Laudrup's men show superior cutting edge in South West London
Another day out in SW6, another away victory for the Swans. Swansea started the day only two points above Fulham, so despite the differing perceptions surrounding respective managers Jol & Laudrup a Fulham win would have seen the Londoners leapfrog the Swans, which would no doubt have put a different spin on both this piece and Sunday afternoon alike.
As it happened, I thought the Swans ultimately showed more quality than their opponents. Laudrup made a couple of changes to his side - Leon Britton is apparently nursing a slight toe injury so Jose Canas enjoyed his first league start for a while, while Lamah and Pozuelo retained their places further ahead in the Swansea midfield. Elsewhere, it was as you'd expect for Swansea City, and they set about frustrating Fulham by retaining the ball almost at will for large periods of the game.
The first half saw the Swans dominate, but Fulham enjoyed the better chances. Bent missed two great opportunities to score - glancing a header wide before later half-volleying against the post with Vorm beaten. He really should have done better and Chico Flores especially will have been glad to see the latter chance go begging, given his weak header had presented the Fulham striker with the opportunity.
A couple of Wilfried Bony headers aside, the Swans' best chance of the first half came when Alex Pozuelo nicked possession back and fed Nathan Dyer, who drew a great save from Fulham keeper Stekelenburg. It was a good effort from Dyer, running in on the right and hit low across goal, but Stekelenburg stuck his right foot out and parried it away - I love seeing Dyer hit placed shots as it's something he's had to work so hard on, so to see him doing it in tight situations with more instinct than laboured thought shows how far he's come since he first joined the club.
So, half time and 0-0, and despite playing the better football it would have been hard to argue Fulham hadn't enjoyed the better chances. With no changes being made by either manager at the break, the second half started in much the same manner as the first, with the Swans knocking the ball around well but struggling to create through the centre. Wilfried Bony was doing a good job with his back to goal, but I can't remember ever seeing anyone play him in on the keeper - which is mad considering he spends 90 minutes on the shoulder of the last defender looking for the quick pass. Feed the bull, and all that...
We did pile the pressure on in the buildup to the opening goal - Roland Lamah, Ben Davies and Jonathan De Guzman all had efforts on goal before Alex Pozuelo won a free kick out on the right. Some quick thinking saw him whip a delicious low ball in between the defence and the goalkeeper, and with Bony lurking Aaron Hughes stabbed the ball into his own net. 1-0 Swansea, and it had been coming.
Our lead didn't last long though. Pre-game I'd likened Scott Parker to a poor impersonation of Leon Britton, so it was always likely he'd step up and produce something. Fulham won a corner, and no-one picked him up as he stood midway between the six yard box and the edge of the penalty area. The corner was passed straight to him, and despite his curling effort almost definitely being intended as a cross it found it's way into the top corner. One all, but if Fulham are relying on scoring goals of that manner they're in trouble!
In between the two goals Jonjo Shelvey came on for Nathan Dyer, and I thought he made a massive difference. He wasn't afraid to take a touch through the middle of the park, and that's what we need - it allows the wingers to stick wide and provide width further up the field, and also creates chaos in the opposition ranks by committing men who are then easily beatable with quick one twos. Some neat passing saw Shelvey show for the ball, before a couple of neat touches and then bang! 2-1. An outstanding finish, and to dig it out with that much power from there... well - it was an excellent finish.
Laudrup made two further changes, with Tiendalli coming on for Lamah and Alvaro replacing fellow countryman Pozuelo. I thought both the players substituted played well - Alex is looking better and better while Lamah is showing he's a useful member of the squad, even if his end product is questionable at present. The game ended with the Swans showing some uncharacteristic gamesmanship, holding the ball in the corner and waiting for time to run out. After giving away so many late goals in recent weeks, it brought a chuckle to my face to see Bony sticking his arse out in the corner and holding off a couple of defenders, waiting for the referee's whistle. We're learning to do the little things that big teams take as granted, and not before time.
So, a first win in six and everything's rosy again. Don't look now, but (until this afternoon at least) we're only four points behind Manchester City...