Planet Swans Archives|
Rhyl 2 Swansea 0 |
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Jackett will have been given plenty to think on as he saw his side outplayed in just about every department by the Welsh Premier League leaders who could easily have made this defeat more comprehensive had they been better in front of goal. Jonathan Coates and Leon Hylton were drafted into the starting line up in place of Leon Britton and Lee Feildwick as the Swans lined up as follows Freestone S Jones Tate O’Leary Hylton Maylett Martinez Coates Roberts Trundle Connor With a stiff breeze blowing around the Belle Vue ground in Rhyl, it was the home side who gained the early control of the game by some neat passing and running movements that too often caught the Swans defence looking a little static. Despite this they were unable to provide any shots on goal and indeed it was Swansea who tested the keepers first when Coates lacked conviction with a shot from the edge of the area which left the keeper an easy shot to save. On the other hand, Rhyl were looking threatening with the ball over the top to Moran – a move that was going to cause the visiting defence trouble all night. Indeed Moran could have scored from one of these runs on 17 minutes but his shot was straight at Roger. Swansea’s best chance of the first half came on the half hour when Stuart Roberts ran through and saw his shot tipped around the post by the keeper only for the referee to give a goal kick. With the game heading towards the interval at 0-0, Swansea were rocked by two goals in two minutes. Stuart Roberts conceded a free kick on the right hand edge of the Swans penalty area and as it was cleared twice by Tate to the edge, the third shot could only be deflected off his head to wrong foot Roger and send the home side into the lead. It was what they deserved and an upset was clearly on the cards. Two minutes later that upset was a near certainty as Rhyl saw a header from a corner cleared off the line by Hylton only for Walters to strike the rebound home at the near post from the edge of the area. Rhyl were 2 goals to the good and deservedly so. Tate did have the chance to pull one back but his shot from 30 yards was tipped over by the keeper. At half time, the BBC pundits talked about the disappointing aspect of the Swans performance and knew that a huge step up in gear was needed in the second half. The step up though never happened in what was, as a Swans fan, a dull second half with all the chances created by Rhyl and especially falling at the feet (or head) of leading scorer Moran. Twice he headed over while in a good position whilst Roger was also forced into a save at the feet of another Rhyl attack and Roger himself was grateful for another goal line clearance after he dropped the ball from a corner and these were the chances that Rhyl were creating and for any neutrals watching they must have puzzled over which was the league side such was the dominance of the home team. At the final whistle, the Rhyl fans celebrated their second cup final of the season and full credit to them and their team for the way that they performed. Moran was rightly named man of the match and may be worth another look for us in the summer although on this performance I suspect we wouldn’t be able to prise him away! I honestly cannot pick out a Swans man of the match such was the performances all round tonight. This, simply, was not good enough again and Kenny has plenty to ponder on whilst on the trip back to Swansea. |
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Why not check out the latest Vetch Verdict on the BBC site? |
