Nightmare start, dream finish?

Firstly, thanks to my host, blogger.com, for scheduling maintenance during the first play-off date, allowing no new uploads – great timing. I had a match report for you but as it's now old news, I will instead give a few thoughts on the game before looking ahead to Monday's crucial second leg.

As you are aware, Swansea played out a well-fought draw on Thursday night; a positive result indeed, considering the circumstances.

It really was the nightmare start for the Swans. I just sat shaking my head as the flicker of red emerged from Mike Dean's pocket. In all fairness, it was a silly, poorly-timed tackle by Neil Taylor and he deserved to be punished, but the sending off seemed harsh considering it was just the second minute in and nerves were obviously high. Going by the book, the ref was right, though a little compassion could've been used. Meanwhile, despite the bad tackle, McGugan was caught out with his sneaky “have I done enough to get him punished” look to the bench instead of actually “being hurt” which understandably wound up quite a few!

As well as losing Taylor so early on, it was heartbreaking to see Stephan Dobbie make way for Garry Monk. He was truly missed. In a game where Swansea were dominating for quite a while, Dobbie's presence would've been a massive asset. He would've created even more opportunities and had some vital shots when shots were needed. It's just one of those things I guess. At least he is well rested for the second leg now!

It appears Swansea will, rightly, appeal this red card, with the hearing scheduled for Monday morning. It will be a big boost to have Taylor back in the squad, though praise does go to Monk, Tate and the rest of the defence – very solid throughout the match (though a few too many corners given away unnecessarily for my liking). Should the appeal not go Swansea's way however, a back four of Monk, Tate, Williams and Rangel is still one mean, experienced defence.

A further boost is the news of Fabio Borini being deemed playable for Monday. He left the field during the first leg thanks to a hamstring injury and though Moore did sufficient work to keep Swansea attacking, he isn't the man I want starting on Monday. The threat Borini provides via his speed, accuracy, flair and set-piece ability is something Moore can't currently contend with, so news of a fit Fabio is very palatable!

Monday will provide new challenges and, despite having the home advantage, Swansea can't begin to look ahead to Wembley. It's definitely on the cards with Swansea looking the better team in many aspects, though Forest aren't in the play-offs for no reason. They have plenty of attacking power, with McGugan and Earnshaw proving difficult to control at times. McGugan's 30-yard, blistering shot on Thursday is proof of this danger.

With this in mind I am still extremely confident that Brendan and his men can secure a spot in the final as long as they embrace the pressure and keep focused.

Win the next two games and it's into the Premier League. Simple!

NEW PODCAST! - "It wouldn't happen in Swansea..." Episode 2

Below you'll find the second episode of It wouldn't happen in Swansea..., the podcast for Swans fans, by Swans fans!

This episode contains a discussion of Swansea's game against Nottingham Forest, the question of who should be dropped now Monk is back, a profile of an ex-Swan, Matt's weekly rant, some non-Swans related stories and, of course, Challenge Matt!

As always your feedback and comments are very much appreciated, we are still pretty new to this and a little rough around the edges, but can only get better (hopefully)!

Thanks to everybody who has contributed with questions and comments!

Enjoy!


It wouldn't happen in Swansea - Podcast - Episode 2 by ChrisCarra

Forza Borini, Forza Swansea!

Despite Italy being unable to pick up back-to-back Six Nations wins, today was a still a great day to be an Italian sports fan, thanks to Fabio Borini who put in the performance every Swans fan has been craving from a striker for so, so long!

Fast, skilful and goal-capable. He promised goals and delivered! A breath of fresh air. Now I could go on and make comparisons between him and Luke Moore, who has put in some good performances recently, but I'm leaving that topic for now. Feel free to make your own comparisons.

It was by no means a solo performance though. Scott Sinclair and Nathan Dyer tore through Forest's defence, though Dyer can be frustrating when he does 95% of the work, but consistently misses his shots. Thankfully though, Swansea don't need Dyer to do the scoring – that's for Dobbie, Sinclair and, now, Borini, to do! The attack was brilliant and at times so was the defence, but this could've been a totally different blog had Forest's stoppage time strike hit the back of the net instead of the post!

In the first half, when the score was 2-0, I had visions of a 5-0 scoreline at full time – it seemed like it could be Leeds all over again, only better! However, as all of you who read this will be aware, Swansea don't always like to make things easy on themselves, and gave an easy goal away as Williams let Boyd turn in the box.

After the interval, Borini scored his second and Swansea's third and it seemed like there was no way back for Forest. Then a goal in the 92nd minute gave Forest a new hope that an away point was still in reach. Suddenly Swansea were on the back-foot in momentum and had two minutes to cling onto their lead! How things changed from a certain win to a shaky last-gasp ending. When McGoldrick's header hit the post in the 93rd minute I think 18,000 hearts stopped! Thankfully Swansea won 3-2 and, ultimately, deserved it. It's three points that sees them keep their 3rd place spot in the Championship.

Elsewhere it was great to see Garry Monk back on the field, he will be needed in the next few weeks as the Swans look to push themselves back into top tier football!