Match Report

Swansea City v Nottingham Forest
With the Swans getting their first win of the season on Tuesday against Walsall in the Carling Cup, Roberto Martinez would have wanted the momentum to continue against promotion favourites Nottingham Forest.

A crowd in excess of 17,000 generated a terrific pre match atmosphere, but it was disappointing to see a big club like Forest bring just 900 or so supporters with them.

Roberto Martinez kept faith with the starting line up from Oldham other than club captain Garry Monk replacing the injured Alan Tate. On the bench Tom Butler made a reappearance in place of the injured Paul Anderson.



Swans last entertained Forest at the Liberty in January when the teams fought out a 0-0 draw. It's remarkable that only two of the Swans players that started that day, started today. They were Leon Britton and Dennis Lawrence.

Forest included former Swans target Grant Holt in attack and close season signing from Celtic, Neil Lennon.

Side- De Vries, Rangel, Monk, Lawrence, Painter, Britton, Pratley, Bodde, Robinson, Scotland, Duffy. Subs- Hawthorne, Austin, O'Leary, Butler, Bauza.

With the game just 4 minutes old Ferrie Bodde made a terrific run from deep. He fed Jason Scotland who got to the bye line before squaring across the 6 yard box for the onrushing Darryl Duffy. Duffy managed to muscle his way through two defenders and get a touch only for Paul Smith in the Forest goal to somehow manage to turn the ball behind for a corner.



This sparked a period of heavy Swans pressure. Andy Robinson went close with two efforts, the second of which saw Smith scrambling across his line and diving to tip over the ball from just under the angle of bar and post.

With Swans attacking in waves it seemed a matter of time before Swans scored. Ferrie Bodde went close with a powerful drive that flew just over the bar and Darryl Duffy also went close after good work from Angel Rangel and Jason Scotland.

On 22 minutes Ferrie Bodde put a superb ball over the Forest back line right into the path of Leon Britton. Leon seemed to be away from the last defender Julian Bennett only for Bennett to cynically bring Leon crashing down two yards outside the box. Incredibly referee Mr Mathieson although awarding a free kick saw no reason to either book or even speak to Bennett.

Justice was not served as Bodde fired the free kick into the wall. The rebound did fall into the path of Rangel and his long range shot was again well saved by Smith. .

Forest managed their first shot at goal on the half hour with Dennis Lawrence charging down a Junior Agogo shot.

The game's first flashpoint involved a mini bust up between Neil Lennon and Andy Robinson. It was something of nothing but neither player would take a backward step and Lennon appeared to be taunting Robinson with snorting actions similar to those seen in the Premiership a few years ago involving Robbie Fowler and Graeme Le Saux. . Both Lennon and Robinson received yellow cards.



Jason Scotland had the clearest opportunity of the game after yet another through ball from Ferre Bodde but the Trinidadian striker fluffed his shot.

With 5 minutes to the break Dorus deVries made his first save of the game diving to save from Luke Chambers.

Half time arrived and Colin Calderwood would have been the happier of the two managers with his team having withstood an absolute onslaught.

It took the Swans some time to get going in the second half as Forest up the pace of their game and started trying to play the ball on the ground more.

On the hour Swans were desperately close to breaking the deadlock. Andy Robinson dispossessed Chambers and put the ball through to Jason Scotland. From a narrow angle Scotland tried to beat Smith at his near post and almost succeeded with the ball striking the outside of the post.

Darryl Duffy had a half chance with a diving header from a Darren Pratley cross but Duffy didn't get the best of connections and his header flew wide.



Forest were a match for the Swans now and had just about gained control of the midfield. When Swans did go forward they now lacked numbers and the flowing moves of the first half were few and far between.

Ferre Bodde went close again with a header that hit a post and crawled along the line before being cleared away.


With 7 minutes left Guillem Bauza replaced Darryl Duffy. Bauza had a couple of efforts but looked as if he was trying almost too hard.

The games last chance fell to Angel Rangel when another powerful dive produced yet another full length save from Smith.

It seems today just wasn't going to be our day.



Ratings –

De Vries 7 – Hardly called upon but when he was he was faultless.

Rangel 7- Unlucky not to score his first Swans goal.
Monk 8 – Assured performance.
Lawrence 6- A few important interceptions but some awful distribution.
Painter 6- Yet to hit the highs of last season.

Britton 7- The new open fast style of play seems to suit Leon.
Bodde 9- Outstanding, deserved a goal.
Pratley 7- Excellent support play but drifted out of things in the last 20 minutes.
Robinson 7 – Another to play well but drift out of things late on.

Scotland 7- Superb first half, lacked support second half.
Duffy 7 – Still getting into the right places just needs a goal at the moment.

Subs-

Bauza 6 – Lacked composure and seemed to be trying too hard.




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Swansea City Notts Forest 0 - Report by Peter and Bethan Charles, Pictures Andrew Thomas

We'll have to hope it doesn't become a habit – this business of being better than the opposition but not beating them. It was certainly the case last week, and in soggy conditions at the Liberty today, history repeated itself, as we largely outperformed a competent (if rather unambitious) Forest outfit, without turning the superiority into goals. Hopefully, most observers will still feel quite encouraged – surely it is only a matter of time before the quality of our play starts to translate into points.



The line-up was the same as the team which started at Oldham, apart from the introduction of Monk for the injured Tate. DeVries was in goal, Painter and Rangel at left and right full back, Monk and Lawrence at centre back, with Robinson (left) Bodde, Pratley and Britton (right) making up the midfield in the 4-4-2 line-up. Again, Duffy and Scotland formed the front partnership.

From the off it appeared that Forest's ambition for the day barely matched in any way their apparent ambitions for the season. They seemed tentative and uneasy, both with the environment and the conditions, and were quite content to keep their shape and slow the game down at every opportunity – hardly the swashbuckling approach their tradition demands. The Swans, however, went for the jugular, with a fine opening 25 minutes which saw them play controlled and fluent passing football and mount a considerable amount of pressure on the visitors' goal. The first serious efforts came on 5 minutes when Scotland attempted to play in Duffy with a neat low cross – the ball was scrambled away from a corner, from which Robinson tested the keeper with a crisp low strike.

Two minutes later and it was Robinson again, this time with a dipping and goal-bound effort which was tipped over the bar brilliantly by the visiting
keeper. A minute later and once again, Scotland played a neat ball across
to Duffy in space in the box. Duffy attempted a delicate chip across goal, which took out the keeper but evaded all attackers. Five minutes later more neat approach work from the Swans resulted in a fierce Bodde drive which flashed just wide of the post; and then on 20 minutes some determined play by Angel forced the ball to Scotland, whose pass supplied Duffy with another shooting opportunity – this time the Scot firing over.



Two minutes later there was further concern for the visitors when Bodde and Robinson combined well to set up Britton on the edge of the box, only for the little man to be hacked down. Bodde fired the resulting free kick and the wall, and from the rebound Rangel cut inside and fired an angled shot which was parried away by the keeper. During this opening spell our domination had been pretty much complete, with Forest restricted to a couple of angled crosses which had not threatened our goal. It wasn't until the half hour that the former European champs mounted their first real attack – the ball bouncing to a Forest player whose shot was excellently blocked by Lawrence. There followed a brief altercation between Robinson and Neil Lennon, resulting in both players being needlessly booked.

Suddenly Forest had more of a foothold and minute later another dangerous cross was cleared, again by Lawrence, with the resulting corner being headed over by Grant Holt. This brief spell of Forest pressure came to an end on
38 minutes when Andy Robinson received the ball to the left of the area. He controlled and cut inside three defenders before slipping the ball to Scotland in an excellent shooting position. Sadly, the big man scuffed the opportunity wide of the post, squandering the clearest chance of the game so far. The game more even now, this prompted a Forest riposte, with Sammy Clingan firing in an excellent low drive which was tipped brilliantly round the post by DeVries. There followed a good passing move from the Swans, which culminated in Pratley firing well over.



By half time it was clear that the conditions were extremely heavy, and starting to rapidly sap the players' energy. Indeed, the second half began in somewhat muted fashion, with Forest enjoying some early possession, and forcing a couple of corners, but not really threatening our goal. The Swans responded on 54 minutes with a couple of forays into the opposition box, first via Scotland and latterly Duffy, neither of whom could control the ball well enough to fashion a clear strike on goal. With the hour mark approaching it looked like we might have lost our grip on the game. The Forest midfield seemed to be gaining the upper hand, and the visitors were enjoying more territory than before. But on the hour mark, Robinson won possession in the middle of the park before embarking on a trademark surging run ending in a perfect threaded ball inside the full back to the on-rushing Scotland. This time it seemed certain that he would burst the net, but sadly he missed his second excellent chance of the game, this time firing just wide of the near post. Some calmness in his finishing, like we saw at Oldham, would not go amiss.

Buoyed up by that unexpected flurry, the Swans began to re-establish their superiority, and three minutes later they created another excellent chance.
This time Britton threaded a pass through to Pratley on the right side of the area – his cross seemed certain to be headed home by the diving Duffy, but sadly the header flew over the bar. Two excellent chances had gone in the space of three minutes, and with players now visibly tiring all over the pitch, Forest took some encouragement. The visitors launched a couple of non-threatening attacks, and then on 73 minutes fashioned a chance for Junior Agogo to strike on goal from inside the area – his effort was
excellently blocked by Monk. It was a measure of the heaviness of the
pitch, and indeed of the hard work put in by our midfield, the Kris Commons was substituted by Forest at this point in the game. And indeed, it was obvious that many players were now looking particularly leg-weary, most notably Pratley and Bodde in the heart our midfield.



But in the last quarter of an hour the Swans once again stirred themselves for a final go at their illustrious, if rather disappointing, visitors. On 80 minutes we forced a series of corners, the first two of which were easily dealt with. But from the third, Robbo worked hard to retrieve the ball on the left hand bye-line before delivering a back post cross which was headed towards goal by Bodde. Duffy got between two covering defenders, stuck out a leg, and touched the ball onto the post – another lucky escape for the visitors. Two minutes later we forced another corner, which was cleared to Rangel – the Spaniard responded with a rasping drive which was bound for the top corner, only to be parried upwards by the grateful visiting keeper.

Bussy was on now for Duffy and he injected some verve and drive into the play for the last few minutes. With Forest long since settling for the draw, we made some further raids on the visitors' box, causing several panicky moments, but without forcing another clear cut chance. Sadly, we had already created enough of those to have won the game comfortably, but had failed to take them. On another day, it would have been glorious victory, but most will feel it is only a matter of time. The 16000 or so Swans fans responded well to their team's efforts; a shame that the "big club" could only muster a thousand or so, although they will no doubt have been pleased to return to the midlands with a point.



DeVries – 8 One great save from the only serious attempt on goal. His handling was sound at all times in wet conditions.
Rangel – 7 A very promising find indeed with one heck of a shot on him.
Painter – 6 A sound performance though a little less effective moving forward.
Lawrence – 8 Many timely interventions and clearances, frustrating the Forest attack. Allowed himself to be turned once in the first half, and scuffed one clearance, which was enough to get the boo boys on his back of course.
Monk – 7 Pretty solid against a rather static attack.
Britton – 6 tenacious and inventive when cutting inside, but failed to give the necessary width we needed; often drifted inside far too early. Needs to be grabbed by the throat, some would say ; - ) Robinson 8 (MOM) – Very dangerous coming in from the left. Had a couple of good attempts on goal, but also set up Scotland for two clear-cut chances which should have been put away. Our most potent threat today.
Bodde – 7 A controlled and incisive performance, occasionally marred by some over-ambitious long passes Pratley – 7 Combined well with Bodde and got into some excellent forward positions. Sadly, tired badly in the last 20 minutes.
Duffy – 6 Some excellent running across the front line and some neat touches. Missed one great chance to win it.
Scotland – 7 Brilliant hold up play and strong running; links play well and looks dangerous. Sadly blotted his copy-book with two glaring misses – but all great strikers miss some.
Bussy – a useful 10 minute cameo – looked eager and won a lot in the air.

So once again it was a case of what might have been. We made some excellent chances which we failed to convert, and consequently we did not get the reward that our overall standard of play deserved. But there were some learning points from this – our centre midfield was excellent but tired badly – we need to get some cover back from that treatment room fast (and I found myself wondering why O'Leary remained on the bench with Pratley clearly out on his feet). Also, we delivered some quality balls into the box, but rarely did we look like converting any crosses – we need more movement and aggression in the box. And with Anderson not fit we seemed to lack options in wide positions. Butler was not tried, and perhaps should have been. Maybe we need some further strengthening in those areas. But overall, we should not be despondent – we have played enough good football in these last two weeks to have blown away most of the teams in this division. Let's hope we can now start doing so for real! Bring on those Saddlers.

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