Swansea outclass Swedish counterparts in first competitive action of 2013/14
Today was a good day. I've got tomorrow booked off work (I'm spending the weekend in a Carmarthenshire field hawking the wares of my friend's company Retrosexual Clothing), and with work done and dusted at 6pm, I started the short walk along the river to the stadium. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and with some proper footie to look forward after what seems like a protracted break I most definitely had a spring in my step. After some beers were acquired and I had a quick read of the programme on the grass verge outside, I found my seat (corner of North and East row C - nice) and proceeded to settle in for what promised to be a nervy ninety minutes.
Early signs were extremely positive. While we didn't actually manage a shot until the 27th minute, the first 15 minutes were, I thought, excellent and the Swans showed time and time again how one-touch football can be used to create space in and around the opposition area. The full-backs were bombing on with relish (Davies having been preferred to Neil Taylor at left-back) and they regularly broke down the flank beyond their more advanced team-mates. As mentioned, just shy of half an hour gone and we were rewarded with the first effort of note; a Shelvey shot which he dragged wide after finding space when the ball broke loose just outside the Malmo area.
A feature of the game tonight was Jonjo Shelvey spraying the ball around, and while there were times tonight when he showed he's still rough around the edges, he's clearly got bags of talent and found his man out wide more often than not, as well as doing a decent enough job of retaining possession in the centre of the field. It was his long passing, coupled with his vision, that stood out tonight though, and time and time again he looked to free one of Wayne Routledge or Nathan Dyer as they looked to sprint beyond the last defender.
We rarely, rarely saw that last year and it's noticeable how often they were looking for that move - if it works, crack on boys. As early as the 3rd minute Routledge was on the receiving end of one such pass over the top, but while his first touch was excellent he was subsequently crowded out by the Swedish defence. One comment I did make is that I can envisage Leon Britton bailing Shelvey out of more than one sticky situation this season, when the younger midfielder has colluded to get himself into a tight spot. At first glance though, I'd say it's almost definitely going to be worth the odd inadvisable dribble if he spends the rest of his time playing outrageous 60 yard passes.
As the first half wore on, you started to wonder whether the Swans were still in pre-season mode, as despite an impressive opening and a few half chances later on there was a decidedly "walking-pace" feel to the match. It didn't help that Malmo had blatantly come for a draw, but in their defence they had restricted the Swans to speculative efforts and seemed a well organised unit - that is, until one of their centre-backs gifted Miguel Michu the ball for the opener.
I say gifted, that's perhaps harsh on Routledge who played the pass in to the Spaniard, but the defender should have cleared the ball and, basically, fell over in his attempt to clear it. That saw Michu running in at a preferable angle, and he duly dispatched his finish - in off the far post. The goalkeeper had no chance.
The goal livened the Swans' faithful and the team responded in kind, and Routledge got free in the box but his shot appeared to be deflected away off the face of a Malmo defender. Painful, but effective - the resulting corner was cleared and so it was that, some posturing aside, the first half was played out without further incident and the sides went in with the score Swansea 1 - 0 Malmo.
The second half kicked off and the Swans were keen to ensure they didn't concede what would be (for Malmo) an away goal, and this eagerness saw Jordi Amat pull back Tokelo Rantie and earn himself a booking with only a minute and a half having elapsed since the restart. The Spanish centre-back enjoyed a solid game and will take confidence from this performance, but in all honesty he was lucky to stay on the field after he managed to kick a Malmo player clean in the chops around 10 minutes later. The ref gave a free-kick, but deemed further punishment unnecessary which will have pleased Amat (and everyone else connected with Swansea City) no end.
That incident came directly after the Swans had scored their second goal - and it was another Routledge assist too. Good work from what seemed like the entire team freed Wayne wide on the left, and his cute flicked cross found £12million man Wilfried Bony, who expertly guided a header across goal into the far corner. An excellent cross, and a great finish to boot. Just after Bony's first Swansea goal Jordi Amat was on the end of another favourable refereeing decision, when it was decided Magnus Eriksson had gone down unjustifiably easily just inside the box, with Amat in very close proximity. From where I was sitting, it looked like there was contact, but I'm not complaining and his appeal was waved away. Never a pen...
A couple of Malmo players then picked up cautions for what the referee deemed were tasty challenges, before the Swans managed to get their third goal - and it was that man Bony again. Rangel showed great persistence to help retrieve the ball, before he received a pass in the centre of the field and wasted no time in sliding a perfect ball through for the onrushing Michu, who'd picked up an almost identical position to the one he scored from in the first half. This time he couldn't repeat the trick, but he came damn close - his shot cannoned back off the far post only to find his Ivorian compadré waiting to tuck the ball home. A true poacher's goal - encouraging stuff indeed given the expectations currently being heaped on him by Swansea fans up and down the country.
The third goal came just about on the hour mark, and really, really killed the game as a contest. There was a good two to three minute period when the clock read seventy-something where I joined my fellow fans in cheering every completed pass the Swans made without surrendering possession. We were cheering for a while. Subs came on; Leon, Michu & Dyer made way for Canas, De Guzman & Pozuelo, and all the replacements looked sharp. Pozuelo in particular stood out; his technique was immaculate and he got a reward for his impressive cameo with an even more impressive goal. More good passing saw Shelvey, De Guzman and Bony involved before Pozuelo collected a high ball on his chest and volleyed low into the bottom corner past the keeper. 4-0 on the night, and another leg to come - if there's a repeat of tonight's performance in Malmo their fans could be forgiven for wondering whether they're to be on the end of their own 9-0 drubbing.
Verdict? Any cobwebs which were kicking around have just been given a swift clean, and the team looked like an improved unit compared to last year's. 4-0 was fair, and could have been more, but it looked like there's still a bit of work to be done in terms of plugging up gaps at the back when the game gets a bit stretched. I'm in no mood to pick holes though - what a result! Not a bad way to announce yourself on the European stage...