Derby went to Wales and continued their good recent for making it four games unbeaten and in doing so ended Swansea's perfect home record.

Swansea City 0  v 0 Derby County

The Liberty Stadium, Swansea

The Championship

2nd October 2010 - 15:00 pm

Teams:  

Swansea City: de Vries, Williams, Tate, Orlandi (Nouble 59), van der Gun (Beattie 78), Dyer, Dobbie, Monk, Rangel, Allen, Gower (Lopez 67)

Subs: Ma-Makalambay, Taylor, Serran, Lucas

Derby County: Bywater, Green, Barker, Brayford, Moxey, Bailey, Savage, Commons (Pringle 52), Bueno (Pearson 61), Cywka, Moore (Noble 66)

Subs: Deeney, O'Brien, Porter

Referee: Mr P Gibbs

Attendance: 15,071 (592 Travelling Rams)

The Away Report:

The Rams made a forced change to their line up as on loan striker Shefki Kuqi was ineligible to play against his parent club.

He was replaced at the point of the Derby attack by another on loan West Brom hit-man in Luke Moore.

The game opened with plenty of energy and Swans player Dobbie missed a golden opportunity as he headed over goal from cross range.

Swansea missed another good chance when Williams also placed his header over after a good corner from Gower.

Derby was putting some good passing together and after the early scares began to impose themselves on the game. Kris Commons was the first to test Swans keeper De Vries but was unable to finish truly.

Cywka, Green, Savage and Bailey were all busy and all created good opportunities but final balls were not being pounced on and it seemed the recent dominance and work ethic of Kuqi was being sorely missed in attack.

On various occasions Cywka and Commons should have done better when they had the Swans on the back foot and Shaun Barker could have easily put the Rams ahead when he headed wide, wasting a good opportunity.

Dobbie nearly got the Swans on the board when just before half time he struck soundly with his left foot but Stephen Bywater rescued the Rams with a great save as he tipped the ball to safety past his post.

HT: 0 – 0

The second half began in fireworks as not long after the resumption of play Commons was replaced by Pringle. Rather than an injury to the attacking player, it seemed from his reaction as he walked from the field, it was a tactical change that caused a little tension between Commons and Clough as the manger seemed less than pleased with the reaction.

Stephen Pearson returned to action as a substitute and had by far the best chance of the match when he found himself in on goal but unable to convert from close range after a great pass by Moxey found him clear.

Instead he took his shot and watched it cannon over the bar which will not help fuel the belief by many the player is unable to match his hard work with goals.

Barker also had another great opportunity to head the Rams to the lead when Pringle delivered a great corner only for the defender to send it over the bar.

The introduction of Noble gave Derby a little more life as he instantly produced energy and some good touches that had been lacking up top from Moore, who looked more than a little rusty after little match action in recent months.

It was Swansea though who upped the tempo in the dying minutes as Tate missed a shot from barely 6 yards out. Beattie also could have scored twice as he found himself in position but lacking a finish on both occasions.

FT: 0 - 0

The Rams managed to absorb the pressure and keep out the Swans as they held on for what was a very hard earned point that could have so easily been all three with a little more poise.

Swansea had an unblemished home record until the visit of Derby having not dropped a single point in their 4 matches at the Liberty Stadium. Derby should be well pleased that they not only ended that impressive record but also caused a lot of problems for their hosts.

With the international break next weekend it will give Derby some time to get some players back on the park.

The return of Kuqi will be welcomed at Preston as the game cried out for his strength and ability to hold up the ball. Something that could have quite easily made the difference for Derby.

Dan’s Man Of The Match:

Tomasz Cywka – Energetic and attacking. Always a threat and a big part of the Rams most creative play. If he can manage to start converting that work into goals, Cywka could become a massive cog in the wheel of a possible play-offs tilt.

Managers Reaction:

Nigel Clough spoke to Skysports.com after the match:

"It was a very good point for us once you put everything into perspective, we had quite a few players missing, players playing out of position and Swansea had a 100 per cent home record”.

"We couldn't quite fill the bench up so it was a remarkable effort by the players to keep a clean sheet and get a point”.

"We looked leggy in the first half. We knew they would have a lot of possession and we had to stay compact but I thought we started off OK but some of the lads were tired”.

"Swansea got on top at the end of that first half but once we got fresh legs on we looked a little bit more threatening on the break. We're glad of the international break so we can get some players back fit".

Player Reaction:

Defender John Brayford spoke to the official DCFC site after the match:

“I think to keep a clean sheet and hold a free-scoring Swansea to a draw is another sign we're moving in the right direction. I don't think there will be many teams who come here and stop them scoring, never mind leave with a point or three”.

"We limited them to quite few chances really, it wasn't like shot after shot was flying towards our goal and we were hanging on to dear life. In fact, the confidence we're playing with as a team I didn't think we were going to concede today”.

"We could have won it on the break a few times too. If one of those had gone in, it would have been even better. We're not complaining with a draw though, a point away from home is always welcome and it extends our unbeaten run which is what we were eager to ensure remained intact at the start of play".

"I'm happy to do a job for the team first and foremost. Shaun is great to play alongside and it has been a real learning process for me”.

"I'm not taking anything for granted and I want to build on the start I've made here because I'm really enjoying my football."

  Next Match:

Preston North End vs. Derby County

Saturday 16th October – 3pm

Photo: Action Images

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