Mark Gower scored his first Liberty Stadium goals - all three of them - as the Swans impressively tore apart Kilmarnock 4-1

I said two weeks back after the Swans beat FC Twente that you cannot draw many conclusions from pre-season games but today I will make an exception as a hugely impressive Swansea City looked several classes apart from their Scottish opponents.

In fact the only category that Kilmarnock could lay claim to was the noise of their fans who were vocal in their support of their team from the first to the last whistle.

But games are not won off the pitch and on the pitch it was the Swans who looked the classier act from the off, passing the ball around with supreme confidence whilst seemingly having that extra cutting edge to their attacking play that was so often missing last time around.

And if Mark Gower is to start to get amongst the goals then who would even think about claiming that the Swans are weaker then they were twelve months ago although I guess the real test comes next week when the season opens for real against Leicester at the Walkers Stadium.

The Swans started the match as follows

Dorus

Rangel     Monk     Williams     Tate

Dyer     Britton     Allen     McDonald     Gower

Pintado

And that line-up produced a highly entertaining first 45 minutes that was rewarded with just the one goal.   In particular going forward the Swans were excellent and the link play between the midfield trio, the wide men and the solitary striker in Pintado was a joy to watch at times.   In particular - changing sides almost evern 5-10 minutes, Dyer and Gower were constant threats to their Scottish opponents and seemed to be at the heart of everything that was excellent about our attacking play.

But it was not just going forward that we looked strong.   Britton, Allen and Shan Mac were tracking back to win the ball on the rare occasions when we gave possession away and - as ever Angel and Tatey were all too happy to join the attacks when the opportunity arose.

Gower's first goal came from the penalty spot after Dyer was hauled down in the penalty area after yet another burst of pace from the winger.   If Paulo sees that as a potential weapon this season then he is spot on in his judgement with Nathan constantly finding himself beyond the defence with some accurate passing from his team mates during the first half.   Gower's penalty was clinical and as he turned and pointed to the number 27 on the back you started to wonder if maybe there was something in the number 11 and the infamous curse.   Retire the shirt now!

As often happens in pre-season friendlies half time produces a wave of subs with Serran, Dobbie and Lopez introduced into the fray with the Swans changing to three at the back as Paulo experimented with his options.

And boy did it work.   With Lopez sitting deep in front of the back three the Swans seemed to generate acres of space in which both Dyer and Gower could run although in fairness Dobbie was also an excellent exponent of finding space as the Swans threatened to run riot.

Dyer set up the second when he found space on the right, reached the byline and crossed.   Pintado missed the ball but Gower didn't and he bundled home for the second and his third of the pre-season - almost prolific...!!

Wave after wave of Swans attacks followed but the third was the best of them all.   Again in space on the left he cut inside and unleashed a shot from the edge of the area which gave the keeper no chance and gave the winger his hat-trick and - shortly after - his deserved standing ovation as he was replaced.

Chad Bond, Jazz Richards and Casey Thomas were all in the action now but the Swans didn't look any less dangerous although a free header at the back allowed the visitors to pull one goal back although the three goal advantage was restored shortly after by a thunderous Chad Bond header.

The good news around all these performances was that at no stage - despite plenty of changes in personnel and formation - did the Swans look any less dangerous and that bodes well for the new season.

Of course the real stuff starts next week but we can take great confidence from this performance and maybe, just maybe, we are on the verge of something special.

See you at Leicester.

Photo: Action Images

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