The Swans earned themselves another point on the road as they drew 0-0 at Newcastle
The Swans earned themselves another point on the road as they drew 0-0 at Newcastle
REPORT - Wales Online
AWAY the lads!
Swansea City hinted they are ready to get it right on the road at last as they left Tyneside clutching a precious point.
Still no first Premier League win on the travels yet – but it was the way they turned around a difficult first half to deservedly hold Newcastle on their own St James’ patch that should offer hope.
Brendan Rodgers’ men went from being under the cosh in a one-sided first-half to the strongest side on the pitch, putting aside their mistakes to man up and make amends.
And after riding their luck in the first 45 where Demba Ba and Fabricio Coloccini both hit the post, there were chances for Swansea to steal an incredible victory late on.
That wasn’t to be – but Rodgers should take plenty from the attitude shown by his men not to get disheartened by the way they struggled to get outside their own half at the start to pinning Newcastle back later on.
And with Ashley Williams and Joe Allen leading by example, Swansea collected their eighth clean sheet to set up optimism going into the midweek clash at Everton.
Swansea have already found just how tough it is to get it your own way away from home in the Premier League, unable to play the football they’d like to at some of the top-flight’s more intimidating arenas.
But it looks like they have learned from early experiences and proved they can tough it out first and foremost on the road.
Boss Rodgers described it close to a perfect away performance, although he must admit that things weren’t great in the opening half regardless of how things turned out.
But the fact they kept themselves in it despite the pressure was the all-important thing, looking far batter once they settled and found their rhythm.
The touching tribute to Wales manager Gary Speed before kick-off was well done but it took a little while for things to get up to Premier League pace, at least as far as Swansea were concerned.
One player who did look alert from the off was the returning Allen, back in the middle of the park after serving his suspension and clearly keen to make an impact.
Indeed, five minutes in he hinted at the intriguing battle between him and the Toon’s fit-again midfield ace Cheick Tiote as he burst towards the box to register the Swans’ first shot, even if it was way off target.
But, in terms of the first 45, that was as good as it got as Tiote and the Toon got on top and stayed there.
Newcastle’s willingness to press from their frontline forced Swansea into either errors or fouls to leave the hosts robbing Rodgers’ side of the possession they crave.
Newcastle weren’t too picky about how they used the ball either, happy to hump it into the box and hope that Demba Ba could feed off the scraps.
And why not when it looked like bringing them the rewards. A Yohan Cabaye free-kick 19 minutes in saw the back-from-injury Fabricio Coloccini hit the far post with a header and if Gabriel Obertan had a delivery to match his dynamism there could have been real trouble.
Swansea struggled with Neil Taylor nervy and Steve Caulker not on his game, pulled horribly out of position 24 minutes in as Leon Best chested down a Cabaye pass into the path of Ba who smashed the upright as Jazz Richards stuck in a toe.
And then, two minutes later, it took a block from Ashley Williams to stop Ba profiting from Obertan’s in-running through a turn and shot inside the area.
Warnings well and truly served, Swansea continued to give Newcastle chances from free-kicks and throwing away possession on the counter, keeping the game camped in the visitors’ half.
Mark Gower was particularly guilty of wrong decisions to end promising pushes into the Toon defence, undoing his own good work.
And Alan Pardew could consider himself unlucky not to be doing his half-time team talk with his side in the lead, Vorm saving from Ba after Best bullied Caulker, while Jonas Guttierrez fizzed one shot just wide.
It didn’t relent initially after the interval, Ba volleying over Danny Simpson’s floating ball to the far post.
But at least Swansea were showing signs of finally keeping hold of the ball and – crucially – had the 0-0 platform to build from.
Kemy Agustien’s introduction for Gower helped Swansea settle in midfield and while it still took them a time to start to ask questions, they at least were.
A first corner – compared to the eight enjoyed by the hosts – came on 58 minutes, while a lovely passing move with Allen at the heart of it saw Routledge drive a 63rd-minute effort across goal.
Finally confidence and composure came and the first signs of frustration crept down from the stands, Sinclair starting to scare on the counter and shooting just wide with 16 minutes to go.
There was only one side that looked like they were going to score as the boos rang down and the foul count from the hosts ticked up.
The dream goal – and that first win on the road – was not to be on this occasion.
But the signs are there that good times on the road are coming pretty soon.