Swansea City 2 Wycombe Wanderers 3

I suppose on the plus side we needed extra time (!!) but that is after clutching at several straws and being grateful to a huge huge deflection for one goal and a sweet strike from Darren Pratley to even get that far. Bar a very brief period (all too brief) at the end of the game we were second best tonight against a lively Wycombe side but at the end of it all, it is still a side that we should be beating.

After the late goals against Doncaster at the weekend, a Liberty crowd of just under 6,000, came expecting a second win to send us into the weekend trip into the Orient. But he who expects never gets - or something like that anyway - as it was Wycombe who looked the better side, the higher placed side, and the team most likely to succeed. They were first to the loose ball, they had the pace that we so badly lacked and, what seemed most worrying, is they had a desire to ensure that they could do what they set out to. And that is the bit that hurts most.

And when you see a side that lines up like this,

Willy

Amankwaah Izzy Lawrence Kev

Leon Pratley KOL Macca

LT10 Fallon

Subs: Oakes, Bayo, Knight, Butler, Williams

You don't really expect to lose. But lose we did, albeit taking 120 minutes for that fact to materialise. We huffed and puffed our way through the first half without ever really testing the keeper. Fallon and LT10 were getting little change from a long ball being pumped forward whilst Pratley was trying his best to drive a midfield that was way way way way way too narrow. We wanted to play with width hence Leon and Macca but when these players are cutting into the middle we are devoid of that width and it shows in the way we are playing.

The loss of Lawrence was a blow - let's hope its not serious - and it meant a re-shuffle as Williams came on at left back with Kev moving into the middle. Wycombe were always the more dangerous looking side and to an extent can probably count themselves unlucky to not lead at the break. Possession wise there was probably a profit in our column but in terms of attacking play the visitors looked better and hungrier than we were.

Half time saw an immediate change from the Swans with Bayo coming on to replace Macca and the Swans convert to 4-3-3 that changed to 3-4-3 that changed to 3-5-2 such was the sheer confusion at what we seemed to be doing. The overlying factor though seemed to be a 4-3-3 although Williams did seem more advanced than that formation would dictate. Now to be fair here both Williams and Amankwaah were on their best performances of the season. Both came forward with confidence and linked well with the forward line although the midfield was again lacking in power. We seem unable at times to run into space, play the ball into space or even the basics like show for the ball. All too often a forward run would be ended by a straight ball rather than one that allows the player to run onto it. A check of any movement just takes the momentum away.

And just as predictable it would be that we would go a goal down it was Easter who scored it just to rub salt into the wounds. A well taken goal and a good shot from the edge of the area saw him try to clear the dandruff from his hair in the goal celebration. Groans of despair from the crowd turned to anger in sections as the referee had a quiet word (presumably to tell him about products such as Head and Shoulders) but the damage was done - the Swans were a goal down.

One tends to become two these days and it did tonight. A deflected shot from three miles out (or was it three miles of space?) beat Willy and at 2-0 the game was probably over. It deserved to be anyway. Kris O'Leary had already tested the corner flag with one shot when he tried again to hit it only to watch it be deflected wickedly and into the back of the net to pull a goal back with 20 minutes to play. The time was to go back to 4-4-2 and Butler replaced Fallon to give a familiar look to the line up. And this was when the Swans played football. They looked dangerous going forward, neat with their passing and with an intent to get somewhere - an achievement they managed when Pratley fired home from 25-30 yards with a sweet shot that saw the keeper unmoved and the Swans level. Somehow.

As we pushed for a winner before the 90 minutes were up, we were denied by some good defending and a lack of a final killer ball. But as the 90 minutes closed we did look the better team by far and surely we had the ability to go on in extra time to grab the winner. Well, maybe had Bayo headed home a perfect Amankwaah cross we would have done but he didn't and neither did we as that was the best chance we created in the extra half hour and we were to be undone by a defensive mix up. What else.

A free kick on Wycombe's left was floated across and the Keystone Cops defending was back as the ball bobbled around the area before landing on the head of a Wycombe player two yards out and in front of an empty net. 3-2 to the visitors and the final act had been struck. There was to be little else for the remaining 10 minutes or so and as the referee put us out of our misery the boos could be heard around the ground from more sections than before.

And so the Carling Cup run will have to wait another twelve months at least but that is the least of our worries as we continue to look dis-organised and less than the average we were described as at the Open Day on Sunday.

We simply have to go to Orient and win and within that there has to be something that suggests we are capable of getting out of this rut that has been 2006.

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