Nathan Lewis takes his weekly look back at the last four fixtures versus our upcoming opponents
Swansea v Southampton. A winnable game. That’s what I think every time we play Southampton anyway, but is that true? Let’s take a look at this week’s #FlashbackFour!
10th November 2012 - Premier League
Southampton 1-1 Swansea
For the first time in our #FlashbackFour series, I can say that I was in the stadium for a game I'm writing about! My first Swansea away game, my most vivid memory of this clash was the strength of our away support, who outsang the Southampton fans for large chunks of the game, even when we were 1-0 down. Southampton were the better team throughout the first half, with only a Ben Davies block denying Fonte a goal and Swansea lacking their cutting edge.
Michu became increasingly frustrated up top, and only stoic defending from Garry Monk (in his 250thappearance) prevented Gaston Ramirez from giving Southampton the lead. Southampton’s heavy pressure finally told as Schneiderlin coolly chested then nodded it in, but it was ex-Saint Nathan Dyer who equalised for Swansea nine minutes later right in front of the away stand, capitalising on a Maya Yoshida mistake.
April 20th 2013 - Premier League
Swansea 0-0 Southampton
This match was deep in post-Cup-win territory. With Luke Moore starting up front, this match was typical of our style towards the end of Laudrup's tenure: possession but no excitement or final ball. The Swans laboured throughout the 90 minutes, but couldn’t find the final ball for Moore to sweep home. With Michu by this point firmly on a downward spiral which would ultimately see him gaining a loan move to Napoli, we were unable to create anything to trouble Southampton, and a very winnable game slipped away from us.
6th October 2013 - Premier League
Southampton 2-0 Swansea
It is easy to forget that, approaching this game, we were looking for a third away win in a row. After a tough start to the season, wins against Crystal Palace and West Brom seemed to have kick-started our season. Unfortunately we were again unable to score against Pochettino’s Southampton, and an early Lallana goal gave them control of the game. From then on, were chasing the game, and despite Michu and Bony having a number of efforts on goal, we couldn’t find a way past Artur Boruc. It was Boruc’s clearance that caused mass confusion in the Swans defence, and Jay Rodriguez volleyed home Southampton’s second to seal all three points.
3rd May 2014 - Premier League
Swansea 0-1 Southampton
It seems, for some reason, we just can’t do well against Southampton. This game, however, was a vast improvement on the game at St. Mary’s. Were it not for a solid performance from the Saints keeper, or Bony failing to finish his chances, the outcome may have been completely different. As it was, a crazy decision by Vorm to come out, and a miskicked clearance by Ash led to Lambert shouldering the ball over the line to steal the three points near the full-time whistle. That goal has to go down as one of the worst pieces of defending we’ve seen at the Liberty, and put a dampener on an encouraging end to the season.
Games Played: 4
Wins: 0
Draws: 2
Losses: 2
Goals scored: 1
Goals Conceded: 4
A strange set of results, really. When it comes to playing Southampton, in my head it has always been a winnable game. They are a side who are at a similar level to us, yet we haven’t been able to beat them so far in the Premiership. Perhaps this Saturday will be different, with Koeman visiting the Liberty for the first time.
The Swans will be looking to regain the form and momentum established by winning our first three games, while Southampton have looked surprisingly impressive considering their summer upheaval. We have looked impressive in attack so far this season, so hopefully Fernandez and Ash can establish a solid partnership which we can use as a platform off which to build attacks. .
My prediction: Swansea 2-1 Southampton
Thanks as usual to Nathan for the latest #FlashbackFour! Follow him on Twitter @NathDavidLewis