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