Match Day Thread Swansea City v Preston North End @ The Liberty Stadium 11/8/2018

Our first visit to this part of the world for about eight years when we got creamed 4-0 with Ferguson in charge, I know I was there.

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A brief Wiki history of Swansea

Swansea City Association Football Club (/ˈswɒnzi/; Welsh: Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Abertawe) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales, that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea City represents England when playing in European competitions, although they have represented Wales in the past. The club was founded in 1912 as Swansea Town and joined the Football League in 1921. The club changed their name in 1969, when they adopted the name Swansea City to reflect Swansea's new status as a city.[3] Swansea have played their home matches at the Liberty Stadium since 2005, having previously played at the Vetch Field since the club was founded.

In 1981, the club was promoted to the original Football League First Division. It was during the following season they came close to winning the league title, but a decline then set near the season's end before finishing sixth, although a club record. It was from here the club suffered a relegation the season after, returning to the Football League Fourth Division a few seasons later, and then narrowly avoided relegation to the Football Conference in 2003. The Swansea City Supporters Society Ltd owns 20% of the club,[4] with their involvement hailed by Supporters Direct as "the most high profile example of the involvement of a supporters' trust in the direct running of a club".[5] The club's subsequent climb from the fourth division of English football to the top division is chronicled in the 2014 film, Jack to a King – The Swansea Story.

In 2011, Swansea were promoted to the Premier League. On 24 February 2013, Swansea beat Bradford City 5–0 to win the 2012–13 Football League Cup (the competition's highest ever winning margin for the final), winning the first major trophy in the club's history and qualifying for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, where they reached the Last 32 stage but lost over two legs to Napoli. Swansea were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2017–18 season.

Swansea is miles away having driven there twice believe me it is a long haul, newly relegated Swansea are hoping for a quick return to the top division, still have plenty of lads that played in the top division the likes of Carroll and Naughton, but have also added to the squad with Celina who potted a beauty against us at Ipswich last season, they have speed merchant Montero and the more than useful McBurnie they are rumoured to be after Ryan Woods from Brentford but may need to offload Sam Clucas first.

Personal view given they have had a shed load of managers in recent years think they have appointed well this time with Graham Potter did a great job with a bunch of at first no hopers Ostersunds taking them into the Europa League were they beat the hapless Arsenal at the Emirates.

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Potter no relation to Harry or Brian will be hoping to use his magic and raise the Swansea phoenix from the ashes hopefully pulling them off into the paradise that is the Premier League next season. Think they have a good chance.

North End my stick to same side that started last week probably boty City lads will be on the bench and will probably start against Morecambe on Tuesday

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Our first away game of the 2018/19 season sees the Lilywhites take a trip across the border to take on Swansea City.

And the man in charge of the game was also the match referee the last time we visited South Wales; our December victory against Cardiff City, when Tom Clarke scored a late winner.

That man is Isle of Wight official James Linington. He took charge of three PNE games last season, all away from home, with the games being the 2-1 win at Hull City back in September, the aforementioned game at the Cardiff City Stadium and the 1-0 win at Sheffield United in our final away game of last season.

Overall last season he refereed 40 games, issuing 140 cautions and five red cards. He last Swans game was back in September 2015, when he was the man with the whistle for their 1-0 League Cup defeat at Hull City.
Two seasons ago, the referee made his first visit ever to Deepdale for the clash with Wolves back in November and was then the referee in the away game at Derby County back in March.

The season before he was referee of the PNE game at Ashton Gate, when Greg Cunningham scored the winner against his former club and that was his third game in charge of PNE.

The other time he refereed North End was another game in the south of England, when the Lilywhites won 1-0 at Gillingham in the League One promotion season, courtesy of Paul Huntington’s goal in his first start of the season.

James will be assisted by Adam Matthews and Mark Pottage, with Kevin Johnson acting as the fourth official.

 

Nothing like a game to test both teams early on.

 

If you're coming to the game tomorrow and are over 6'2" will you bring your boots? We need a centre half

 

No playing cricket could bring me pads and bat

 

Swansea City 1 Preston North End 0

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A first half header from Jay Fulton gave the home side the three points at the Liberty Stadium, despite the Lilywhites' efforts as they dominated the second half.

In driving rain at the Liberty Stadium, the home side showed their Premier League qualities in the opening half and went ahead just after the half hour mark, Jay Fulton’s powerful near post header from Joel Asoro’s cross and this was after Declan Rudd had made a super save from Oli McBurnie’s 11th minute penalty.

But it was a different story in the second half as North End dominated possession and the chances and gave everything towards the cause, but couldn't get the goal their play certainly deserved.

The penalty incident was the game’s first real chance. Barry McKay bursting into the box and referee James Linington adjudging Alan Browne to have brought down the former Nottingham Forest winger.

McBurnie stepped up, but Rudd dived low to his left to make a fine two-handed save, pushing the ball around the post for a corner.

Graham Potter was forced to change his goalkeeper midway through the opening period, Kristoffer Nordfeldt seemingly pulling his groin, with Erwin Mulder coming on to replace him for his debut for the Swans.

The opening goal came on 33 minutes. A controversial foul was given against Darnell Fisher on the left and from the delivery, the full back himself headed away, only for the home side to recycle the ball with McKay finding former Sunderland man Asoro out on the right. He looked up and crossed to the near post where Fulton rose highest and powered a header past Rudd, who had no chance this time.

And it could have been two just 90 seconds later as again Asoro got in down the right hand side, showed some quick feet with some excellent play to get in on goal against Rudd, but the keeper made another fine save to concede a corner.

North End had the ball in the net six minutes in the second half when a superb cross-field ball by Ben Pearson was collected by Barkhuizen, who raced into the box and fired into the bottom left hand corner from a tight angle, but the officials decided he had controlled the ball with his hand on his way into the box.

The start to the second half by the yellows was breathless, as they moved the ball with pace and moved with equal speed, Barkhuizen again firing just wide of the left hand upright after some fantastic team inter-play.

Josh Harrop was next to test Mulder in the Jacks’ goal, with a shot from the edge of the ‘D’ after he worked himself space following another clever piece of build up play, involving Robinson and Pearson.

Shots were raining in on Mulder’s goal as much as it was flooding into the stadium from the leaden skies and Robinson almost flat-footed the change keeper when his shot from 20 yards came off Swans’ skipper Mike van der Hoorn, the ball flying inches wide for a corner.

It took until 20 minutes of the second half for the home side to get into the North End penalty area and Bersant Celina tested Rudd, but the PNE No.1 was up to the test. And up the other end Lukas Nmecha then collected Robinson’s ball in behind the home defence and fired towards the top corner, only for Mulder to brilliantly tip over the bar.

Graham Burke and Brandon Barker were introduced and the former powered a 20 yard effort on target, but right down the throat of Mulder as the game entered the final quarter of an hour.

McBurnie had a chance to kill the game with ten minutes to go when he burst through one on one against Rudd, but he could only lift the ball over the bar from the edge of the box.

The last ten minutes was all North End. Throwing men and the ball forward, giving it everything, but even with ten men camped in the penalty area for the three minutes of injury time, they could not get the equaliser their second half efforts deserved.

Swansea City line-up: Nordfeldt (Mulder, 23), Olsson, van der Hoorn (c), McBurnie, Carroll, Asoro (Grimes, 56), McKay (Fer, 73), Rodon, Roberts, Fulton. Subs not used: Montero, Dyer, Naughton, Dhanda.

PNE line-up: Rudd, Fisher, Hughes, Pearson, Clarke (c), Davies, Robinson, Browne, Nmecha (Gallagher, 80), Harrop (Burke, 62), Barkhuizen (Barker, 72). Subs not used: Maxwell, Moult, Ledson, Huntington.

Referee: Mr J Linington

Attendance: TBC (TBC PNE fans)

Swansea boss Graham Potter said: "If you can't grind out a result you are dead in any league.

"We have a philosophy of how we want to play, but in the second half they made it tough for us.

"We kept a clean sheet and I am really, really pleased."

Potter also says the Swans can still improve despite what was perceived as a disappointing transfer deadline day.

"We have to be careful in assessing deadlines day at the time. You can only assess it at the end of the season," he said.

"We have signed four players with a good profile who can improve.

"We also had to get the players out who did not want to be here, because otherwise it stops others developing.

"But there is still a loan window open and we will keep working."

Preston North End manager Alex Neil said:

"I said at half-time we can either sit in if you don't believe you're good enough to play against them, or we can go up against them and move the ball much better.

"I had about seven players on the ball under-perform for me in the first half.

"But to be fair to them, as they generally do, they rose to the challenge and their quality was miles improved."

 

Curate's egg of a game. But at least NE got more than 1 shot on target.