No need to hit any panic buttons after this one.  We were beaten today by a good side, probably the best the division has to offer, on top of their form and playing with confidence.  If this was the yardstick by which we measure ourselves, then yes we have a way to go – but few sides in this division will play like Leeds did today.  And whilst there are some valuable lessons to take from this one, there are also some positives.
 

 

The team lined up with DeVries in goal, Painter at left back and Rangel at right.  Lawrence and Monk were the centre half pairing.  O’Leary retained his place in centre midfield alongside Bodde, with Anderson on the left and Butler on the right.  Scotland and Duffy were the front two.

 

 

The first half was mainly a case of Leeds pressure, interspersed with occasional Swans breaks – it was interesting to come up against a team really playing like a home side, and seeking to exert pressure at every opportunity.  And particularly through the pace and athleticism of their front two (Beckford and Kandol) and the tricky work of Prutton on their right wing, they certainly managed to ask plenty of questions. 

As early as the third minute the rampaging Beckford almost stole in to exploit some hesitant goal-keeping from DeVries, and there followed several panicky moments in our areas as Leeds pumped in crosses which our centre half pair found very difficult to deal with.  One such incident, a 20^th minute corner, almost led to a home goal as a powerful Beckford header was brilliantly saved one-handed by DeVries.  A minute later DeVries was relieved to grab the ball from under his bar as once again, our defenders failed to clear and aerial attack. 

 

During this spell of pressure we had tried to respond with some attacks of our own.  Anderson had forced a corner with a low effort, and Bodde struck in a long range effort which barely troubled the home keeper.   But though we were neat and tidy in our approach, there was little attacking threat, and most of our efforts were concentrated on keeping the opposition at bay.  On 35 minutes we thought we had failed when an excellent run from Prutton took him into the box.  He fell under two challenges but claims for a penalty were waved away.  A minute later Beckford broke through our back-line and shot against the foot of our post.  And shortly after the same player headed over after once again beating Lawrence to a cross.  We responded with a couple of long range efforts, and Carole shot over for Leeds.  Monk and Marques had picked up bookings, and the half ended with a sense of relief for the Swans.

 

 

The second half began with the Swans playing in a more adventurous style, but it was still Leeds who created the first chance – a neat turn and shot from Beckford well saved by DeVries.  Then Duffy made a neat run across the Leeds box before controlling and setting up Scotland, who turned well but scuffed his shot – the first of several missed opportunities that were to ultimately cost us the game.  There immediately followed another terrific run from Prutton who cut in from the left and fired just wide. There followed a good spell from the Swans who were now playing with more composure and style. 

 

A couple of good runs from Butler caused some flutters in the Leeds defence but with no clear chances created.  At this point, we were almost on top.  But then, from a Swans corner on 60 minutes, we contrived to give away an opening and decisive goal.  The ball was lost deep in our own half, allowing Leeds to canter “Japan-style” the length of the field.  Eventually Rangel fouled Prutton on the touch-line adjacent to the penalty area.  Bizarrely, the ref gave the free kick on the edge of the box, some ten yards closer to goal.  There were surprisingly few protests from the Swans players, and sure enough, the kick was taken short allowing the ubiquitous Beckford to fire in a low shot from the edge of the box.  The Leeds fans suddenly erupted and for the first time we found it hard to out-sing them.

 

Anderson was quickly withdrawn and replaced on the left by Orlandi.  But almost as quickly, the game was out of our grasp as Prutton shrugged off a couple of weak challenges before firing a stinging shot into the corner of the net.  Two more Swans substitutions followed, with Pratley and Feeney replacing O’Leary and Duffy.  In the next period the Swans played their best football of the game, with Bodde orchestrating a series of moves which might have brought us a lifeline. 

 

 

One chance in particular fell to Feeney whose clever run took him in on goal, only for his shot to be saved at point blank range.  The rebound should have been converted by Scotland who sadly got the ball stuck under his feet allowing the defender to clear.  A minute later Feeney had a low effort well saved and on 79 minutes a fine goal-bound volley from Orlandi was brilliantly blocked by Marquez. 

 

 

Had any of these changes been taken, the final few minutes may have been very interesting, but it was not our day.  Leeds had also continued to look dangerous in this period and another good save from DeVries and a late block from Lawrence prevented the scoreline from looking worse.  One fine curling effort from Orlandi flew just wide, almost brought late consolation for the visiting fans.  In the end it was a game effort from the Swans, which ended in failure against a strong home team who deserved the win.

 

DeVries – 8 Some fine saves and little chance with goals.

Rangel – 7 Probably our most composed defender

Painter – 7 A tidy effort at left back

Monk – 6  Both our centre halves worked hard but struggled with the pace and height of the Leeds front two

Lawrence – 6 See above

Anderson – 6 A couple of good runs and (tame) efforts

Butler – 6 Quiet first half but looked lively after the break

Bodde – 8 Orchestrated most of our attacking work

O’Leary – 6 Did Ok within his limited ability and got the odd tackle in, but had no attacking impact on the game.

Duffy – 5 Some great runs but no product and looked very lightweight compared to the Leeds attack

Scotland – 6 Struggled to control the ball today.  Not a great game, but some decent moments.

 

Orlandi – 7 Two poor corners, but two great efforts on goal.  Looks promising.

Feeney – 6 got into two good scoring positions, but can he show that he can take his chances?

Pratley – 7 added some much needed impetus to the midfield alongside Bodde

 

Some great vocal support today from the travelling Jacks – about 2700 in a crowd of 29,467.  Leeds were outsung for most of the game until, of course, the killer second goal.  Great atmosphere all round though – a Leeds fan in the car park afterwards made a point of commenting to us on the quality of our support and our play.  There were some worrying elements today – the centre half issue (which we already know about) and a lack of bite in front of goal.  But all round it was not a disastrous performance or result, against a team which is already looking like championship quality.  We should judge our progress after 10 – 12 games – by then this one might be a distant and fond (!) memory.