Ricardo's report v Swansea

[ricardo 7,350]

I watched a bit of the Bournemouth, Newcastle game while waiting for the rain to clear. Both look like relegation fodder to me. In any event I nearly tarried too long and had to amble up to CR  at a rate of knots. It was a typical dull November day although surprisingly a shade on the warm side. What surprised me even more was the inclusion of O''Neil and no Mulumbu or Redmond.City kicked off towards the Barclay and Wes blazed high wide and not very handsome with barely ten seconds on the clock. At the other end a Swansea player tried the same with a similar result. It quickly settled down to a rather slow motion affair with Swansea dominating possession but with very little action outside of the ten yards each side of the halfway line. City finally got  a couple of strikes  in on goal with nine minutes gone when Brady''s free kick was nodded a yard over by Cameron Jerome and then Howson tested the Swans keeper with a twentyfive yarder.At the other end Swansea were probed along mainly by Shelvy who was seeing a lot of the ball, however there was very little to bother Ruddy with City''s revamped defence covering well. Wisdom was looking comfortable at fullback and very little was getting beyond Alex Tetty. It all got quite tedious for a time with all the play compressed in midfield but patience has to be the name of the game when playing teams like Swansea who are very good at keeping the ball. There were a couple of times when they got caught in possession but although Wes galloped clear his pass to Jerome was delayed far too long.A good delivery by O''Neil almost put Jerome in and the Swansea keeper had to react quickly to deflect the ball over the bar but that was a rare moment of drama in an otherwise totally forgettable first half. The first goal was obviously going to be all important in this game but to be honest I was starting to think that this game had 0-0 written all over it.Little changed at the start of the second half with Swansea again dominating without looking in the slightest bit dangerous. City broke well a couple of times and did at least look a bit more direct but there was little in the way of goalmouth action. When Jerome was pulled off after 68 minutes there were one or two boo''s but Mbokani''s introduction immediately sparked a dull game to life. He quickly won a free kick and a bit of sustained pressure brought a corner and a shot from O''Neil that bounced a yard wide. Swansea were unable to clear and Brady nipped through a couple of despairing tackles to unleash a great effort that Fabianski did brilliantly to turn round for a corner. The corner was delivered long and Mbokani lost his marker beautifully before a cushion header to Howson who forced it home from close range.It brought the crowd to life and City looked slick and purposeful at last. Wes brought another fine save from the Swansea keeper as City pressed for a second goal. It didn''t come and thankfully it wasn''t needed as City marshalled their defence superbly and despite plenty of possession Swansea never really looked like getting a leveller.Mulumbu came on to shore things up and  Mbokani almost set up a second goal in time added as Swansea were committed forward but O''Neil dallied too long. The four minutes added seemed an eternity but it ended with a well deserved three points and a clean sheet.Alex Tetty my MOM with honourable mentions for O''Neil and Wisdom.

[AmericanNorwichFan 0]

O''Neil didn''t dally at the end. We were deep in stoppage time, and he knew (this is where the expierence comes in) that just dribbling about and passing it off would be more efficient than taking a shot. O''Neil was my man of the match.

[K Lo 221]

Good write up Ricardo.Not sure about MotM though, Tettey''s passing seemed a bit wayward too often. COme to think of it, the rest of the squad''s didn''t seem too good either.MBacardi made a difference that I didn''t think would be possible by just substituting one forward.

[Cosmic Twin 188]

Another great report. Thanks Ricardo!

[Lessingham Canary 99]

Good assessment Ricardo, as always, MOTM for me was between Wessi and possibly Wisdom.

[ron obvious 1,501]

Thanks again Ricardo. Mbokani just made so much difference when he came on, if he gets fully match fit he could really be a season-changer.

You can see he''s not quite there yet; as Sturridge said on the commentary, he really should have been on the end of that excellent cross that Brady (?) fizzed across the box soon after the goal. But he certainly appears to have the skill & power, although not the pace perhaps, to be something special.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

Cheers for that Ricardo. Wisdom probs my motm, howson and mbok not far behind.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

Cheers Ricardo.

[ca 1]

Always good to read your match reports Ricardo so thank you for making the effort.

I also thought Wisdom had a decent game and got better as the game went on, Mbokani looked lively when he came on and hes not fully match fit yet.

The international break comes at the right time for Jarvis and Redmond , think Redmond''s was just a tweak and Jarvis 2/3 weeks so he wont be far off after the Chelsea game

[Indy 3,290]

Excellent report, funny but I thought O''Neil was missing most of the game, Tettey immense and Howson far better than the last few games.

The inclusion of Wisdom alongside Bennett was the key, both sides looked solid and pushed all Swansea attacks to the centre where we dealt with it.

Great result a bit dull for the first 60 minutes but 3 points very welcome.

[Number9 272]

Thanks Ricardo