Sunday 1 September 2013

WBA v Swansea City Live Blog

Welcome to live coverage of today's match against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns. Keep refreshing the page to stay up to date with the action.



15:21
FULL TIME WBA 0 - 2 SWANSEA


15:20
That'll be all she wrote. Rosenberg blasts a shot over the bar and after Vorm has restarted play the referee draws time on the fixture. 

15:17
Canas showing he's gaining more and more of an understanding of the Leon Britton role in the team. Much, much better every time I see him. 

15:16
Three minutes of injury time.

15:15
Almost into injury time here. Unless something drastic happens the amount of injury time is unlikely to affect the outcome of the match. The travelling Swans contingent can be heard loud and proud on TV.

15:13
There was a 10 or 15 pass spell there from the Swans where they played some really sexy football. Jonjo Shelvey is almost the benefactor of the move, but gets there later than Jonas Olsson, and in fairness I'm amazed he wasn't booked for his attempted "tackle" on the defender. The Swans regain possession quickly though, and WBA look like a beaten team.

15:11
It's almost three! De Guzman narrowly misses out on Pablo's floated centre, and can only get the faintest of nicks off his toe. WBA clear and surge upfield, but the cross in is poor and Vorm collects easily. 

15:09
GOAL WBA 0 - 2 SWANSEA (Pablo 82')
Swansea simply dissected WBA there. They'd committed too many men forward, and the Swans broke into space. Michu found his way into the box and his centre was blocked, but he got to the rebound first to square for Pablo to fire home past two defenders on the line, with the keeper stranded. 

15:08
Great counter-attacking by the Swans almost brings them their second goal. Michu pays Pablo into space down the left, and he drifts across his man before unleashing a shot which clips Boaz Myhill's bar before going over.

15:04
After some frantic defending, it's eventually cleared away and the Swans have possession again, but Ben Davies pumps a long ball forward which Michu has no intention of running for. WBA take control again, but Rosenberg's flick didn't quite find his man, and the Swans come away with it. De Guzman breaks down the right, and it goes across field to Pablo, but his shot is blocked behind for a Swans corner. Expect Shelvey to take his time about it...

15:03
WBA corner...The Hawthorns is rocking with "Come on you Baggies" sounding very, very loudly...

15:02
Pozuelo booked for a rugby tackle down by the right corner flag. The cross comes in to the Swans box but again it's been cleared out. WBA still pressing though. 

15:01
A nice flick from Michu gives Pozuelo some space, but his shot goes just over the bar. WBA make a double change, with Rosenburg coming on for Yacob and Berahino coming on for Scott Sinclair.

14:59
Freekick goes into the Swans box but Gareth McAuley's header is just over the bar. Close. The Swans need to be playing their football further forward otherwise the last twenty minutes will be very nervy.

14:58
Wayne Routledge is replaced by Alex Pozuelo.

14:57
Lovely pass through from Pablo finds Routledge going clean through, but the WBA defence get back and lean on him just enough to not give away a penalty, and he scuffs his effort into the arms of the awaiting goalkeeper.

14:56
Rangel booked. He was pushing his luck...


14:55
The Swans break upfield and a bit of pinball sees the ball find Pablo, but his shot is deflected up and floats through to Boaz Myhill.

14:54
Angel Rangel's innate ability to smile his way out of almost any situation just saved him a booking there. Anelka went down (it was pretty soft) and the free-kick comes in from the WBA left. A group of players go up for it, and the ball heads softly to Vorm.

14:51
Bony's first touch really is class. He's shown it a couple of times today, and is proving too hot to handle for Jonas Olsson - who's booked for a cynical trip when Bony had muscled him out of contention out wide. The ball comes in low from the free kick but it's cleared out. It finds it's way to Davies out on the left but he's offside, which gives Laudrup the chance to make his first sub - Wilfried Bony comes off to be replaced by Jonathan De Guzman. 

14:48
Shelvey puts a cross in from the free kick, but Anelka gets his head to it first and puts it out for a corner. There's a temporary reprieve before the Swans come again and Pablo puts a dangerous cross in which is scrambled behind for another corner, which comes out to Ben Davies to have a pop, but his shot is blocked. The ball goes back in to Ashley Williams - still up from the corner - but he's flagged offside.

14:46
The Swans finally get the ball back, and break quickly down the left. The ball in is too deep for anyone up with play though, and West Brom regain possession. Only briefly though - the Swans win the ball before Michu is fouled - and the Spaniard is clearly not happy about it. He shoves his man in the chest and is, in all honesty, lucky to still be on the field. He receives a yellow when I've seen people sent off for a lot less.

14:44
The Baggies break again - this time down the left, but the cross in is heavy and it's out for another goal kick. They're definitely enjoying more possession so far in the second half.

14:42
West Brom pressing harder now. A shot is blocked and charged down, before Billy Jones tried to get to a cheeky through ball, but he's muscled out and knocks the ball behind for a goal kick.

14:40
Pablo is taken out on the right hand side, which allows the Swans to get the big boys up from the back and swing in a cross. It's deep though, and Ash is penalised for a push on his man. WBA clear.

14:38
Michu & Bony clearly have a much better understanding than they did a few weeks ago. Lots of little interchanges going on, and there's reason to believe we're seeing the birth of a seriously competitive forward-line. 

14:36
Jose Canas has been outstanding so far. We really needed a midfielder like him. Also, I just saw Bony give the ball away. Jinxed. 

14:35
A great ball through puts Routledge in, but he overruns it slightly with Bony inside him and the ball rebounds first off Myhill, then the Swans' winger and it's out for a goal kick.

14:33
Some good movement from the Swans goes awry after a loose pass from Jonjo Shelvey. WBA look to be playing with their heads up a bit more so far, but Sinclair's left-footed cross is poor and goes straight out for a goal kick.

14:31
One change for WBA. Morrison off and he's replaced by Graham Dorrans. Swansea straight back into knocking the ball around...

14:30
The teams are coming back out for the 2nd half. A stat just showed Bony has had 18 touches on the ball, Anelka 37. Give the man the ball, and he will score. 

14:18
Half Time WBA 0 - 1 Swansea
The half time stats show the Swans have now had 61% of the ball. Get in! I've been saying for a while we haven't been running midfields like we used to, and perhaps WBA were the perfect team to face to get back on track (given our relative success against them of late). We've had 5 shots (3 on target) while WBA have had one more effort, but have only tested Vorm once. If they can be a touch more clinical we could see a goal from the Baggies yet. 

14:15
I can honestly say in all the matches I've seen Bony feature in, I can't remember him giving the ball away once.

14:14
The Swans had all 11 players behind the ball then and WBA couldn't find any kind of chink in their defensive armour. The ball eventually went out for a Swansea throw, much to the annoyance of Scott Sinclair.

14:11
Barring a few nice touches and a show of strength and skill which drew a foul from Gareth McAuley earlier, Bony has been a peripheral figure so far, but he just had a yard of space and produced a cannon of a shot with his left which, luckily for Myhill, went straight at the keeper. He's exciting to watch is big Wilfried. 

14:10
The Swans are throwing loads of bodies forward every time we counter, and if WBA were a little more composed about their counter-attacking they could well have been level by now. That being said, the Swans defence have repelled almost everything that's been thrown at them so far. 

14:07
Great break from the Swans. Michu and Routledge end up playing a one two which goes slightly too far ahead of the Swansea winger, and Myhill collects, but a possession stat just popped up - Swansea have had 57% of the ball - which reinforces how well the Swans have played so far. 

14:05
West Brom are definitely coming into this more now. Swansea haven't got out of their half for the last five minutes.

14:01
CLOSE! Anelka just about gets around Ash but his shot flashes across Vorm and just past the post.


13:58
WBA are coming back into it a bit more with half an hour gone, but they're coming up against some resolute defending from the Swans. Ben Davies was penalised for a tackle on Morrisson but nothing came of the free kick.

13:54
The goal seems to have shaken WBA and the Swans are enjoying some extended pressure here. Pablo links well with Rangel again and the right-back produces a dangerous cross, but despite panic in the WBA ranks there's no-one there to capitalise on it. 

13:51
GOAL WBA 0 - 1 SWANSEA (BEN DAVIES 21')
Pablo Hernandez just redeemed himself. He went round his man, crossed from the right and it was blocked out, but he got to the rebound and floated a cross deep across the box. Ben Davies arrived late and, ten minutes after rejecting a better shooting opportunity, he opened his body up to guide a wonderful side-footed volley into the top corner. Awesome finish. 

13:48
Swansea have two corners in a row cleared, and again WBA break after a mistake by Pablo Hernandez. If it hadn't been for some really criminal attacking (Morrisson was called offside when there really was no reason to be so) WBA could well be 1-0 up. Pablo and Morrisson are having similar games so far...

13:46
Michu is penalised for what was a great tackle out on the right. It's swung in and somehow Morrisson's header didn't go in - seeming to hit Scott Sinclair and rebounding out of the area. Swansea look to break but settle back into pinging it around the midfield. 

13:43
Some more great work from the Swansea midfield is almost undone by a sloppy centre from Pablo. WBA break and almost get something for their efforts, but the combined efforts of Ash & Chico are enough to put it out for a corner, which is subsequently cleared.

13:42
Both teams are creating chances. Anelka is looking lively up front for WBA and Michu looks like he's got a point to prove. 

13:40
Decent first ten minutes from the Swans. Midfield looking snappy. Some patient possession sees Rangel get played in down the right but his cross is half blocked and picked up easily by Myhill...

13:36
Good work from Wayne Routledge, Michu and Ben Davies sees the Spaniard find space on the edge of the area, but his first time shot goes over the WBA bar. Better from the Swans. 

13:34
Anelka breaks free down the right but his cutback is easily held by Vorm. Pressure averted...

13:33
Easily saved by Myhill though...


13:32
Early Swansea free-kick just outside the box...

13:27
If that doesn't work/stops working just click "play now" on any of the links listed as "Flash" from this directory. Plenty of choice!

http://www.wiziwig.tv/broadcast.php?matchid=211450&part=sports

13:25
This seems like a decent stream of the game...

http://nutjob.eu/njtvx6.html

13:21
Scott Sinclair is being booed by a minority of Swansea fans. Little harsh possibly, but we'll have to be careful to guard against his pace. Nicolas Anelka is a mercurial talent who the Swans will also have to keep an eye one, and is capable of fashioning a goal from nowhere. When he wants to...

13:09
So Bony gets his first PL start. Hopefully he'll be grabbing the headlines, and we can keep former Swan Scotty Sinclair off the scoresheet to boot. Tweet your predictions and thoughts to @TheSwanseaWay and I'll include them here!

13:05
Twenty minutes to kickoff and team news is out:

WBA: Myhill; Jones, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell; Morrison, Yacob, Mulumbu Sinclair; Anelka, Long

Swansea: Vorm, Rangel, Williams, Chico Flores, Davies, Canas, Shelvey, Michu, Routledge, Hernandez, Bony.