Never mind his autograph, Willy Gueret will be soon getting stopped in the street for his National Lottery numbers. With five of the seven penalties he has faced as Swansea City goalkeeper saved, this is man with a remarkable talent for guesswork.''I'm just lucky,'' the Frenchman smiled on Saturday night. His excellent record suggests there is more to it than that, and Gueret did explain that the penalty taker's body language offered a few clues. ''But I cannot tell you any more than that, because that would be giving my secrets away,'' he added. Whatever the key, Gueret's manager is a big fan. ''You need a good goalkeeper,'' Kenny Jackett reflected. ''Brian Clough used to say there are two people you pay the most money to - one's a goalscorer and the other's a goalkeeper. He wasn't far wrong. ''It was a great save by Willy and, not for the first time, it was a crucial one. ''He doesn't just save penalties when we're 3-0 up and it doesn't really matter. He does it when there are points at stake." Gueret took centre stage six minutes from the end of another entertaining afternoon at the Liberty Stadium after Alan Tate did what Swansea had failed to do almost throughout - got to grips with Chris Iwelumo. Garry Monk and Co must have been reaching for the Nurofen on Sunday morning after slugging it out with Colchester's giant striker and going the way of Audley Harrison. Always a menace, Iwelumo appeared to have made the defining contribution of the afternoon when he drew Tate's clumsy challenge. Neil Danns placed the ball on the penalty spot, but had to wait as players squabbled and referee Mick Jones gave out the umpteenth lecture of his tiresome performance. Finally the spot-kick was taken and, despite a confident strike, Danns crumbled to his knees as Gueret sprung to his right and pawed the ball to safety. The crowd celebrated as if Lee Trundle had just stroked the ball home at the other end of the pitch. Swansea had survived. ''I was quite confident,'' Andy Robinson insisted. ''The crowd were jeering and it can be intimidating for opposition players trying to take penalties. ''And we have all seen before how good Willy is at saving them. Thankfully, he went the right way again and saved us a point.'' A beacon on the big stage, Gueret had given few indications of the shining effort to come at Swansea's training ground on Friday. Jackett's men ended their session with a penalty competition, and Gueret's gloves only served to keep his fingers warm. ''When the lads were taking them with their stronger feet, I didn't save one,'' he admitted. Not often are football managers thrilled when players do on a Saturday the opposite of what they've done in the week. But this was one of those strange days. Not every member of Jackett's squad had beaten Gueret from 12 yards. ''I blazed mine high and wide,'' Robinson admitted. There had been no such problems with accuracy for the Birkenhead boy come the real thing. It was a free-kick rather than a penalty, after Wayne Brown had got too close to Trundle, that gave Robinson his chance. The in-form left-winger curled home his fifth goal in three-and-a-half matches from 20 yards. ''I was a bit surprised because the wall seemed a bit smaller than usual and that made it easier to get the ball up and down,'' he said. Strangely, Colchester chose not to station Iwelumo in their human barricade, for he might have performed the job on his own. Swansea could not find an answer to the 6ft 3in Scotsman's strength, with only Izzy Iriekpen managing to compete in the air. Colchester, arriving in Wales on the back of eight consecutive victories, had taken the game to their hosts from the outset. Danns forced a fine save early on, then Iwelumo swept his side in front as Swansea appealed for offside. Jackett's men were prompted into life, Robinson's goal coming during a spell of pressure where Bayo Akinfenwa, Owain Tudur Jones and Trundle also tried their luck. They moved into top gear after the break, showing the quality which has taken them to the summit of League One. Leon Britton had Aidan Davison leaping, Akinfenwa should not have given the Colchester 'keeper any chance. But Swansea's powerhouse striker headed too close to Davison, who pushed the ball onto the crossbar. Phil Parkinson's team were hanging on at that point, yet they stirred once more to finish stronger in a topsy-turvy contest. Jamie Cureton lashed wastefully over the woodwork with the goal gaping, substitute Karl Duguid bungled an even clearer opportunity by shooting too close to Gueret. When Danns did the same from the spot, Parkinson was wondering how United had not won again. Jackett, meantime, was trying to work out how his free-scorers had only breached their visitors once. Unlucky not to win, or lucky not to lose? It was not easy to decide. News of defeat for Huddersfield and dropped points elsewhere made it a fairly positive afternoon for Swansea. ''Long way to go, a point earned. Things like that spring to mind,'' Jackett said. He should have been fairly pleased. Colchester's players may have been sporting beards and moustaches grown especially for their Christmas party, but this was a close shave.

REPORT: SOUTH WALES EVENING POST

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