Swansea come from two goals down to lead, before controversial refereeing decision robs them of two points
If ever there was a game which demonstrated why there is a saying in football which goes "it was a game of two halves...", then today was that game.
We lined up with a couple of changes to the team we'd become used to. Roland Lamah and Alex Pozuelo came in with a view to playing a more intricate passing game in the final third than we've become used to in previous games, but in truth I thought we were absolutely awful in the 1st half. Stoke had two shots on target in the first half, and around 34% of the possession, but they went in 2-0 ahead. How is that possible? Well, I've got some observations.
For almost the entire of the first half, the Swans played with more or less no width at all. We lined up with Bony up top, Lamah & Routledge out wide and Pozuelo in the hole, but I'm at a loss to describe the tactics we operated with in the first half. Time and again Lamah and Routledge were both to be found on the left wing within five metres of each other, and we were playing with such lack of width that Stoke easily fended off our attacks for the first fourty-five minutes.
This in turn affected Bony. He ended up drifting to the back post because, frankly, everyone else was where he was supposed to be. If he gets crowded out it's not his fault if he has to move to find space, and the wingers operating so narrowly meant any time he had the ball he had more or less the entire Stoke time in attendance - not an easy situation within which to operate and very, very easy for it to look like you've got a naff touch. Never mind you've got Robert Huth and Ryan Shawcross breathing down your neck - if you miscontrol it it's got to be your fault, right?
I haven't watched highlights yet, but the opener came with Ashley Williams off the field after receiving treatment on an injury he picked up after landing heavily following a corner. That being said, the manner with which Stoke unpicked our defence was just painful to watch. A couple of quick passes and BANG, they were in, and their two shots on target in the first half resulted in two goals which saw them lead 2-0 at the break. Ok, the first came when we were a man down but the second we can have no complaints over, other than it was simply a case of schoolboy defending. Players got sucked in and left gaps behind, which Stoke waltzed into ruthlessly before converting on both occasions.
Wilfriend Bony was gifted our best chance of the first half - stealing in on a poor back-pass, however he failed to convert. When it seemed he was certain to score, he tried to dance around the keeper and Begovic did enough, before Routledge drew a follow-up save from the man famous for scoring last time out. Fans' frustrations were audible, but thankfully Bony would go on to silence any critics with his second half exploits. As for Begovic, his time-wasting from the off was shameful, and I'm pretty sure I saw him shove a couple of our players when they'd grown frustrated of his slow-playing exploits and got in his face - why the referee didn't deem this more punishable than he did I don't know.
So, the second half. Dyer replaced Lamah and while I thought that was harsh on Lamah, it made an immediate difference. We actually had width, and this created more space for our midfield to operate in. This in turn saw our performance improve, and it we didn't have to wait too long before Wilfried Bony clawed one back for us. De Guzman whipped a cross in and Bony headed home past Begovic. A fine finish, and a sign of things to come.
Bony had another chance, this time supplied by Dyer, but saw his backheeled effort was blocked, before the diminutive winger himself equalled things. A cross was only half-cleared, and Dyer managed to aim his finish into the ground and away from Begovic. Two all, and all of a sudden things were very interesting.
Step up Wilfried Bony. I've stated on countless occasions that if we give him the ball in the right situations, he will score. Well, today we gave him the ball in the right positions (for one half at least) and he scored twice - and arguably should have scored at least once more. It was another substitute (Jonjo Shelvey this time) who fed the Ivorian, who was on hand in the centre to divert the ball home. 3-2, and surely all she wrote? Not a chance - this is Swansea we're talking about! Where would we be without some diabolical officiating?
So it was, that the referee made sure that, once again, we're talking about a refereeing decision as opposed to tactics. There was a corner (which I think I'm right in saying was re-taken) - it went out for a goal-kick, Stoke didn't appeal and all of a sudden it was a penalty. Well done ref, everyone now knows your name. Charlie Adam converted, and Stoke rescued a point. Painful.
Overall, a much better second half and some excellent substitutions, but we shouldn't have been 2-0 down in the first place. Another frustrating day, but one positive at least is the fans seemed to take Bony to heart after he put us 3-2 in front. Hopefully we'll see less of the sniping and "run around like Adrian Forbes!" than we've been seeing in the last few weeks.
So, we're now into the international break. Hopefully that'll give Ash a chance to rest up, Bony a chance to gain some extra fitness, and fans a chance to take stock on things. We're not a bad side, and we're not going to be relegated, but we need to play with the desire and fluency we showed in the second half for the entirety of matches.
As Alan Shearer once said: "Scoring goals hurts".