Swansea City made light work of their visitors at the Swansea.Com Stadium last night in the first half of a thrilling game. The second half though would claim to be more memorable as Swansea City’s Joe Allen saw red as did Preston head coach Ryan Lowe.
Having been taken apart in the first half by a slick and quick Swansea City, Preston decided to use thug like tactics in the second which merely played in to the home sides hands. Goals from Joel Piroe just after the first minute, a Joey Allen cracker and a set piece header from Harry Darling at the end of the half sunk the Lillywhites. They came out in the second half far more industrious and an early goal for Tom Cannon made it 3-1. Preston were extremely fortunate to get a double ricochet off two Swansea players before Cannon found the ball at his feet to easily beat Andy Fisher in the Swans goal. The harsh tackles from behind by the visitors went unpunished by referee Oliver Langford which would eventually lead to a full on brawl as the game concluded. The second goal for Preston should never have counted as an awful challenge on Ryan Manning was ignored by Langford and Preston swarmed forward to score a second.
Swansea City and giving away leads has become a facet of the Swans at times this season, and many would have expected a Preston third with plenty of time to go in the game. It wasn’t to be and the Swans stuck to their guns with good passing as Preston tried to out muscle their counterparts. Last season maybe, but Ben Cabango has grown in stature and strength with Nathan Wood now oozing confidence at the heart of the Swans defence. Swansea City displayed a courage and belief that comes from a five game unbeaten run and soaked up any Preston attack. So much so they worked their way back in to the game creating a great chance for Olivier Ntcham to seal matters. It was a glorious chance which was missed. This now though is a far more unified and well oiled football team, it’s taken a long time but many saw it coming.
Substitute Liam Walsh would ease the Swans nerves on ninety minutes as he robbed the ball from a misplaced Preston pass and bravely passed the ball to Joel Piroe who calmly slid the ball home for goal number four. Russell Martin felt his side were good value for their win. "We scored two good goals and a set-piece, and to then concede so soon after half-time was so frustrating, especially from a free-kick and a mis-hit clearance. It changed how the game looked. Preston threw caution to the wind and committed so many bodies forward. You can see why they have done so well this season and been challenging up there. They're a powerful team and really good at what they do. We made it harder for ourselves with a lack of control and maybe trying to kill it too early after their first goal because you know the next goal is so important. Some of the build-up was brilliant but they came with such an aggressive press that once we bypassed that it was just game on to go and try to score”
On his sides goals Martin reflected."We scored two really good goals and a set-piece. Conceding so soon after half-time was so frustrating, especially from a set-piece. It just changed how the game looked really. Preston threw caution to the wind and committed so many bodies forward. You can see why they have done so well this season. But the fight the lads are showing, some of the courage, even at 3-2, to play from the back was immense. We got the fourth goal we deserved, a brilliant finish from Joel Piroe, and that was a nice way to finish it."
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The game saw around thirty substitutes, coaches and several bystanders involve themselves in a mass brawl as the game neared an end. The incident seemingly started by Preston manager Ryan Lowe remonstrating with an injured Swansea player. What happened next is anyone’s guess as a mass of bodies engulfed the side of the pitch. Punches were thrown that was evident. It spilled on to the playing surface and referee Langford stopped the game. In amongst all the mayhem a nonchalant Joel Piroe is seen walking calmly away drinking from a water bottle. A moment of serenity in amongst the madness. Joe Allen would see red along with Ryan Lowe and no doubt there will be more repercussions for Swansea City after a brawl last month which saw Russell Martin red carded.
Tom Sandells at the Lancashire Post : Now the elephant in the room, the melee. According to Russell Martin, it was started by Ryan Lowe pushing Joe Allen (below). Personally, I did not see how it started though I did see Lowe seemingly get Allen in a headlock. It’s bizarre even to type that out. Martin’s is the only account we got on the night as no one from PNE was put up to speak to the press. Club media were keen for someone to speak to the media, Lowe less so. That does happen, it is not uncommon for managers to delegate media duties to others, but given the circumstances and what went on, it’s poor. I think that Lowe should have spoken to the media. He could have simply politely refused to answer questions surrounding his red card and instead focussed on the game. It is not about me, or the assembled media, but as one fan pointed out on Twitter, he had taken a day off work, driven down by himself and booked a hotel. The issue he wanted addressing? The first half. Tempers flare in football — what happened after was crazy but not unexplainable.
Ryan Lowe locked himself away in the dressing room after the game and refused to speak to the media. A measure maybe of how guilty he felt for starting the mass brawl, and maybe as well recognising he got it all wrong last night and could well face some more serious questions on his personal stability and ability to remain Preston manager ?
Swansea City are five points off the play offs but games are running out, they play Norwich City at Carrow Road on Saturday, another big test for Russell Martin and his Swansea team. Kick off is at 3pm.
Swansea City: Fisher; 6 Darling, 7 Cabango, 7 Wood, 7 Latibeaudiere; 6 Grimes (C), 6 Allen 7 (Fulton 62), 5 Manning, 6 Cooper 6 (Ntcham 75); 6 Piroe 8 (Whittaker 90+5), Cullen 5 (Walsh 62). 6
Subs not used: Sondegaard, Paterson, Cundle.
Goals: Piroe 1 & 90+5, Allen 35, Darling 45
🟨 Yellow cards: Cabango 45+1, Latibeaudiere 84, Darling 90+6
Red card: 🟥 Allen 90
Preston North End: Woodman; Storey (Brady 46), Lindsay (McCann 46), Hughes, Potts, Whiteman (Diaby 46), Ledson (Onomah 90), Johnson (C), Fernandez, Delap (Parrott 69), Cannon.
Subs not used: Cornell, Woodburn.
Goals: Cannon 48, Parrott 71
Yellow cards: 🟨 Lindsay 30, Hughes 43, Cannon 56
Red card : 🟥 Ryan Lowe ( PNE head coach ) 90
Attendance: 15,433
238 away
Referee: Oliver Langford 4/10 Lost the plot in the second half, failed to discipline persistent Preston fouling, especially leading to the away sides second goal.