Russell Martin changed his squad around to fit in with two thirty minute each way games against Colchester at Fairwood. The first game the swans lost 2-0 but won the second 1-0. It was an experimental afternoon of behind closed doors football, but the swans manager surely won’t be too happy with some of his sides key players.
The match has been described as a typical behind closed doors game with patchy periods that also became quite languid at times. It did have aggressive moments in the tackle, and at times players looked like they wanted to be there, but it wasn’t pleasing on the eye. Frank Nouble an ex Swansea player scored for the U’s and their gritty display was far more than the home team could deal with. Much of the swans play from the first eleven was blunt and typical of last seasons more frustrating games however, Martin will obviously be pleased at yet another outing. Colchester looked industrious and well drilled, and with chances at a premium the 2-0 win was deserved. It can be said with Fulton, Joseph, Garrick and Ollie Cooper in the first game it was a second string. Add Whittaker and a Cullen to that, and they were toothless in this outing and there is maybe some leeway overall.
Swansea City v Colchester United ‘The first Sixty’ Benda, Abdulai, B. Cooper, Manning (Ogbeta 45), O. Cooper, Fulton, Joseph, Garrick, Ntcham (Cotterill 45), Whittaker, Cullen.
Final : Swansea City 0-2 Colchester United.
Swans performance rating 4/10. Slow and lacking ideas.
Ntcham in the first game
The second game followed a similar pattern but the swans with a more recognisable side looked more pacy and a lot less ‘devoid’ of ideas compared to the first game. Some excellent counter-attacking football by the U’s created chances for the visitors, with Noah Chilvers unlucky to see a lobbed effort fly just over the bar. John Akinde and Fred Sears were busy for the away side and the swans had to work hard to deal with their industry. With the game coming to a close some good work by Kyle Naughton saw his cross met by Joel Latibeaudiere who headed home.
Joel Latibeaudiere scores the only goal for the swans in two hours of football
Overall did the swans put absolute effort into these two games ? On the eye most certainly not. The players who did play and needed to like Fulton, Abdulai and Brandon Cooper were pretty tame in the first game as was Sorinola in the second. The concern will be the performance of what looks like a first team in the second game. Yes it’s early days and yes Colchester we’re seriously up for these games. But then if that’s the case why weren’t the swans ?
Swansea City v Colchester United ‘The second sixty’ : Fisher; Latibeaudiere, Wood, Darling, Naughton; Congreve, Grimes, Sorinola; Piroe, Paterson, Obafemi (Lloyd 47).
Final : Swansea City 1-0 Colchester United.
Swans performance rating 6/10 : Better, more cohesive but really lacking in a desire to finish the game off.
Flynn Downes
As expected really with all the speculation surrounding Flynn Downes he wasn’t at Fairwood this afternoon. The reason for this could easily be a knock he picked up in training. However with so much speculation surrounding him it’s more than likely he is being kept out of the firing line this week. We are told two clubs are vying for his signature, one of which is Crystal Palace. Ryan Bennett was also absent as he has been since the players went to Pennyhill Park. Hopefully that’s a sign he is pushing for a new club and not doing a ‘Jamie Paterson’ Liam Walsh was injured in the run out against Haverfordwest County last week. He is likely to be out for eight weeks.
Swansea Independent view
Any chance for the coaching staff to see players in action at any level pre season will be a benefit. However, the swans didn’t show that much over two hours of football against supposed lesser opposition. It has to be said though the visitors looked far more hungry to do the basic things well as much of the swans performance can be summed up as lackadaisical. Assistant coach Matt Gill will disagree though "I think that was a brilliant exercise for us,” he said. There was a lot of stuff that came out of today that we know we are going to have to face during the season. There will be teams that sit off us, lie deep and look to make it hard for us to play through. When you play in pre-season you want to face different challenges, the lads have worked extremely hard. We are obviously much further ahead than we were at this stage last year. They are in an outstanding place and we just want to continue that.”