CITY 2 SWANSEA 1
So, first match of the season back in Championship and what a game it turned out to be. This match was everything about why supporting City can at times be torture and yet at other times it can be pure ecstasy. If ever there was a match of two halves this was it!
City started the first match surprisingly with Fryatt in the front line and an interesting 7 man sub bench which contained Waghorn and N’Guessan.
We noticed that in the warm up Fryatt did not practice shooting at goal, and as the half progressed it did not look as though he would have any shots either. He did not look sharp and was marked out of the game.
As we expected Swansea passed the ball around well, making City look very pedestrian. We seemed to lack purpose and be second in speed of thought as well as second in the tackle. It was if they had left their brains in the dressing room. Swansea continued to stroke it around and when we got the ball back we lost the ball cheaply with aimless balls lumped forward. City were playing ponderously and not pressing Swansea on the ball.
Nevertheless it was still a bit of a surprise when Swansea scored with an unmarked header from a corner. Brown appeared to be the culprit who lost his man. The crowd became quieter and it felt alarmingly like it used to be in the Championship in the bad old days…..
No one was playing well. Wellens was trying hard to get into the match but the game was passing by King and Oakley. Dyer drifted inside too many times and gave Berner few options when coming out of defence.
What happened at half time changed the whole shape of the match. N’Guessan and Waghorn warmed up on the pitch at half time already in kit ready to come on. There must also have been a great team talk by Pearson – oh to have been a fly on the wall in the City dressing room!
Pearson brought on Waghorn and N’Guessan for Fryatt and King immediately at the start of the second half and City were transformed. Waghorn was a livewire and never gave the Swansea back line any peace. He pushed forward on the shoulder of the defender and with the ball at his feet. Oakley moved more infield and, with Wellens, was more influential. There was instantly more pace and Swansea were hustled out of their passing game. N’guessan was surprisingly tall and powerful for a winger and very fast and direct.
A good one two with Berner bursting into the box led to City’s penalty, taken by Howard but easily saved by the keeper. We feared that this might knock back City but, with roars of support from the large crowd, City did not let up and Waghorn scored with a deflected goal that trickled in.
N’Guessan continued to storm down the wing and send in good hard low crosses. Swansea wobbled under pressure and from an Oakley corner and knock back N’Guessan swept the ball home. The keeper got his hand to the ball but couldn’t keep it out.
It then became a barnstorming second half and we could easily have won 4-1 in the end. Adams came on for Dyer and looked lively, pinging in some great crosses from the left. From one N’Guessan hit the bar, and I lost count of the chances City had to make the game safe in the second half. Swansea only threatened once, a volley right at the end that was agonisingly close.
So it was in the end a good three points in the bag and the crowd left in good voice, having witnessed an exhilarating second half. It says much for Nigel Pearson’s management skills that he was not afraid to make major changes at half time. He, and his scouting team, clearly also have an eye for spotting talented young players like Waghorn and N’Guessan.
This is a match that so easily have gone wrong but instead it was a great start for our new season at the Walkers. 45 games to go…!!
City 4-4-2 Weale, Morrison, Hobbs, Brown, Berner, Oakley, A King, Wellens, L Dyer, Fryatt, Howard. Subs: Logan, Gradel, Adams (78 for Dyer), N'Guessan (46 for King), Waghorn (46 for Fryatt), O'Neill, Dickov.
Scored: Waghorn, N’Guessan Booked: Brown, Wellens
Swansea: De Vries: Williams, Tate, Britton, N Dyer, Monk, Pintado, McDonald, Rangel, Allen, Gower. Subs: Cornell, Richards, Serran, Orlandi (61 for McDonald), Dobbie (75 for Rangel), Lopez (24 for Allen), Bond.
Scored: Williams Booked: Gower
Referee: G K Hegley. Attendance: 26,171.
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation