Swansea 2 Lincoln 0
Saturday, 25th Jan 2003 00:00

Rejuvinated Swans Win At Last

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Report By Phil Sumbler

After heavy overnight rain and early morning winds, it was a pleasant afternoon at the Vetch with the North Bank section in a crowd of over 5000 shielding their eyes from the sun in the first half. The crowd was clearly boosted by the reduction in admission prices and above what I predicted to director Dave Morgan before the match started. And it was clear that the rallying cry had worked with all talks of demos and the such put to one side as Brian Flynn took his place on the bench to a standing ovation from sections of the centre stand.

New signing Lenny Johnrose was pitched straight into the action in midfield after signing at the eleventh hour (and fifty eight minute!) yesterday. And Swansea could have had a dream start. Good build up play on the left resulted in the centre being cleared to Britton on the edge of the box who steadied himself and volleyed a shot that looked in all the way until a good save from the Lincoln Keeper Marriott.

With a start like that and the fans behind the crowd it seemed that Swansea could have built on it but they sat back a little and let Lincoln run at them, forcing a series of corners. Most were dealt with comfortably but from the fourth or fifth the inswinger almost caught Swansea out. Roger clearly misjudged the flight of the ball and tumbling backwards just managed to palm the ball away from the goal but only to fall in a goalmouth scramble. The ball was put into the net by a Lincoln player but the referee felt that he had seen an infringement on Roger and the free-kick went our way. I have to say that had the decision been for a foul on Roger it was probably the wrong one but when you are at the bottom you need little things like that to go your way and it's about time they did.

Lincoln's chances were being restricted to efforts from the edge of the box and Swansea were struggling to create solid chances when they took the lead almost on the stroke of half-time. The impressive Britton won the ball on the right hand side of the area and made his way to the by-line where he played a perfect cross which was met by the rising Nugent to head over Marriott and put the Swans up. You could almost sense the relief around the Vetch that we were in front and particularly the players who were urged immediately to calm down and make sure that we didn't go into the break at any position other than ahead.

The second half followed a very similar pattern to the first but with Swansea seemingly keener to win the loose ball and make sure that the limited chances that Lincoln had first half were severely reduced in the second period. Swansea were in the ascendancy at this point and went 2-0 up just past the hour mark. After a series of corners of our own the second goal followed a similar pattern to the disallowed Lincoln goal. A goalmouth scramble occurred after Mumford had put the corner in and it was the boot of Williams that hammered the ball home when seemingly no-one could wrap a foot around it. As you tend to in these situations you look immediately at the referee and as he pointed back to the centre circle the party really started at the Vetch.

The last half hour passed without too much incident although you always had that nagging doubt that we could not afford to give the goal away. Roger saved superbly from one Lincoln attack and when Tate bought down an advancing Lincoln attacker people found themselves talking about the possibility of a red card. Thankfully the referee saw different and just showed the yellow version and from that moment on Swansea were never troubled.

Mumford hit a 30 yarder that sailed just over and the three points were going to be ours. The team left the pitch not to the boos to which we have heard recently but to some celebration with most fans staying to cheer them off the pitch after a well deserved victory. We are far from out of the mire but a win like this will boost the confidence for some tougher opposition to come. Let's enjoy this part while we can and no wonder where the other 25 points that we probably need will come from. On performances like this we could well get them.

Darlington are the next opponents to visit the Vetch after the Rushden game next Saturday/ How many of those extra 1500 people today will come back if the prices rise to normal levels? We can hope most of them but more importantly let's hope for the same result

Sponsor's man of the match was Kevin Nugent and to be fair it's hard to argue against that although extra praise as well for Britton and Smith who hardly put a foot wrong in a very good team display.

Report By Clive, Gareth and David Hughes

Our last report was after Lincoln away, and we started off with the following words. We can't wait to the end of the report, so let's do it at the start. Tonight we can all be proud to be Swans, the team put in a magnificent battling performance. Today much the same can be said but this time we came away with three points, when at Lincoln we came away with nothing after deserving at least a share of the spoils. Today saw the home debut of Kevin Nugent and a full Swans debut for Lennie Johnrose, who signed yesterday for an initial one month but with thoughts of being here to the end of the season. With these two changes the line up was Freestone Evans, Tate, Smith, Howard Britton,Mumford,Johnrose Williams, Nugent,Thomas Subs: Richards,Jenkins,O'Leary Watkin, Steins The Swans opened brightly and for the first five minutes were in total control, with one excellent chance, an edge of the box volley from Britton being well saved by Marriott in the Lincoln goal. This early pressure was soon lost as Lincoln started to look more menacing as they dominated play. They did get the ball in the net, with sighs of relief when the referee disallowed for a foul on Freestone. In all honesty the first half was instantly forgettable with long periods of the game being very flat with nothing to encourage the crowd. Just as it seemed half-time would come with it being all square, Nugent coming in at the far post, met a good cross from Britton sending a strong looping header over Marriott back into the far top corner. What a good feeling at half time. We were actually winning !!! There was the niggling doubt as Lincoln had been the stronger team for the mid half hour of the first half. In fact our concerns were eased slightly as the team started the second half with a battling performance that lasted the whole of the second 45mins. Britton covered every blade of grass, Nugent led the line well, Smith a tower of strength in defence and Johnrose getting stronger. In fact each player seemed to have that extra spring in his steps and the will to win. While not a perfect performance they dug deep blocking and putting in timely tackles. There was one massive scare when Lincoln looked certain to equalise when Tate went to sleep allowing the ball to be taken off his feet and the cross ball finding Cropper inside the six yard box only for Rog to pull off a brilliant left handed block. This was the piece of luck we have been waiting for. This wake up call spurred the team to add an extra couple of percent to their work rate. We were looking a solid unit, as players worked hard for each other, as hard as Lincoln tried to get back into the game, they were met with steely resistance from the Swans. With relief the second goal came. A Mumford corner was put into the top of the net by Williams after a short scramble in the six yard box. A long look at the referee until the realization dawned that the goal was awarded and we were now holding a comfortable lead. We nearly made it 3 when Marriott pulled off an incredible double save, the first from a Thomas volley and a second scrambled save from Nugent who followed in. Mumford joined in the fun a few minutes later with a long-range scorcher, which unluckily was always rising, and narrowly going over the bar. In the final minutes Tate was booked for a very foolish challenge when on the edge of the box with a Lincoln player running away from goal, he tugged his arm giving away a foul in a very dangerous position. The resultant free kick going harmlessly past the far post. Although Lincoln did apply some late pressure the team were in no mood to give them a foothold back into the game, and as the final whistle sounded the joy and relief could easily be seen in the players faces. Again a good team performance, which we believe does not warrant individual scores, but here are a few comments. This taken from our report after the Exeter game "Tate - Played with confidence but was worrying at times as he showed no urgency in tackles or clearances." Today we reiterate the comments as on more than one occasion he was caught in possession. Nugent brought experience in leading the line, this allowing Thomas more freedom than of late. Johnrose looked slightly off the pace but played a committed performance in the second half. A couple of games under his belt and he could prove to be very influential. Smith was back to his commanding best. Mumford had a better game. The team had a much better balanced look to it. We can take encouragement from this performance, which if continues, gives us all hope for the rest of the season. Off the pitch Comments With very few Lincoln fans the crowd of 5,099 must have had the figure of 5,000 home fans. With rough estimate of 1,000 season ticket holders and with the crowds lately averaging 3,500, the club would have lost approx £12,500 with the drop in prices. Part of this would have been recouped by £7,500 by the encouraging extra 1,500 crowd. Let's hope the initiative proves worth while in future games and a good percentage return to pay the full amount. On entering pamphlets were issued appealing against a demonstration. A small cost maybe, but an unwelcome on cost that the club can ill afford. Talking of on cost. There were 20 police on duty inside the ground. With the small away following we would have expected the game to be stewards only. Was it the talk of a demonstration, which had been called off in the week that prompted this action? If so then yet again it was an on cost that the club cannot afford. Today's performance was encouraging, let's all build on it, we don't need side issues taking our eyes off the main picture. The end of the season is looming, it's time for all, players and fans, to unite, there's NO other way. One final thought After our last home game - Bristol Rovers I posted I have just completed a 150 mile journey each one as depressing as any I have made over the many years of supporting the Swans.

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