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Having returned from the Liberty Stadium earlier on this morning, I felt I should seize the opportunity and report on the game while most of it is still reasonably fresh in mind… Partly because I know I’ll be straight into bed when I get in from work!
I have to say that despite the game ending a goalless 0-0- draw, I actually thought it was a very encouraging performance and I took a lot of positives from it.
For anyone interested, here is my take on yesterday’s game against Swansea City.
I left work at midday and after meeting up with the others in Southampton, we headed up to Swansea from Southampton at around 2 o’clock in the afternoon. Little did we know that the part of motorway that we were joining was grid-locked, fortunately a man in another car spotted the QPR shirts and advised against joining it at that stage. After carrying on up the road we eventually joined it a couple of junctions later and had a reasonably smooth journey through to Wales. We eventually arrived at the Park & Ride at about 7 o’clock.
We were advised by the staff in the car park to make sure all cars were fully locked, as (and I quote): “If the Swansea fans don’t break in, the gypsy’s will!” before pointing over to the corner of the car park where a bunch of caravans were located… Nice. So after checking that the car was locked and double locked, we hopped onto the coach and headed towards the ground.
We took to our seats at the top of the away stand and listened on as the teams were read out. Warnock decided to name an almost unchanged line-up from the one that lined up against Norwich. With the only change being the now fit Faurlin introduced at the expense of the injured Buzsaky.
Kenny naturally continued in goal, with Walker and Hill on either side and Gorkss partnering Connolly in the middle.
In midfield we had Ephraim and Mackie in the wide positions, with Faurlin and Derry in the middle.
Taarabt again started just off of Helguson in attack.
Onto the game and the first few minutes set the pattern for the full 90 minutes. Swansea were clearly a very well organised side, you could see why they have racked up the amount of points that they have done thus far. In the opening 5-10 minutes they had far more of the ball and played some very neat, crisp passing football. They reminded me very much of Doncaster Rovers in that sense.
We have been no pushovers either at or away from home and we thought we had taken the lead as early as the 8th minute or so. Taarabt had been fed possession by Mackie and after cheekily sliding the ball through the defenders legs; he advanced through on goal with around 3 defenders to run at. His cross come shot was slid clear of danger by Tate and earned us our first corner of the game. Taarabt was again on set piece duty, and after Gorkss saw his skimmed header rebound off of a defender, Mackie saw his snap shot from around 5 yards slam into the side netting. From where we were located it appeared as if we had found the back of the net, but the buoyant Swansea crowd and Mackie’s march back indicated that he hadn’t managed to find the target on this occasion.
On a slight sour note, there was a disturbed alcohol fuelled idiot who was doing what was in his mind trying to whip the QPR support into backing the side more vocally… But his “encouragement” swiftly turned into just plain abuse, to which a number of QPR fans turned round to voice their frustration at his temperament. He was very much in the same mould as our infamous “fan” located in the South Africa Road stand against Port Vale – and after shouting abuse at Taarabt for being a “Judas” and a number of other things not really worth mentioning he was thankfully escorted out of his seat by a couple of stewards.
Again back onto the pitch and we continued on the front foot. This time the attack came from the left hand side. After the nippy Dyer was sent crashing to the floor under a heavy Clint Hill challenge the ball was sent out wide to Ephraim, his neat touch back to Faurlin found him with time and space and he slid the ball through to Helguson who was located on the edge of the box… He instantly turned on the spot and saw a rasping shot pushed just over the bar by De Vries in the Swansea goal.
I have been nothing but complimentary about Helguson this season, as frankly – he has been exceptional. But for all of his good form/work rate, it’s not the kind of goal you would normally associate with him … But what a goal it would have been!
Taarabt had been looking much livelier than he has done of late and his intricate work nearly set up Mackie for the opener. After Walker had won back possession at the back, he knocked the ball centrally to Adel who was being tightly man-marked by no fewer than 3 players… He somehow managed to bustle his way past all 3 of them and advanced onto the edge of the box. After shaping to shoot with the whole goal to aim at, he coolly slotted the ball in behind the Swansea back-line leaving Mackie one on one with the keeper. Unfortunately the linesman spotted an offside and the ball was brought back for a Swansea free-kick.
It was a fierce atmosphere inside the ground, with Swansea getting the benefit of the doubt on more than one occasion. Sinclair had managed to skip his way past Mackie and the ball was clearly a foot or so over the line in doing so – with the linesman placed directly in front of it. As Sinclair bombed down the wing Warnock launched himself to the edge of the pitch howling at the lino after another bizarre decision went against us. It only served to pour more fuel into the vocal support by the Swansea fans with frantic waving of fists and shouting at the direction of Warnock – which he relished… I’m sure.
Taarabt was having a bigger and bigger impact on the game and he was next up to have an effort on goal. Again, it was Mackie that had slid in and one possession and after laying the ball into the path of Taarabt he continued his run out wide… Before receiving the ball, Taarabt simply side stepped to his left, taking the defender with him in the process before returning to collect it and surging forward leaving the defender completely bamboozled in the middle of the pitch. With the Swansea defenders stood firm on the edge of the box, he attempted a shot from around 25 yards or so which scuffed wide of the far post. Mackie showed his displeasure for not being fed out wide to which Adel held his hands up to in apologetic fashion.
For all of their neat football Swansea hadn’t really tested Kenny up to this stage. Their first real opportunity came when Kyle Walker was robbed of possession around the half way line. After a swift counter and with a mere 3 players left at the back, the ball eventually made its way to Dobbie on the left hand side and he advanced on goal with just Connolly to beat… After cutting in central he saw his near post shot well saved by Kenny and out for a corner kick. The following corner was met by a powering header from Gorkss and eventually booted high up field by Walker.
Despite that brief scare, this half had all been ours and for the following 5 minutes or so we again continued to keep possession magnificently. Swansea City were pegged right back into their own half, and you got the impression that it was a case of when and not if we would score. After the ball seemed to almost ping pong around their box, Derry (that’s not a typo!) saw the ball bobble to the edge of the box, and his stinging shot cannon into the boot of a defender and out for a throw in… We had a great view of it, and I don’t think there was a chance in the world the keeper would ever have gotten to it. Sensing the pressure building Walker took the throw-in instantaneously and Taarabt’s quick cross ever so nearly met by Helguson at the near post.
Ironically, it was just as that chance came and went that I turned to the fan next to me and said “We are all over them; I can’t see them scoring tonight!”
Then, in a flash the game was turned on its head. I think it was Ephraim that was caught on the left hand side and a sneaky through ball down the right hand side saw Nathan Dyer left with a one on one race with Hill & Derry for the loose ball... No surprises for guessing who won, and after turning into the box, minimal contact was made with one of the two players shadowing him and Dyer threw himself to the floor… The stand to our left threw themselves forward screaming for a penalty, to which the referee awarded them despite appearing to say no originally. Literally the whole QPR eleven flocked around the referee and after consulting his linesman he decided that the decision WOULD stand. Having only seen it once, maybe I’m not best placed to make a call on it – but Dyer’s body language to me showed that he knew it was a soft one. The crowd certainly had an impact on the referee’s decision as well, very disappointing.
None the less, Cotterill stepped up to take the spot kick located in front of the travelling QPR support. Kenny took his time and drummed the point home to the linesman that it was a terrible decision… After eventually stepping between the sticks he managed to palm the penalty away to his right hand side out for a corner kick… Starting complete pandemonium in the away end!
Well I did say I couldn’t see them scoring…..! Phew.
Again the following corner was poor and after being sent clear, Kenny’s name was sung for the following 5 minutes or so to which he responded with a thumbs up in our direction.
As the clock ticked down towards the half time whistle, there weren’t really any further incidents to report on. As the referee blew time on the first half, both sets of supporters applauded the players off the pitch.
On reflection of the first half, I was actually delighted with our performance. We had been by far the better side and had it been for just a little bit more of a cutting edge we may even have gone in two goals to the good. Despite their penalty miss, I thought at times we overran Swansea and they didn’t really threaten us.
Onto the second half and it was again us that were the first to have an effort on goal.
After a long kick up field by Kenny, Derry rose above all to flick the ball on to Faurlin who was located around 35 yards from goal. With runners to both to his left and centrally, he beautifully managed to pick out Walker who had made a late run on the right hand side…. After bursting past Sinclair, he was left down by the by-line and after faking to shoot he sent the defender to his feet… He then took one touch before hammering the ball across the face of the goal which somehow evaded every single player and went out for a goal-kick. De Vries knew it was a close call and I clocked a huge sigh of relief as he came back to collect the ball.
As was the case in the first half, Taarabt was looking our liveliest threat going forward and after being played through in the middle of the pitch, he took a shot to set himself but his deflected effort went just wide of the left hand post. In fairness, I think De Vries would have had it covered even had it sneaked its way inside the near post. His cross from the resultant set piece was very good and Hill managed to meet the ball but could only angle his header over the crossbar.
The following 15 minutes or so descended into some quite scrappy football as Swansea started to apply a bit more pressure onto our back-line. Faurlin picked up a yellow card for a mis-timed challenge, and for the first time during the game you felt that the balance was just starting to switch into Swansea’s favour. Scott Sinclair had been a neglected figure throughout the game and despite tricking his way past a couple of players… More often that not his direct runs were promptly halted by bustling challenge after bustling challenge… For all of his raw pace and trickery, he just had no success against Walker at all and Brendan Rogers decided to have him and Dyer switch flanks.
The impact was almost immediate with him cutting in past Hill and after somehow managing to wander through to the centre of the pitch, he was left with a free shot at goal which skimmed over the crossbar. Dyer was also starting to make a few inroads but despite managing to get the ball past Walker on the wing, as was the case with Sinclair he just could not outrun the lightening quick Kyle Walker.
With our backs against the walls, we resulted to a much more direct style of play with clearance after clearance being booted up clear by Gorkss and Connolly. Helguson began to drop far deeper into our half and despite winning the majority of 50/50’s he was met with, he had virtually no support and Taarabt was left isolated.
You couldn’t help but think that we wouldn’t be able to threaten De Vries in the Swansea goal, then for all the pressure we were under we managed to carve out probably the stand out chance in the game. After Walker had scrapped with one of the Swansea players for possession, Connolly picked up the loose ball and took a touch and appeared to shape to launch the ball back up field, but after jinking his way past the outstretched leg of a defender, he delightfully played the ball through to Taarabt who had the whole pitch open to him. With what could only have been 3 Swansea players back, we had them on the counter… Mackie made a darting run in behind the last defender and Taarabt picked him out brilliantly leaving him one on one with the keeper… He took one touch too many, and as De Vries advanced from his goal he could only managed to his it straight into his chest and out for a corner kick. It was a frustrating chance as had he been offered exactly the same opportunity a month or so ago, there is no doubt Mackie would have put it away. If anything he probably had a little too much time and the fact he put it on his weaker foot cut down his chances of slotting it past the keeper. It was a great break though, with fantastic composure from Connolly and great vision by Taarabt.
As that BIG chance came and went, there was another talking point soon after involving Adel Taarabt. In fairness to him, he was being kicked to pieces by the player located at left back and after tricking his way past the defender on the side of the pitch the referee awarded Swansea a throw in… I’m not sure if the ball had gone out of play or not, but it looked tight. Adel had the ball in his hands as the defender aggressively stormed up to him to take the throw in quickly… Adel wasn’t happy with the manner in which he did this, and the two of them had words as the ball was played forward. There could have been little over 90 seconds or so elapsed when Taarabt sought revenge. The Swansea left back turned on the ball and Taarabt came lunging in with a horrific looking tackle right into his ankle right in front of the dugouts… Both teams sets of players charged to the incident with Keith Curle quickly reacting to heave Taarabt away from the melee that was now taking place… Derry was screaming into the referees face, with the defender laid flat out on the floor and the Swansea City fans crying blue murder… I could see nothing but a red card being issued. To my surprise, the referee only gave Taarabt a yellow which in the circumstances I thought he was a very lucky boy.
Warnock substituted Taarabt instantaneously with Agyemang being introduced and Helguson was bought off for Tommy Smith.
From here the game fizzled out and aside from a header cleared off the line by Ephraim (I think?) nothing much more really took place.
As the referee blew time on the game, I for one was satisfied with taking a point if not a little disappointed that we didn’t manage to take all three.
Before the game, I couldn’t help but feel that the unbeaten run would likely come to and end last night and that coupled with the fact that we kept yet another clean sheet certainly bodes well for the rest of the season. To have kept 10 clean sheets out of 12 is nothing short of… well… brilliant!
The thought that we can go to the likes of Swansea City on a cold Tuesday night and come away disappointed with not earning 3 points its just another sign of how far we have come, and that’s testament to Warnock.
Player Ratings –
Kenny – Didn’t have an awful lot to do in fairness, but great save from the penalty. Nice to see that both yesterday night and Saturday against Norwich he went the correct way, he’s clearly doing his homework. Thought he commanded the area very well though and was more than comfortable with crosses coming into the box. Another clean sheet, excellent.
Walker – Continues to keep impressing game after game after game. I don’t think I have ever been at such ease with a right back for as long as I can remember. Having watched Swansea this season, it’s clear that a large amount of their play comes through their pacey wingers in Sinclair/Dyer… But neither of them could get a sniff against Walker, I never really felt on the edge of my seat as either of them ran at him. He has been a revelation since signing for us, and already I’m desperately hoping that we can get him for the season. On the way back we were talking about what an attacking threat he is as well, such is his fitness he practically stands in as a winger and rarely (if ever) gets caught out by venturing forward. Superb.
Connolly – Didn’t put a foot wrong all night. Very composed and calm in possession and looks to be making that centre back position his own. Very strong in the air, and complimented Gorkss perfectly. Didn’t panic at all when under pressure.
Gorkss – Typical hustle and bustle performance from him. As touched on above, the partnership between him and Connolly just improves game by game. Despite being put under a fair amount of pressure in the second half he never once cracked. Mr. Consistent yet again.
Hill – Personally felt before the game that he may be the weakness last night. The thought of having quick players running at him made me feel he would likely struggle, but he kept them quiet throughout. Gritty and resilient.
Mackie – Frustrating night for him yesterday, he will be gutted that he couldn’t put at least one of his two guilt-edged chances away. Not quite got that predator-like instinct that he had a month or so ago, but as ever continued to run himself into the ground. His form has been just plainly irresistible so far this season, so he is entitled to miss the odd chance here and there. The work-rate forced Swansea into rushing/mis-placing their passes though and but for the missed chances, I thought he had a decent game.
Faurlin – Delighted to have him back out there. Not many people were singing his praises in the early part of this season, but what a difference he makes. Picked up exactly where he left off alongside Derry and I thought he had a cracking game. Very strong in the tackle and hassled/chased any ball that there was the slightest chance of winning. Arguably man of the match for me.
Derry – I have came back a few times this season raving about the performances of him, but such his is form that I’m almost expecting him to show up and be the same every single week and last night was no different. Played a big part in organising the side when Swansea pushed us further back and broke up possession a countless number of times. Captain in all but name.
Ephraim – I thought he was very poor again yesterday. Looked well off the pace and had virtually no impact on the game whatsoever. I think it was him that cleared the ball off the line at the end to be fair to him, but I just can’t see why Warnock continues to keep playing him?! It’s nothing personal to him or that I view him as a scapegoat… But he just doesn’t do anything! All too often he just plays the simple pass and moves, I see nothing spectacular and just never feel he is going to make something happen. I strongly felt Warnock should start Smith ahead of him last night, now I’m sure he will. All too easily muscled off the ball… again. One in 6/7 games he is… okay. Bench player in my opinion.
Taarabt – Best performance by him in weeks. Mouth-watering coming forward and provided a real outlet last night. Possibly a little greedy one a couple of occasions, but if anything was going to happen yesterday – he would have been the instigator. Played Mackie through nicely in the second half and full array of skill just oozing class. Disappointing that he threw himself into the tackle as he did, more proof that he is most definitely not captain material… But hope that he can continue in this form through the next few games we have coming up.
Helguson – Thought he worked ever so hard. Went deeper and deeper as the game wore on and while he didn’t really have any chances at the attacking end of the field he did an awful lot of work defensively. Not sure how much longer he can keep running himself into the ground, delighted with him all the same though.
Substitutions –
Agyemang – Didn’t give him the correct amount of service. Despite his big frame, he cannot head a ball to save his life we all know that. Would have liked to have seen the ball at his feet more, but he worked hard and didn’t give the Swansea back-line much time on the ball.
Smith – START HIM! I thought when he first arrived that he did look a little off the pace, but I think the last couple of times he has came off the bench he has looked really sharp. Yesterday was no different, lively on the ball, great set piece delivery and looks to add a real spark. I would love to see him linking up alongside Mackie/Taarabt. Far too good to be sat on the bench week in week out.
Clarke – No real time to make an impact, but he looked pretty decent. Won a few headers and put himself about.
Looking back over the game (and the season) as a whole, I think that yesterdays game was a display of two sides that will both be pushing at the right end of the table come the end of the season. Swansea played good football but the defence was as watertight as ever. I would like to see Warnock mix it up a little in the next game, preferably with Hogan dropping to the bench for Smith.
Where we will end up overall this season is anyone’s guess, but the thing that we can be certain of is that this side will never roll over and die. When the pressure was on (like last night) they continue to battle right to the death and with those characters in the dressing-room I just can’t see any self-implosion taking place this year. Could be a big point come the end of the season!
On a personal note, thanks to our mercurial driver he somehow managed to get me back for the 1am ferry… He deserved a knighthood for it! With the next one not leaving until 3am, that certainly put a big smile on my face.
Onwards & upwards!
I have to say that despite the game ending a goalless 0-0- draw, I actually thought it was a very encouraging performance and I took a lot of positives from it.
For anyone interested, here is my take on yesterday’s game against Swansea City.
I left work at midday and after meeting up with the others in Southampton, we headed up to Swansea from Southampton at around 2 o’clock in the afternoon. Little did we know that the part of motorway that we were joining was grid-locked, fortunately a man in another car spotted the QPR shirts and advised against joining it at that stage. After carrying on up the road we eventually joined it a couple of junctions later and had a reasonably smooth journey through to Wales. We eventually arrived at the Park & Ride at about 7 o’clock.
We were advised by the staff in the car park to make sure all cars were fully locked, as (and I quote): “If the Swansea fans don’t break in, the gypsy’s will!” before pointing over to the corner of the car park where a bunch of caravans were located… Nice. So after checking that the car was locked and double locked, we hopped onto the coach and headed towards the ground.
We took to our seats at the top of the away stand and listened on as the teams were read out. Warnock decided to name an almost unchanged line-up from the one that lined up against Norwich. With the only change being the now fit Faurlin introduced at the expense of the injured Buzsaky.
Kenny naturally continued in goal, with Walker and Hill on either side and Gorkss partnering Connolly in the middle.
In midfield we had Ephraim and Mackie in the wide positions, with Faurlin and Derry in the middle.
Taarabt again started just off of Helguson in attack.
Onto the game and the first few minutes set the pattern for the full 90 minutes. Swansea were clearly a very well organised side, you could see why they have racked up the amount of points that they have done thus far. In the opening 5-10 minutes they had far more of the ball and played some very neat, crisp passing football. They reminded me very much of Doncaster Rovers in that sense.
We have been no pushovers either at or away from home and we thought we had taken the lead as early as the 8th minute or so. Taarabt had been fed possession by Mackie and after cheekily sliding the ball through the defenders legs; he advanced through on goal with around 3 defenders to run at. His cross come shot was slid clear of danger by Tate and earned us our first corner of the game. Taarabt was again on set piece duty, and after Gorkss saw his skimmed header rebound off of a defender, Mackie saw his snap shot from around 5 yards slam into the side netting. From where we were located it appeared as if we had found the back of the net, but the buoyant Swansea crowd and Mackie’s march back indicated that he hadn’t managed to find the target on this occasion.
On a slight sour note, there was a disturbed alcohol fuelled idiot who was doing what was in his mind trying to whip the QPR support into backing the side more vocally… But his “encouragement” swiftly turned into just plain abuse, to which a number of QPR fans turned round to voice their frustration at his temperament. He was very much in the same mould as our infamous “fan” located in the South Africa Road stand against Port Vale – and after shouting abuse at Taarabt for being a “Judas” and a number of other things not really worth mentioning he was thankfully escorted out of his seat by a couple of stewards.
Again back onto the pitch and we continued on the front foot. This time the attack came from the left hand side. After the nippy Dyer was sent crashing to the floor under a heavy Clint Hill challenge the ball was sent out wide to Ephraim, his neat touch back to Faurlin found him with time and space and he slid the ball through to Helguson who was located on the edge of the box… He instantly turned on the spot and saw a rasping shot pushed just over the bar by De Vries in the Swansea goal.
I have been nothing but complimentary about Helguson this season, as frankly – he has been exceptional. But for all of his good form/work rate, it’s not the kind of goal you would normally associate with him … But what a goal it would have been!
Taarabt had been looking much livelier than he has done of late and his intricate work nearly set up Mackie for the opener. After Walker had won back possession at the back, he knocked the ball centrally to Adel who was being tightly man-marked by no fewer than 3 players… He somehow managed to bustle his way past all 3 of them and advanced onto the edge of the box. After shaping to shoot with the whole goal to aim at, he coolly slotted the ball in behind the Swansea back-line leaving Mackie one on one with the keeper. Unfortunately the linesman spotted an offside and the ball was brought back for a Swansea free-kick.
It was a fierce atmosphere inside the ground, with Swansea getting the benefit of the doubt on more than one occasion. Sinclair had managed to skip his way past Mackie and the ball was clearly a foot or so over the line in doing so – with the linesman placed directly in front of it. As Sinclair bombed down the wing Warnock launched himself to the edge of the pitch howling at the lino after another bizarre decision went against us. It only served to pour more fuel into the vocal support by the Swansea fans with frantic waving of fists and shouting at the direction of Warnock – which he relished… I’m sure.
Taarabt was having a bigger and bigger impact on the game and he was next up to have an effort on goal. Again, it was Mackie that had slid in and one possession and after laying the ball into the path of Taarabt he continued his run out wide… Before receiving the ball, Taarabt simply side stepped to his left, taking the defender with him in the process before returning to collect it and surging forward leaving the defender completely bamboozled in the middle of the pitch. With the Swansea defenders stood firm on the edge of the box, he attempted a shot from around 25 yards or so which scuffed wide of the far post. Mackie showed his displeasure for not being fed out wide to which Adel held his hands up to in apologetic fashion.
For all of their neat football Swansea hadn’t really tested Kenny up to this stage. Their first real opportunity came when Kyle Walker was robbed of possession around the half way line. After a swift counter and with a mere 3 players left at the back, the ball eventually made its way to Dobbie on the left hand side and he advanced on goal with just Connolly to beat… After cutting in central he saw his near post shot well saved by Kenny and out for a corner kick. The following corner was met by a powering header from Gorkss and eventually booted high up field by Walker.
Despite that brief scare, this half had all been ours and for the following 5 minutes or so we again continued to keep possession magnificently. Swansea City were pegged right back into their own half, and you got the impression that it was a case of when and not if we would score. After the ball seemed to almost ping pong around their box, Derry (that’s not a typo!) saw the ball bobble to the edge of the box, and his stinging shot cannon into the boot of a defender and out for a throw in… We had a great view of it, and I don’t think there was a chance in the world the keeper would ever have gotten to it. Sensing the pressure building Walker took the throw-in instantaneously and Taarabt’s quick cross ever so nearly met by Helguson at the near post.
Ironically, it was just as that chance came and went that I turned to the fan next to me and said “We are all over them; I can’t see them scoring tonight!”
Then, in a flash the game was turned on its head. I think it was Ephraim that was caught on the left hand side and a sneaky through ball down the right hand side saw Nathan Dyer left with a one on one race with Hill & Derry for the loose ball... No surprises for guessing who won, and after turning into the box, minimal contact was made with one of the two players shadowing him and Dyer threw himself to the floor… The stand to our left threw themselves forward screaming for a penalty, to which the referee awarded them despite appearing to say no originally. Literally the whole QPR eleven flocked around the referee and after consulting his linesman he decided that the decision WOULD stand. Having only seen it once, maybe I’m not best placed to make a call on it – but Dyer’s body language to me showed that he knew it was a soft one. The crowd certainly had an impact on the referee’s decision as well, very disappointing.
None the less, Cotterill stepped up to take the spot kick located in front of the travelling QPR support. Kenny took his time and drummed the point home to the linesman that it was a terrible decision… After eventually stepping between the sticks he managed to palm the penalty away to his right hand side out for a corner kick… Starting complete pandemonium in the away end!
Well I did say I couldn’t see them scoring…..! Phew.
Again the following corner was poor and after being sent clear, Kenny’s name was sung for the following 5 minutes or so to which he responded with a thumbs up in our direction.
As the clock ticked down towards the half time whistle, there weren’t really any further incidents to report on. As the referee blew time on the first half, both sets of supporters applauded the players off the pitch.
On reflection of the first half, I was actually delighted with our performance. We had been by far the better side and had it been for just a little bit more of a cutting edge we may even have gone in two goals to the good. Despite their penalty miss, I thought at times we overran Swansea and they didn’t really threaten us.
Onto the second half and it was again us that were the first to have an effort on goal.
After a long kick up field by Kenny, Derry rose above all to flick the ball on to Faurlin who was located around 35 yards from goal. With runners to both to his left and centrally, he beautifully managed to pick out Walker who had made a late run on the right hand side…. After bursting past Sinclair, he was left down by the by-line and after faking to shoot he sent the defender to his feet… He then took one touch before hammering the ball across the face of the goal which somehow evaded every single player and went out for a goal-kick. De Vries knew it was a close call and I clocked a huge sigh of relief as he came back to collect the ball.
As was the case in the first half, Taarabt was looking our liveliest threat going forward and after being played through in the middle of the pitch, he took a shot to set himself but his deflected effort went just wide of the left hand post. In fairness, I think De Vries would have had it covered even had it sneaked its way inside the near post. His cross from the resultant set piece was very good and Hill managed to meet the ball but could only angle his header over the crossbar.
The following 15 minutes or so descended into some quite scrappy football as Swansea started to apply a bit more pressure onto our back-line. Faurlin picked up a yellow card for a mis-timed challenge, and for the first time during the game you felt that the balance was just starting to switch into Swansea’s favour. Scott Sinclair had been a neglected figure throughout the game and despite tricking his way past a couple of players… More often that not his direct runs were promptly halted by bustling challenge after bustling challenge… For all of his raw pace and trickery, he just had no success against Walker at all and Brendan Rogers decided to have him and Dyer switch flanks.
The impact was almost immediate with him cutting in past Hill and after somehow managing to wander through to the centre of the pitch, he was left with a free shot at goal which skimmed over the crossbar. Dyer was also starting to make a few inroads but despite managing to get the ball past Walker on the wing, as was the case with Sinclair he just could not outrun the lightening quick Kyle Walker.
With our backs against the walls, we resulted to a much more direct style of play with clearance after clearance being booted up clear by Gorkss and Connolly. Helguson began to drop far deeper into our half and despite winning the majority of 50/50’s he was met with, he had virtually no support and Taarabt was left isolated.
You couldn’t help but think that we wouldn’t be able to threaten De Vries in the Swansea goal, then for all the pressure we were under we managed to carve out probably the stand out chance in the game. After Walker had scrapped with one of the Swansea players for possession, Connolly picked up the loose ball and took a touch and appeared to shape to launch the ball back up field, but after jinking his way past the outstretched leg of a defender, he delightfully played the ball through to Taarabt who had the whole pitch open to him. With what could only have been 3 Swansea players back, we had them on the counter… Mackie made a darting run in behind the last defender and Taarabt picked him out brilliantly leaving him one on one with the keeper… He took one touch too many, and as De Vries advanced from his goal he could only managed to his it straight into his chest and out for a corner kick. It was a frustrating chance as had he been offered exactly the same opportunity a month or so ago, there is no doubt Mackie would have put it away. If anything he probably had a little too much time and the fact he put it on his weaker foot cut down his chances of slotting it past the keeper. It was a great break though, with fantastic composure from Connolly and great vision by Taarabt.
As that BIG chance came and went, there was another talking point soon after involving Adel Taarabt. In fairness to him, he was being kicked to pieces by the player located at left back and after tricking his way past the defender on the side of the pitch the referee awarded Swansea a throw in… I’m not sure if the ball had gone out of play or not, but it looked tight. Adel had the ball in his hands as the defender aggressively stormed up to him to take the throw in quickly… Adel wasn’t happy with the manner in which he did this, and the two of them had words as the ball was played forward. There could have been little over 90 seconds or so elapsed when Taarabt sought revenge. The Swansea left back turned on the ball and Taarabt came lunging in with a horrific looking tackle right into his ankle right in front of the dugouts… Both teams sets of players charged to the incident with Keith Curle quickly reacting to heave Taarabt away from the melee that was now taking place… Derry was screaming into the referees face, with the defender laid flat out on the floor and the Swansea City fans crying blue murder… I could see nothing but a red card being issued. To my surprise, the referee only gave Taarabt a yellow which in the circumstances I thought he was a very lucky boy.
Warnock substituted Taarabt instantaneously with Agyemang being introduced and Helguson was bought off for Tommy Smith.
From here the game fizzled out and aside from a header cleared off the line by Ephraim (I think?) nothing much more really took place.
As the referee blew time on the game, I for one was satisfied with taking a point if not a little disappointed that we didn’t manage to take all three.
Before the game, I couldn’t help but feel that the unbeaten run would likely come to and end last night and that coupled with the fact that we kept yet another clean sheet certainly bodes well for the rest of the season. To have kept 10 clean sheets out of 12 is nothing short of… well… brilliant!
The thought that we can go to the likes of Swansea City on a cold Tuesday night and come away disappointed with not earning 3 points its just another sign of how far we have come, and that’s testament to Warnock.
Player Ratings –
Kenny – Didn’t have an awful lot to do in fairness, but great save from the penalty. Nice to see that both yesterday night and Saturday against Norwich he went the correct way, he’s clearly doing his homework. Thought he commanded the area very well though and was more than comfortable with crosses coming into the box. Another clean sheet, excellent.
Walker – Continues to keep impressing game after game after game. I don’t think I have ever been at such ease with a right back for as long as I can remember. Having watched Swansea this season, it’s clear that a large amount of their play comes through their pacey wingers in Sinclair/Dyer… But neither of them could get a sniff against Walker, I never really felt on the edge of my seat as either of them ran at him. He has been a revelation since signing for us, and already I’m desperately hoping that we can get him for the season. On the way back we were talking about what an attacking threat he is as well, such is his fitness he practically stands in as a winger and rarely (if ever) gets caught out by venturing forward. Superb.
Connolly – Didn’t put a foot wrong all night. Very composed and calm in possession and looks to be making that centre back position his own. Very strong in the air, and complimented Gorkss perfectly. Didn’t panic at all when under pressure.
Gorkss – Typical hustle and bustle performance from him. As touched on above, the partnership between him and Connolly just improves game by game. Despite being put under a fair amount of pressure in the second half he never once cracked. Mr. Consistent yet again.
Hill – Personally felt before the game that he may be the weakness last night. The thought of having quick players running at him made me feel he would likely struggle, but he kept them quiet throughout. Gritty and resilient.
Mackie – Frustrating night for him yesterday, he will be gutted that he couldn’t put at least one of his two guilt-edged chances away. Not quite got that predator-like instinct that he had a month or so ago, but as ever continued to run himself into the ground. His form has been just plainly irresistible so far this season, so he is entitled to miss the odd chance here and there. The work-rate forced Swansea into rushing/mis-placing their passes though and but for the missed chances, I thought he had a decent game.
Faurlin – Delighted to have him back out there. Not many people were singing his praises in the early part of this season, but what a difference he makes. Picked up exactly where he left off alongside Derry and I thought he had a cracking game. Very strong in the tackle and hassled/chased any ball that there was the slightest chance of winning. Arguably man of the match for me.
Derry – I have came back a few times this season raving about the performances of him, but such his is form that I’m almost expecting him to show up and be the same every single week and last night was no different. Played a big part in organising the side when Swansea pushed us further back and broke up possession a countless number of times. Captain in all but name.
Ephraim – I thought he was very poor again yesterday. Looked well off the pace and had virtually no impact on the game whatsoever. I think it was him that cleared the ball off the line at the end to be fair to him, but I just can’t see why Warnock continues to keep playing him?! It’s nothing personal to him or that I view him as a scapegoat… But he just doesn’t do anything! All too often he just plays the simple pass and moves, I see nothing spectacular and just never feel he is going to make something happen. I strongly felt Warnock should start Smith ahead of him last night, now I’m sure he will. All too easily muscled off the ball… again. One in 6/7 games he is… okay. Bench player in my opinion.
Taarabt – Best performance by him in weeks. Mouth-watering coming forward and provided a real outlet last night. Possibly a little greedy one a couple of occasions, but if anything was going to happen yesterday – he would have been the instigator. Played Mackie through nicely in the second half and full array of skill just oozing class. Disappointing that he threw himself into the tackle as he did, more proof that he is most definitely not captain material… But hope that he can continue in this form through the next few games we have coming up.
Helguson – Thought he worked ever so hard. Went deeper and deeper as the game wore on and while he didn’t really have any chances at the attacking end of the field he did an awful lot of work defensively. Not sure how much longer he can keep running himself into the ground, delighted with him all the same though.
Substitutions –
Agyemang – Didn’t give him the correct amount of service. Despite his big frame, he cannot head a ball to save his life we all know that. Would have liked to have seen the ball at his feet more, but he worked hard and didn’t give the Swansea back-line much time on the ball.
Smith – START HIM! I thought when he first arrived that he did look a little off the pace, but I think the last couple of times he has came off the bench he has looked really sharp. Yesterday was no different, lively on the ball, great set piece delivery and looks to add a real spark. I would love to see him linking up alongside Mackie/Taarabt. Far too good to be sat on the bench week in week out.
Clarke – No real time to make an impact, but he looked pretty decent. Won a few headers and put himself about.
Looking back over the game (and the season) as a whole, I think that yesterdays game was a display of two sides that will both be pushing at the right end of the table come the end of the season. Swansea played good football but the defence was as watertight as ever. I would like to see Warnock mix it up a little in the next game, preferably with Hogan dropping to the bench for Smith.
Where we will end up overall this season is anyone’s guess, but the thing that we can be certain of is that this side will never roll over and die. When the pressure was on (like last night) they continue to battle right to the death and with those characters in the dressing-room I just can’t see any self-implosion taking place this year. Could be a big point come the end of the season!
On a personal note, thanks to our mercurial driver he somehow managed to get me back for the 1am ferry… He deserved a knighthood for it! With the next one not leaving until 3am, that certainly put a big smile on my face.
Onwards & upwards!
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