Swansea City 1 - West Bromwich Albion 2

Date: Saturday 15th March 2014 
Competition: Barclays Premier League
Swansea City:
5.4
WBA:
6.8
(3-5-1-1) Foster 7.8, Dawson 6.3, McAuley 6.5, Olsson 6.4, Reid 4.6, Morrison 6.2, Mulumbu 7.8, Dorrans 6.6 (Gera, 75 5.7), Ridgewell 4.5, Sessegnon 6.7 (Thievy, 79 5.7), Anichebe 6.7 (O'Neil, 89 5.9)
Unused subs: Myhill, Sinclair, Vydra, Berahino
Manager: Pepe Mel 7.8
Scorers: Sessegnon (52), Mulumbu (85)
Referee: Martin Atkinson (West Yorkshire) 6.7
Attendance: 20,703   Home Fans 5.3   Away Fans 8.7

Summary:

Swansea 1 - West Bromwich Espa?a 2

Backed by a great showing of Spanish flags, Pepe Mel finally got his first win as Albion head coach and lifted his side three points clear of the relegation zone.

The omens weren't looking great after a chaotic week that had seen Chris Brunt put out of action for most of the rest of the season and Nicolas Anelka parting company with the club under a cloud of his own making. Despite the surprise return to fitness of Steven Reid, Mel switched to a back three with Craig Dawson recalled, while Graham Dorrans and Stephane Sessegnon came in from the cold alongside James Morrison to replace Brunt, the injured Morgan Amalfitano and Claudio Yacob and the benched Zoltan Gera.

In an almost comforting return to their old ways, Albion were poor in the second half and lucky to be only one goal down at half time thanks to a second-minute strike by Roland Lamah, but considerably improved in the second half. In just the sixth minute, Sessegnon equalised from 25 yards after Mulmbu played the ball to Morrison to set him up, and with five minutes left, Mulumbu received the ball just outside the box and the Swansea defence appeared to stand still and let him pass it into the net.

Mel handed a brief debut cameo to youngster Liam O'Neil as the Albion fans nervously awaited the final whistle, which was made sweeter still by the news of defeats for fellow strugglers Norwich and Cardiff.

Paul Gainham:

Maybe Pepe brought the Pope in at HT to instil some spirit into our players, maybe it was god himself but how a team can looks so utterly abject and completely lacking any spirit in the 1H and yet look so hungry in the second is beyond me. If only we could cure that our ills would be over.

Two major problems in the first half today, firstly the back 5 were all over the place, Reid and Ridgewell left the usual gaps and Swansea duly took full advantage of that after 3 mins, slicing us open at will. Secondly when we did move the ball forward, which was not that often, Anichebe did what he does well in holding the ball up but had zero support, our midfield were too deep as if the 5-3-2 set up hade made us all nervous and we were set up not to lose as opposed to try and win. Whatever, Swansea could and should have been 3-0 up at HT, our first half was as bad as at Palace or at Cardiff for those that can bear bringing those memories back into consciousness.

Second half as so often in the past, we pressed. Ridgewell and Reid got forward much more often and effectively, Mulumbu and Morrison supported the front line much better and suddenly roles were reversed, we now looked the more organised, assured side and Swansea looked much like we did in the first. Yes they did have one shot on Foster and occasionally pushed us, but we literally controlled the second half and with two great goals, managed to breather a collective sigh of relief at the end.

Great support from the Albion following today and great to see Mel on the pitch at the end saluting the fans and the players each hugging him. Please, please, please lets learn that when we play like we did in the 2H, we stand a much better chance.

Pepe is likely safe, we have a 4 point gap, pity Villa Won and England missed out on the six nations, still I am a happy man tonight.

Player Marks

  • Foster 7 Saved well in the 2H, silly goal kick in the first that could have been serious for us
  • Reid 5 Dreadful 1H, much improved second
  • Ridgewell 4 Ditto Reid but when Ridgewell is dreadful, he is truly dreadful
  • Olsson 6 Bit shaky first half but picked up in the second
  • McCauley 6 Ditto Olsson
  • Dawson 7 Steady performance from Dawson, mostly covered for Ridgewell well
  • Mulumbu 8 Without him, we are sunk. He fought for everything, could have got forward more in 1H but scored a great goal and ran the game in the 2nd.
  • Morrison 7 Similar to Mulumbu in that he should have supported Anichebe better in 1H but really picked up in the second
  • Dorrans 7 Great to see him back, a decent performance
  • Sessegnon 7 Quiet almost anaonymous 1H but fully engaged in the 2nd, great goal as well
  • Anichebe 7 Thankless task for him for most of the game but he stuck to it.

Subs

  • Gera 6 Helped shore up the midfield when he came on
  • Thievvy 2 Said it before, this guy is NOT a footballer, I don?t know what he is but footballer he definitely is NOT
  • O?Neill 5 Did not have much time to judge him, but great to see somebody I have never heard of before make their debut.

Coach 7 1H simply did not work, credit to him for adjusting and persevering in the 2nd, it paid off. Hate to think what would have happened if we had lost..

Referee 6 Mostly let things flow

Fans 9 Great turn out, great support even after the abject 1H.

oshawabaggie:

The sigh of relief from Baggieland could be heard all the way over here in frigid Oshawa. Perhaps the only thing more depressing than witnessing Albion's quenellka tainted descent into the relegation quagmire has been the brutal winter we have had to endure here in Canada. But I digress.

Firstly, kudos to the travelling Baggies fans for
A) Giving Mel the unequivocal support he needs, but has failed to get from management and board.
B) Outsinging the Swansea fans. You were great.

For the umpteenth time this was two games in one. The first half we were tentative, lacking commitment and frankly, weak, especially when attacked down the flanks. The second half we were energetic, positive in our ball winning, crisp in our passing and generally in control. Swansea hardly had a touch. Maybe its the half time Pep(e)talk or the additives in their cuppa, but whatever it is they need to identify it and adopt it from the start. This was a great team performance in the second half, but a special mention must be made for Mulumbu, who not only came out in the papers this week to express his confidence in our survival, but backed it up with a stirring performance.

Footnote: I hope they sit down with the team and review the two halves. Body language in halves 1 and 2 were starkly different. The right attitude from the start needs to be stressed.

Boing boing.