Battling Swans Earn Another Point

It was a brave decision from Alan Curtis to make so many changes given the fact that the last game earned us a first win since October but it was a team selection that worked in the end and had it not been for a strong save from Wayne Hennessey at the end of the game then it could have been all three points for the Swans.

Jordi Amat, Matt Grimes, Marvin Emnes and Modou Barrow were all perhaps surprise starts for the Swans whilst Kyle Naughton, Bafetimbi Gomis, Jonjo Shelvey and Jack Cork all started the game as well as Curtis utilised his squad to its full extent although some of the changes were forced upon him due to injury.

It was a largely forgettable first half for both sides with just two shots at goal – both off target – in the opening 45 minutes but an entertaining second half followed with the Swans and Palace both having attempts on target that on a different day could have resulted in a goal for them to give either side the win that they craved.

The truth is that the Swans improved when the first two subs were made in the second half – Ki and Gylfi replacing Shelvey and Emnes and from that point forward we looked better going forward. Today would not at all surprise me if it is the last appearance for Shelvey in a Swans shirt and he certainly did not look like a player who wants to be at Swansea any longer with his body language and effort telling me that he was not at all interested.

The change allowed the game to open up slightly more and certainly we saw the best of Mo Barrow at that point and he too tested Hennessey with a shot from outside the area as the Swans went in search of the goal.

The key bit for us at the moment is that we have become very solid at the back and that is now three successive clean sheets in the league and there was a clear man of the match performance for me in Ashley Williams who seems to be back to his best as we look to rack up the points for the safety mark that we have to achieve.

We can certainly be satisfied with our Christmas work to date having earned five points from the last three games with those three clean sheets and whilst goals remain at a premium we reach the halfway mark of the season with 19 points from 19 games and any improvement on that tally in the second half of the season will surely see us safe come May.

2015 ends with the Swans just outside of the relegation zone and that is a confidence boost for the new year.

Next up Manchester United at Old Trafford – can it be four from four?

<#cpfc>