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So where do you start with a performance like that? Normally you would say the beginning but from our point of view the first five minutes was probably the best part of the match and from the moment Gillingham capitalised on our hesitations we were the second best side on the night.
The side that was so fluent back in September and October has become a side that is stuttering, unable to find a man and resorting to long balls now aimed at Rory Fallon but in reality we probably played as many to Leon Knight as we did Fallon such was the confusion within our side.
We HAVE to ask the questions why firstly we saw Leon Britton dropped last Saturday and then played at right back tonight. Britton has been our most potent attacking threat for weeks on end and changing that is inexcusable and illogical. And added to that there are players in the side who based on that performance are not fit to wear the shirt. Again, I won’t name them here in a match report but Miss Marple is not required to work it out. Committment and effort is what Swansea fans will always demand from their side and when it’s missing then the voices will be heard. Nobody expects to win every game but we do expect to at least look as if we are trying. And a classic case in point of people who are trying comes in Andy Robinson. Who ran his heart out for the cause all evening and even to him it was evident on where the effort was lacking and he let it show. It’s that spirit that we want to see and left Andy as the only one with the bollocks to applaud the supporters this evening.
So onto the match itself. With a home debut for Rory Fallon and Leon Knight back in the side at the expense of the injured Lee Trundle, the Swans lined up as follow
Willy
Big Leon Monk Izzy Ricketts
Robbo Roberto Way Macca
Fallon Little Leon
Subs: Murphy, Forbes, Macdonald, Bayo, Watt
As mentioned previously the Swans started well and had a couple of half chances before Gillingham opened the scoring. Robinson and Knight had come close – Knight inside 15 seconds – suggesting that maybe the run of 1 win in nine was about to come to an end.
But it didn’t. And when Byfield opened the scoring just before the twenty minute mark by firing home from the edge of the area as we stood and watched it could have been the kick up the arse we needed. It could have been. It wasn’t. It had the opposite effect as we got worse and worse as the half wore on. We created a half chance or two but nothing serious other than a decent penalty shout being turned down following what appeared to be a clear foul on Knight. Confusion was reigning at the back whilst the midfield was struggling to take any form of control on the game.
Half time saw Robbo moved into the middle with Way replaced by Forbes. The chance to move Britton up into his right wing spot? Maybe so but a chance ignored as Forbes took that position which most of the 14,000 crowd could have told you was not going to be anywhere near as effective. We created a couple of better chances – Fallon missed a good chance with a header, Knight and Robbo both came close but we were starting to struggle more and more and became increasingly frustrated by Gillingham’s tactics of time wasting. Mike Flynn was booked for time wasting and just two minutes later he carved down McDonald – on for the limping Britton – for a second yellow and that only ever equals a red. Against ten men we surely had a hope?
Well, immediately we went two down as McLeod watched the Gillingham player pick up a loose ball in the area and he played it across where Neil Harris made no mistake to double the Gills lead – the game was effectively over.
The Swans had one ruled out for offside – an own goal – and Andy Robinson converted a penalty after a foul on Knight but we didn’t deserve to get anything from the game and that was rightly so how it ended.
Promotion is pretty much a faded dream at the moment, the play offs will head the same way unless we change our ideas. We are a team short on confidence but sadly we are also carrying passengers and there is no room on the Swansea train for them. You know what I mean.
Summing up – not good enough. Not by a long chalk.
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