With the Swans making their way to London to play Sam Allardyce’s West Ham on Sunday, this week’s #FlashbackFour has Nathan Lewis looking at how we’ve fared against the Hammers over the last couple of years:
25th August 2012 - Premier League
Swansea 3-0 West Ham
Following West Ham’s promotion to the Premiership, this match was the first meeting between the two sides since the likes of Roger Freestone, Matthew Bound and Michael Howard beat the Hammers 1-0 in an FA Cup Third Round Replay in 1999. The Swans certainly seemed up for this first meeting in thirteen years, with Michu continuing his sparkling start to the season. The Spaniard was all over the West Ham defenders throughout, stealing the ball from a poor James Collins back pass to clip the ball past Jussi Jaaskelainen for Swansea’s second goal.
The first came from Angel Rangel, his shot from out wide squirming under Jaaskelainen. West Ham offered very little, and the icing on the cake came from Danny Graham finishing off a sweet passing move in the 64th minute. The match previous to this one was our 5-0 demolition of Q.P.R., so perhaps it is a good omen that we play the Hammers after beating Q.P.R in midweek? We’ll see…
2nd February 2013 - Premier League
West Ham 1-0 Swansea
If the 3-0 win at the Liberty was a complete performance from Swansea, then this trip away was the exact reverse. There was very little to shout about for Swans fans, with the Hammers controlling the game throughout. Were it not for a mightily impressive performance from Gerhard Tremmel, West Ham could have scored a few goals. As it was, Allardyce’s men were made to wait until the 77th minute to score their very well deserved goal.
Andy Carroll, renowned for his aerial ability outjumped a number of Swans defenders to nod the ball past Tremmel, and give his side the lead. Swansea’s only real chances came from Michu, who seemed to be the only attacking outlet in a white shirt in this game. Not the best game for Laudrup and his side, and the first in a string of impressive performances for Carroll against Swansea.
27th October 2013 - Premier League
Swansea 0-0 West Ham
If you could find one game to typify a post-European match, this goalless draw would be a pretty obvious choice. A match with very few clear-cut chances and a lack of urgency left both sides pleased with a point. West Ham were the more likely of the two sides to affect the scoreline throughout, although Jaaskelainen had to make two superb saves to deny Chico and Bony respectively. Not much to shout (or write) about for either side in this one, but another example of our toothlessness in attack under Michael Laudrup.
1st February 2014 - Premier League
West Ham 3-0 Swansea
A game dominated by Andy Carroll, who performed impressively up front to set up two Kevin Nolan goals. The first came after twenty-six minutes, the England forward nodding down a cross perfectly for Nolan, who was able to drive the ball home. They say why try to fix an already working formula, and Carroll was the provider for Nolan’s second goal, heading a corner back across goal for Nolan to score another. While Carroll certainly impressed for West Ham, the Swans will certainly have been disappointed with their defending. Most memories of this game will not be related to either side’s performance however.
Chico, the man who seems to feature so heavily in our flashbacks, was at the centre of it all, exaggerating (slightly) a waving arm from Andy Carroll, resulting in the England forward being sent off. Even with a man advantage, the Swans were unable to impose themselves on the game, and West Ham were able to inflict defeat on the Swans in what would turn out to be the last match of Michael Laudrup’s reign.
Played: 4
Won: 1
Drawn: 1
Lost: 2
Scored: 3
Conceded: 4
Matches between West Ham and Swansea often represent a clash of footballing philosophies. West Ham’s more direct style has unlocked the Swansea defence several times in the last two years, mostly through the impressive presence of Andy Carroll. With Allardyce seemingly employing a more fluid, possession-based style, will Swansea’s defence be more comfortable on Sunday? With the physicality of Kyle Bartley and Ashley Williams, we are arguably more equipped than ever to combat Carroll’s strength and aerial ability, and it looks to be an interesting clash.
My prediction: 2-1 Swansea
Thanks as usual to Nathan for his weekly insight. Give him a follow on Twitter @NathDavidLewis