x

A Tale Of Two Halves For Laudrup

Read on to find out what Michael Laudrup had to say after the Swans beat Sunderland at the Liberty Stadium.

I suspect that if they did half time press conferences at half time in the Premier League then the words of Michael Laudrup would not be as complimentary at half time as they were at the end of the game after his side demolished Sunderland 4-0.

A low key and poor first half performance saw the scoreline 0-0 at the break with the home side struggling to make any impact at all on the visitors goal and Kieran Westwood pretty much a passenger as - in fairness - was Michel Vorm at the other end of the pitch.

Laudrup said after the game; "In the first half, there wasn’t enough movement and we didn’t play quick enough. We didn’t move the ball as fast as we could.

"As a team, we did not perform that well in the first-half, but I knew that the players really wanted to win this game."

And those comments were a reasonable and fair summing up of the performance in that first forty five minutes with the Swans guilty of giving the ball away cheaply and struggling to take any real control of the game. Despite having the lions share of possession it was a wasteful performance and a pretty dull game to watch before the interval.

But no press conference but clearly some choice words I suspect were thrown in the dressing room at half time and forty five minutes and four goals later it was a much happier Laudrup who summed the second half up as follows

"Then I think it was completely different second half — there was much more movement, which made it hard for Sunderland to mark our players, and defensively on set pieces we improved a lot.

"It is a big week for us, and we’ve started well."

The Swans now head back into European action on Thursday night at the Liberty before welcoming West Ham here for a league game a week on Sunday.

What to read next:

Dale Announce Released List
With the season now done and dusted, teams are now announcing their released lists and Dale have decided to go early with theirs.
Refwatch: Southend United v Rochdale
Dale’s final game of the season at Southend United on Saturday will be refereed by PAUL JOHNSON.
Refwatch: Rochdale v Boreham Wood
Boreham Wood’s first visit to Spotland on Tuesday will be refereed by OLIVER MACKEY.
TVOS Preview: Rochdale v Dorking Wanderers
Rochdale AFC’s matchday programme – The Voice of Spotland – is back for Saturday’s Vanarama National League fixture against Dorking Wanderers.
Refwatch: Rochdale v Dorking Wanderers
Dale’s penultimate home fixture of the season against Dorking Wanderers on Saturday will be refereed by JOHN MULLIGAN.
Rochdale v Boreham Wood - Game Off
Somewhat predictably, tonight's game at home to Boreham Wood has been postponed.
Refwatch: Rochdale v Boreham Wood
Boreham Wood’s first visit to Spotland on Tuesday will be refereed by OLIVER MACKEY.
Refwatch: Oldham Athletic v Rochdale
Dale’s penultimate away game of the season at Oldham Athletic on Saturday will be refereed by RUEBYN RICARDO.
TVOS Preview: Rochdale v Hartlepool United
Rochdale AFC’s matchday programme – The Voice of Spotland – is back for Monday’s Vanarama National League fixture against Hartlepool United.
Refwatch: Rochdale v Hartlepool United
The most played home fixture in Dale’s history will be refereed on Easter Monday by RICHARD ELEY.