Josh Kilmister gives his take on yesterday's action at St Mary's
I think praying for a point was more realistic than pessimistic going into a game against an in form Southampton side, but after a solid eighty minutes at the back, a Jonjo Shelvey wonder-strike broke the deadlock, giving Garry Monk a perfect gift for his one year anniversary as Swans’ manager.
Starting XI
Lukasz Fabianski – 8
A clean sheet away to a side currently fighting with Man United for third place; not too bad, eh? Fabianski played a huge part in keeping us in the game for the first forty-five minutes and it wasn’t too long before he had to pull off a huge save from close range. With the Saints looking to hit the ball into target man Graziano Pelle, it seemed that the Italian international had met his match in Fabianski who, with relative ease, plucked the ball out of the air time and time again. It was clear we had set up to defend, and slowing the ball down when under pressure was a big part of out plan. Fabianski was central to that, and was confident enough to play the ball from his feet under pressure. The odd kick out of hand that wasn’t exactly pin-point-perfect, but apart from that another solid performance from him.
Neil Taylor – 7
Swans fans will have been relieved to see Tayls back in the starting line-up after being left out for the loss to Blackburn. With Southampton on the attack so often, it was important for Taylor to keep his cool on the ball and that’s exactly what he did, playing some excellent one-touch passes to get us out of trouble. One thing he is criticised of is giving wingers a little to much room to cross and that might’ve cost us dearly, had it not been for Fabianski. Left exposed on the left at times, Taylor did relatively well to handle the overlapping of Southampton’s right side. With rumours that we might be saying goodbye to the Welsh left-back on transfer deadline day are dying down and I’m glad, because he’s definitely good enough to compete for a place in the first team.
Ashley Williams – 9 (Man of the match)
Captain fantastic was at it again at St. Mary’s! Ash absolutely dominated our defensive third of the pitch and relished the physical battle with Pelle. Probably his highlight of the match will be the goal line clearance he made in the dying minutes, but that was by no means his only good moment. You could make a compilation of his last ditch tackles, blocks and clearances and not even that would give his game justice. Leadership, passion and overall desire are three traits that Ash has earned over his time with us, and all three of them were on show today. Perhaps one of his best performances in a Swans shirt and without a doubt my man of the match.
Federico Fernandez – 8
Like Williams, Fernandez played a huge part in keeping us in the game when it looked like Southampton would run away with it. Handled the physicality of Pelle well and wasn’t fazed by the quick feet of Southampton’s wingers. A superb tackle from the Argentine had Saints fans calling for a penalty, but they didn’t even get a corner as Fede set the tone for the rest of the game. What a beautiful partnership him and Ash are turning out to be.
Kyle Naughton – 6.5
After speaking to a Spurs fan on Twitter prior to his arrival, Naughton’s performance today was exactly what I expected from the former Spurs man. Solid in defence with a good eye for a pass, but probably needs to work on his ability further up the field. Replaced by Rangel later in the second half, Naughton will be happy to have some minutes under his belt.
Tom Carroll – 7
Setting up to play without the ball meant that Carroll couldn’t make too much of an impact, but what he did do he did well. Some really nice touches in our defensive third helped us out of some sticky situations all game, and he helped kill the game in the four added minutes after the ninety. A solid performance from him.
Jay Fulton – 7.5
Given the nod with Britton, Sigurdsson, Ki and Cork all unavailable, Fulton really impressed in the centre of midfield. He might be lucky to find himself in the mix for future games with so many players coming back into the fold, but that’s not to say he won’t contribute to Monk’s selection headaches. On the ball he was good, but off the ball he was excellent, and dug in for the whole game to give an overall solid performance in what was just his second ever Premier League start.
Marvin Emnes – 6
Only managed fifteen minutes before going off injured but looked to cause problems in the short time he was on. Pressed the Saints defence more than anyone else and hopefully his injury isn’t too bad, although he did look to leave the pitch in tears.
Jonjo Shelvey – 8
Jonjo has had a tough few weeks but will definitely be hoping he’s won over a few of his critics with a goal typical of him. He came close before that too, when he saw a shot from a similar range to his goal came back off the post. I’ll admit, his work rates are still a little worrying, especially in a team that looked to defend more than we did attack, but I’ll let him have his moment. With Gylfi out for two home games againt Sunderland and Man United, I’m confident Jonjo can put in a few more performances before having to drop back into a deeper role again.
Nathan Dyer – 6
Argh! What has happened to Nathan Dyer?! Moved to the left after Emnes’ injury, Dyer offered Taylor with little to no help in our defensive third. Lack of desire saw him outrun by Clyne and Tadic in the first half, but upped his game significantly in the second. Even with an improved performance, some poor touches in good positions means Dyer doesn’t look like turning his poor form around anytime soon, but with injuries out wide isn’t likely to be dropped either.
Bafetimbi Gomis – 7
I said before the game that all I wanted from Bafe was a performance, and that’s exactly what he gave us. A serious change in attitude from last weeks game at Blackburn meant we actually saw Gomis trying, which is absolutely excellent. He showed glimpses of what we are yet to see but was feeding off scraps for the majority of the game. He was first to head over to the away stand to applaud the traveling Swans fans, but contrary to the many other jacks in St Marys, I’m not sure he’s earned the title of a ‘Jack Bastard’ just yet.
Substitutes
Modou Barrow – 6.5 (for Emnes, 15)
The closest thing to a Premier League start Barrow has had so far, but didn’t have much of a chance to show what he can do. His pace and power almost got him through on goal in the second half but he was taken down just outside the box. Snapped by a frustrated Ryan Bertrand after Shelvey’s goal (who saw red for the tackle), Barrow joins Emnes and Routledge on our list of injured wingers.
Angel Rangel – 6 (for Naughton, 82)
Brought on for reasons I’m not really aware of, Rangel was solid for the whole twelve minutes he was on.
Jordi Amat – 6 (for Barrow, 90+3)
Introduced to kill the game, though he didn’t even have a chance to do that. Spent longer on the touchline with the fourth official than he did on the pitch, so I’m sure you can forgive me for not having too much to say.
Referee: Michael Oliver – 7
Probably one of the better referee performances we’ve had in the Premier League this season. Pretty consistent all round and handled the game well. Red card against Bertrand was, in my eyes, a correct one so he won’t have too much to worry about when writing up his post-match notes.
Summary
Well nobody expected that, did they? This game is yet another example of how we’ve adapted under Garry Monk and another win with our backs to the wall feels good. Hopefully this will give the camp heaps of confidence going into next weeks game against Sunderland, and that will be boosted more so with the return of Ki and introduction of Cork.
After the game, Monk hinted that we could be in for a busy transfer deadline day and, with the injuries we picked up today, I certainly expect one of those players brought in to be a winger, though the likes of Kenji Gorre will be hoping for a chance to prove themselves.
So with our squad beginning to bulk out again, this could be the start of a great run for us. A couple of new signings on deadline day can only improve the squad, so I can’t wait to see who’s available next week!
Thanks to Josh for his player ratings as usual - agree? Disagree? Use the comment section below to give your own ratings!