The Swans took on The Shrimps for the first time this evening in a late kick off at the Swansea.Com. A fairly decent crowd turned out to see the first game of Luke Williams tenure, albeit in the FA Cup. It was a tentative affair with little to be concerned about from the visitors as the Swans manoeuvred themselves easily in to the next round.
Matt Grimes, Harry Darling, Ben Cabango, Jamie Paterson, Josh Tymon, Josh Key (injured) and Jay Fulton were all out of the starting eleven for this fixture.
As expected the home side kept good ball possession throughout the first half with nothing from the visitors to concern them. In fact the over play and poor crossing was a feature of the Swans first half. When crosses were delivered in to the Morecambe area Jerry Yates ( the guy with number 9 on his back ) wasn’t alive to the fact the Shrimps keeper was taking the ball easily at chest height.That simply shouldn’t be happening. Charlie Patino did have an opportunity mid way through the half, his header well saved by goalkeeper Smith. Kristian Pedersen as well had a strike on the half hour.
Swansea were trying to play through the lines without any real pace or ability to do so, Patino got a decent cross in for Yates but the striker was behind the defender and nowhere near the ball. Azeem Abdulai was back and it was good to see him involved, but the play was painful at times to watch. Sam Parker came alive on several occasions, but really wasn’t having much joy for his efforts. You could see the Morecambe plan here, soak up as much pressure as you can and hit the Swans on the break.
On thirty six minutes Yannick Bolasie had a fierce drive whip just over the bar. Then the mistakes at the back began to creep in. Andy Fisher was left exposed by some thoughtless play from Kyle Naughton. Yes you could really see what Morecambe were all about. The weak links were clearly Naughton and Pedersen out on the Swans left, their ball control was wanting and the weakness in midfield was also evident. Joe Allen and Charlie Patino more of a delicate blend of skill than having the ability to enforce the Swans tactics. A free kick from the Shrimps was headed out for a corner on forty one minutes. It was cleared long but the pace of Parker was not effective enough to start a proper breakaway.
With the half coming to an end the Swans maintained their possession of the ball, but as was the story of the half it ended up being passed across the midfield and backwards. The home side were toothless, when the half came to an end the crowd must have breathed a big sigh of relief.
The second half started with no changes for the Swans.
Within two minutes a crafted cross from the Swans right by Parker was casually met by Patino (below) who arrived late to place the ball in to the Morecambe net. That prompted the Swans to press on and Patino again arriving late in the Shrimps box headed desperately wide. This was better. Joe Allen was becoming more of a threat in midfield and at last the pace increased. Gwion Edwards, an ex Swans academy player came on with Morecambe trying hard to exert themselves on the Swans midfield. Cheered on by around two hundred and fifty fans the Shrimps had a set piece out on the Swans right. If they were to get anything from the game you felt it would be from one of these opportunities. It came to nothing. Bashir Humphreys was brought on with Matt Grimes for Joe Allen and Abdulai with a clear intention of preserving what the Swans had.
Again the Swans attacked on sixty minutes, Pedersen putting in a dangerous cross which again saw Yates behind his marker and unable to do anything to improve matters. A wonderful Humphreys slide rule pass was met by Patino but his cross was to too quick for Yates to get on to. On sixty four minutes a free kick in a dangerous position ended up back with Andy Fisher compliments of Grimes and Naughton. The Swans really did need another goal for their efforts. Morecambe were being allowed to pass the ball in midfield but were not unduly concerning the Swans.
On sixty seven minutes Jamie Paterson came on for Bolasie and Sam Parker was replaced by Liam Cullen. He took up a position on the right side of the Swans attack. Morecambe also brought on two substitutes in Michael Mellon and Adam Mayor. A miscontrolled ball by Yates fell to Mayor who fired wide. The Swans needed now to get a grip on the game. Mistakes were leading to chances for the visitors. Then it was Naughton’s turn to give the ball away, another Shrimps attack fizzled out, but again the warning signs were there.
The Swans were now being hounded with a high press as was expected for the last fifteen minutes. Forward passes were being followed up by back passes as Morecambe probed putting pressure on Nathan Wood.The Shrimps last throw of the dice came with Cammy Smith coming on with thirteen to play. It has to be said the game for Swansea was again ponderous and very predictable. Morecambe again pushed forwards, the Swans again made mistakes which were going unpunished.
No Swansea player seemed bothered to take on a player or show their real ability on the ball against a team from the fourth tier. Cooper broke for the Swans and his pass to Paterson pretty much summed up the evening for the Swans, it was poor. Paterson then received the ball from Grimes on the Swansea left, his neat pass was poorly executed by Pedersen. Mayor was booked for a foul on Cullen and again the Swans had a dangerous opportunity. It ended up back on the half way line.
At last the slow build up play was seized upon by Jerry Yates who smartly fired home the Swans second from the edge of the penalty area. This is where we see the best of Yates reacting quickly to opportunities. He was immediately replaced by Mykola up front. A tempting ball in from Cullen was met with five minutes of injury time announced, but no Swans player could capitalise.
Yes, this was a very much changed Swansea side which eased through this game. However, there is still a reluctance to take advantage of sides who stand off them. Mykola demonstrated how to get across his marker from a Pedersen cross but it was blocked. There was a casual feel to the Swans efforts, an almost shoulder shrugging victory that seemed to delight new head coach Luke Williams.
That’s the Swans in to the fourth round, and it’s back to league action next Saturday away at Birmingham City.
⚽️ Swansea City: Fisher; 6 Abdulai 6 (Humphreys 59) 6 Naughton, 5 Wood, 6 Pedersen; 5 Allen (c) 6 (Grimes 59) 6 Patino, 7 Cooper; 6 Bolasie 5 (Paterson 68), 5 Parker 6 (Cullen 68), 5 Yates 6 (Kuharevich 88).
Substitutes : Rushworth, Tjoe-A-On, Wilson, Lissah.
⚽️ Morecambe: Smith; Senior, Bedeau, Rawson, Stokes (Smith 78), Tutonda; Threlkeld (Edwards 54), Songo'o (Mellon 77) Taylor; Slew (Mayor 70), Brown (Bloxham 70)
Substitutes : Pedley, Melbourne, Fox-Akande