Match Report |
Swansea City 1-1 Charlton Athletic | |
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Swansea City 1-1 Charlton Athletic
Swans were held to a draw by bottom club Charlton. A Nathan Dyer first half goal was cancelled when an Alan Tate mistake led to an equaliser from Nicky Bailey. After our flirtation with the FA Cup and once more missing out on a glamorous tie, it was back to the bread and butter today with the visit of Charlton Athletic. Charlton have had a miserable season to date. After defeating the Swans 2-0 on the opening day of the season they have won just five further games and came into today’s game bottom of the table and eight points away from, for them, the all important 21st place. Swans made just one change from the Cup defeat at Fulham, with the welcome return of club captain Garry Monk. He replaced Albert Serran at the heart of defence. There was also the return of Darren Pratley to the bench much earlier than had been anticipated.
For the first five minutes or so it actually looked like Charlton had come to play football. However, as soon as the Swans starting to play their passing game Charlton starting playing like you would expect from a side at the bottom of the League and desperate for points. Charlton were lining up in what could be kindly referred to as a 4-5-1 formation. Similar to the Swans? Well not exactly. They had a back four, four deep midfield players playing just yards in front of the back four and Chris Dixon alone up front with the youngster Jonjo Shelvey playing in the chasm between the midfield and Dixon. Mark Gower had the first Swans chance with a free kick just outside the box. With still no goal in Swans colours it came as little surprise to see the free kick sail over the bar.
Guillem Bauza then lost the ball in midfield and Jonjo Shelvey made a run at the Swans back line. Not surprisingly Shelvey had little support and he shot wide from outside the box. Charlton had come to stop Swansea playing by fair means and foul. Referee Mr Stroud was a busy man constantly blowing up for free kicks and booking two Charlton players in the first eleven minutes. Guillem Bauza had the games first clear chance after good work from Nathan Dyer but the Spaniard fired his shot from 15 yards straight at Rob Elliot in the Charlton goal. Swans had control of the midfield and were bossing the game but they did over elaborate at times and looked as if they were trying to score the perfect goal. Garry Monk hobbled off on 26 minutes with a recurrence of his back problem. He was replaced by Albert Serran.
Charlton picked up a further two yellow cards before half time but their negative tactics did look as if they were going to work as Swans became more frustrated. On 41 minutes Guillem Bauza picked the ball up in midfield. He was given too much time and space and played a well weighted pass to Nathan Dyer just inside the Charlton area. The defender should have been first to the ball but rather than concentrating on clearing the danger he seemed to track Dyer’s run with the result that the winger got to the ball first and stabbed it beyond Elliot to put the Swans ahead. One thing was certain, Charlton would need to play a different system in the second half. After the Swans dominated the early stages of the second half, Charlton broke free and Dixon brought an excellent save from Dorus de Vries.
A minute later and an awful clearance from Alan Tate fell right at the feet of Nicky Bailey. He took a touch and fired a shot that Dorus looked to have covered only for the ball to strike Alan Tate. With Dorus diving to his left the deflection off Tatey took the ball right down the middle of the goal past a helpless Dorus. With 35 minutes to play there was plenty of time for the Swans to regain control and score a goal or two. However, they totally lost their shape. The wingers were starved of the ball, the full backs never got past the wingers and Jason Scotland was a long way off his best. To add to that Jordi Gomez’s poor distribution and Guillem Bauza not having the influence you would hope and it was starting to look like a draw.
Charlton added wasting time to the list of negative tactics they were employing and several players received lengthy spells of treatment only to return to the pitch like spring chickens seconds later. On 80 minutes Nicky Bailey almost got his second goal with a free kick that struck the bar with Dorus beaten. With the crowd imploring for Swans to get forward and wake from their lethargy Charlton had another golden opportunity presented to them. Albert Serran totally lost his footing in the box and gave substitute Darren Ambrose a free shot at goal. He hit his shot poorly and Dorus was able to save easily.
The scares on the Swans goal finally sparked them into life. Jason Scotland beat the Charlton offside trap to set up Nathan Dyer who somehow managed to miss from 3 yards out. Jason Scotland had a penalty decision turned down and in the last minute of injury time Jordi Gomez shot over from 12 yards when you expect a player of his ability to do better. However, for once Swans probably didn’t deserve the win but when we have drawn so many games we have deserved to win perhaps we did deserve a bit more luck. Ratings De Vries 7 – Unlucky to be beaten by wicked deflection. Rangel 6 – Poor game by his standards. Didn’t get forward anything like he normally does. Dyer 6 – Better than he was at Fulham but still off his best. Took goal well but missed a sitter. Scotland 6 – An off day for him led to an off day for the Swans. Says something about his influence. Subs- Serran 6 – One awful slip in the box but otherwise OK.
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Swansea City 1-1 Charlton Athletic
SWANSEA CITY dropped two vital points as a nervy and below-par performance saw them stutter to a disappointing 1-1 draw with bottom club Charlton. Roberto Martinez's men struggled to find top gear all afternoon as some loose touches, disjointed passes and poor finishing knocked them out of their usual free-flowing style. And, when Nicky Bailey's deflected shot cancelled out Nathan Dyer's early opener, a late surge simply wasn't good enough to secure all three points. The Swans had the better chances in an open start to the game but they struggled to really impose themselves on their relegation-threatened visitors. And, with Spanish forward Guillem Bauza in particular failing to make the most of a good shooting opportunity, they couldn't make the most of their early dominance. With Swansea coasting through their lower gears and Charlton seemingly happy to play for a point, it looked like the only significant moment of the first half would be Swans skipper Garry Monk trudging with a recurrence of his troublesome back injury. But that all changed in the 42nd minute when, chasing an intelligent through-ball from Bauza, Dyer pounced to embarrass a hesitant Graeme Murty and slide the ball past the onrushing Rob Elliot to make it 1-0 going into the break. The lead didn't last long into the second half though and, after Albert Serran's mistake gave Jonjo Shelvey a chance to test Dorus de Vries from range, Alan Tate's scuffed clearance gifted Bailey a shooting opportunity in the 55th minute. And, when the midfielder's low shot deflected off Tate to leave de Vries stranded, the scores were level. Over the next 20 minutes either team could have taken the lead. But, with the Swans defence causing themselves problems and Bailey hitting the bar with a curling free-kick from the edge of the box, the visitors seemed the most likely. In the end it took a superb save from de Vries to deny substitute Darren Ambrose after Serran's untimely slip put him through on goal. But the Swans almost took the lead seconds later as a swift break saw Jordi Gomez bursting into the box only to blast the ball over. Dyer then missed a superb chance to level the scores late on, scuffing his shot wide from inside the six-yard box. And, when Gomez skied an equally-golden chance over the bar in injury time, Martinez and his men were forced to settle for a point when their playoff push really needed all three. Swansea: De Vries, Rangel, Monk (Cpt) (Serran 28), Williams, Tate; Britton, Gomez, Bauza (Pratley 90); Dyer, Gower (Butler 68); Scotland. Subs not used: Orlandi, MacDonald. Goals: Dyer 42 Charlton: Elliot, Murty (Holland 69), Hudson (Cpt), Ward, Youga; Racon, Shelvey (Ambrose 77), Spring; Bailey, Soares; Dickson (Burton 90). Subs not used: Randolph, Todorov. Goals: Bailey 55 Referee: Keith Stroud (Hampshire) Att: 15,053 |
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