On this day twelve years ago...
Swansea 2 (Watkin [pen], Romo) - 0 Mansfield
Today's installment sees us look back again to our recent past - only twelve years ago today we were battling it out against Mansfield at the Vetch with such luminaries as Steve Brodie, Jonathan Coates and John Williams in the starting eleven, and our lineup that day also included Ryan Casey - who I remember fondly because he gave me his autograph outside Burger King. Ah, memories.
2002: Swans beat Mansfield Town 2–0 at the Vetch thanks to goals from Steve Watkin (pen) and David Romo pic.twitter.com/SKLRZNhxQc
— Swan This Day (@SwanThisDay) March 16, 2014
Halfway through the first half of this matchup, Mansfield had 'keeper Kevin Pilkington (who I believe used to play for Manchester United) sent off for a foul on Steve Watkin after he'd half-cleared Casey's shot, and Watkin got up to convert the subsequent penalty. We made matters safe through David Romo - he came in at a time when we signed quite a few random Frenchmen and I remember being excited at the prospect of talented foreigners joining the ranks.
Sadly they weren't all up to scratch, though I remember Romo being tidy enough and Mamady Sidibe ended up playing in the Premiership for Stoke - I have always thought he's been stealing a living though. The other Frenchmen I can remember are Mattias Verschave and Nicolas Fabiano - who'd both joined on loan from PSG. I never rated either of them to be honest, and a quick Google tells me they didn't really set the world alight after leaving.
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