{"id":77129,"date":"2023-02-23T07:00:49","date_gmt":"2023-02-23T07:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/?p=77129"},"modified":"2023-02-22T20:50:42","modified_gmt":"2023-02-22T20:50:42","slug":"ten-years-on-chelsea-no-match-for-the-swansea-train","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/2023\/02\/23\/ten-years-on-chelsea-no-match-for-the-swansea-train\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten years on &#8211; Chelsea no match for the Swansea train"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ten years ago this week the Swans won their first &#8211; and to date only &#8211; major trophy when they lifted the Capital One Cup at Wembley following a 5-0 win over Bradford City.\u00a0 All this week we will take a trip back down memory lane with a look at the road to that trophy which started back in August 2012 &#8211; six months before the majestical final day.<\/p>\n<p>When the semi final draw was made it was certainly assumed that Chelsea would be heading towards a League Cup final as the Swans hoped for a first major final appearance but the Champions of Europe stood in their way over a two legged semi final.<\/p>\n<p>However, Michael Laudrup, Michu, Danny Graham and a certain ball boy had different ideas.<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty aligncenter\"><a id='g_j52RtfTHZ6Uys_p6Koyw' class='gie-single' href='http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/159183088' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;'>Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'g_j52RtfTHZ6Uys_p6Koyw',sig:'7cpPJz6KQrvpTG63YWnMWLik-gekAo4beDOFNqYBmyk=',w:'594px',h:'431px',items:'159183088',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/div>\n<p>First Leg report &#8211; <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/sport\/football\/20886408\">BBC Sport<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"qa-introduction gel-pica-bold\" role=\"introduction\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-1\"><em>Swansea won at Chelsea for the first time in 87 years to head into the Capital One Cup semi-final second leg with a precious two-goal advantage.<\/em><\/p>\n<div data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-2\">\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-2.0\"><em>The hosts dominated in the first half but an error from defender Branislav Ivanovic allowed Michu to curl home.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-3\"><em>The home side continued to press but Ivanovic was again at fault in stoppage time when Danny Graham seized on his poor backpass to seal the win.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-5\"><em>Demba Ba thought he had snatched a late goal only for it to be ruled offside.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-6\"><em>The win puts Swansea firmly in command heading into the second leg at the Liberty Stadium on 23 January as they look to end a 100-year wait for a first major trophy.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-7\"><em>Chelsea, though, were the architects of their own downfall.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-8\"><em>They enjoyed plenty of possession throughout the encounter but were let down by poor decision-making in the final third.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"getty aligncenter\"><a id='OHRsq5aXQRNmMmDwUsVeOA' class='gie-single' href='http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/159181103' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;'>Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'OHRsq5aXQRNmMmDwUsVeOA',sig:'br7onJ8ExUnRdNQVs-IN_BSaGiIgYVNCCY2AwhukobE=',w:'594px',h:'433px',items:'159181103',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/div>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-9\"><em>The home side spent the initial exchanges patiently passing the ball around as they probed for potential openings in the Swansea backline.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-10\"><em>They were nearly rewarded in the 11th minute when Oscar and Eden Hazard combined to unlock the Swansea defence and present Ramires with a chance on goal, but the midfielder&#8217;s toe-poked effort lacked power and was comfortably saved by keeper Gerhard Tremmel.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-11\"><em>That early chance was not a sign of things to come, however, as play once again settled into a pedestrian pace, although Chelsea continued to dominate.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-14\"><em>The home side did not trouble Tremmel again until the 26th minute when Hazard surged into the Swansea area before squaring a pass for the unmarked Juan Mata, but the Spaniard&#8217;s low shot was gratefully scooped up by Tremmel.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-15\"><em>By now Chelsea were looking a confident side and Mata almost made amends for failing to make the most of that opportunity minutes later when he raced onto Oscar&#8217;s smart back-heel but his shot trickled agonisingly wide of the far post.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-16\"><em>It seemed only a matter of time before Chelsea would take the lead but poor defending instead saw Swansea snatch the opener six minutes before the break.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"getty aligncenter\"><a id='fsGYBdSUQI1utTwlQaOJcw' class='gie-single' href='http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/159180811' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;'>Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'fsGYBdSUQI1utTwlQaOJcw',sig:'V-twOIofxthFPqGPixrLofiSr5Hg9uzCgoofOVYqUns=',w:'594px',h:'401px',items:'159180811',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/div>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-17\"><em>Ivanovic dithered with the ball just outside his own area and Jonathan de Guzman took full advantage, stealing possession before immediately passing to Michu and the in-form striker&#8217;s curled effort flew beyond Ross Turnbull, taking his total for the season to 16.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-18\"><em>Michu was clearly a player brimming with confidence and he attempted an audacious overhead kick early in the second half, but the ball sailed harmlessly over Turnbull&#8217;s goal.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-21\"><em>Tremmel maintained his side&#8217;s slender advantage just before the hour when Hazard rolled the ball across the edge of the area for Luiz but his well-struck effort was kept out by the Swansea keeper.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-22\"><em>The visitors were clearly content to try and protect their lead, much to the frustration of the home side, who continued to try and carve out an opening.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-23\"><em>Frank Lampard replaced Ramires with 20 minutes remaining, before Ba was introduced 10 minutes later, replacing Fernando Torres as Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez looked to reinvigorate his attack.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-24\"><em>Ba quickly made his presence known and felt he should have had a penalty as the game entered stoppage time after clashing with Tremmel when challenging for possession, but instead he was booked for diving.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-25\"><em>Any hopes of Chelsea snatching an equaliser were ended shortly after as Ivanovic&#8217;s poor backpass allowed substitute Graham to run in, round the keeper and fire into the empty net.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-reactid=\".1g52tgwyqls.0.0.0.1.$paragraph-26\"><em>Chelsea thought they had snatched what would have been a potentially important late goal when Ba powered a shot into the net from Lampard&#8217;s knock on, but the striker had strayed just offside.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"getty aligncenter\"><a id='9wY3c8rcQeB9VWrcQxL59w' class='gie-single' href='http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/159182520' target='_blank' style='color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;'>Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'9wY3c8rcQeB9VWrcQxL59w',sig:'5avJlbNe0h6tKU2G7kwKIIvNFA8BTkdfBtKRIVxPbQI=',w:'594px',h:'446px',items:'159182520',caption: false ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ten years ago this week the Swans won their first &#8211; and to date only &#8211; major trophy when they lifted the Capital One Cup at Wembley following a 5-0 win over Bradford City.\u00a0 All this week we will take a trip back down memory lane with a look at the road to that trophy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":77130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[293,49,203],"tags":[713,665],"class_list":["post-77129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-first-team","category-news","category-opinion","tag-chelsea","tag-the-2022-23-season"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackarmy.net\/wp67\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}