Rob DaviesSwansea City won for the first time since the end of November as Ryan Manning’s thunderbolt secured the three points in a tight affair at the Swansea.com Stadium.
Manning’s strike came early on in the second half, almost against the run of play after some pressure from the away side – albeit testing Ben Hamer with little.
It proved to be a day of relief all round with fans allowed back into the stadium for the first time since a heavy 4-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest back in December.
Russell Martin kept faith with the same 11 that started the draw at Huddersfield, choosing Hamer in goal ahead of new signing Andy Fisher and giving Cyrus Christie his home debut. New signing Hannes Wolf was amongst the substitutes after his loan signing.
Hamer
Cabango – Naughton – Manning
Christie – Downes – Grimes – Latibeaudiere
Smith – Ntcham
Piroe
The first half was a fairly tepid affair although early pressing from the Swans caused the Preston backline a few concerns; Ntcham firing into the side netting from a tight angle and a mix up from a Matt Grimes cross couldn’t be met by a Swan in the six yard box.
The away side offered little in attack aside from forcing a flurry of corners at the end of the first half, although Ched Evans did have a header tipped over by Hamer in one of two shots on target in the match for Ryan Lowe’s side.
Ryan Manning saw yellow before half time for holding up a Preston breakaway, but he had a much bigger impact after the interval with his second spectacular goal of the season.
Hannes Wolf added some impetus and despite some very early second half pressure from the away team, Manning took control from a loose pass and charged forward towards Daniel Iversen’s goal. Being urged to shoot from three sides of the ground, Manning’s left foot shot flew into the corner from 25 yards to bring great relief to all.
The game soon opened up thereafter, Wolf looking lively although a little rusty. Christie came close once or twice after cutting in on the right, and looks overall an upgrade on Ethan Laird.
In the closing stages Wolf was through on the left but chose the wrong option to pass to Piroe, who was offside. Then Manning again came close with a strike from outside the box, Iversen palming away for a corner.
Both managers made changes, Ntcham had already been replaced at half time for Wolf whilst the off colour Piroe was swapped with Kyle Joseph. Notably former Swan Scott Sinclair came on for Preston in an attempt to gain a point, but to no avail – no former player curse this time at least!
There was time at the end for Jay Fulton to make his first league appearance for the club since the early weeks of the season as Smith went to the right wing back slot. And with exception of a Ryan Ledson strike in stoppage time which looked to be kept out by a block from a Preston man. The blocked effort was met by the linesman’s flag as the Swans saw the game out to stay 17th in the table.
It was noticeable how much stronger we looked defensively today with Latibeaudiere at left wing back and Christie on the right. With differing experience levels, both put a shift in defensively and offensively, with Christie most definitely the standout.
Creativity was lacking certainly in the first half, although I think there was enough from Wolf to suggest he could be a big player towards the end of the season. The utilising of Korey Smith in attacking midfield still baffles, however good a holding midfielder he may be.
Piroe was a little subdued although service was lacking, Ntcham had an off day and struggled to find a team mate with any pass, but Downes and Grimes were solid, as was the back three who all played their part.
Focus now turns to Millwall on Tuesday after 4 points in a week to bring back a welcome return to form. It wasn’t perfect but the job was done and three points in the bag.
One final note – please send better referees, today’s was poor…
13 points to the play-offs, here we go!
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