Tate takes Swans through

It took Swansea nearly 3 hours to get a win in tonight’s LDV Vans Trophy Semi-Final match against Walsall as Alan Tate scores the final spotkick of the penalty shoot-out to take Swansea through to the Southern Area final.

Kenny Jackett made two changes to the side that drew with Hartlepool on the weekend, Iriekpen was missing from the whole team while Akinfenwa was dropped to the bench as Trundle partnered Knight up front.

We lined up:

Portsmouth’s assistant manager and first team coach, Kevin Bond and Joe Jordan respectively, were at the match to watch Lee Trundle.

We made the best possible start after just 8 minutes when Leon Knight scored his 5th goal for the Swans. We continued to make good chances in front of goal and really the score should have been 2 or 3-0 at the break.

Darren Way, who had a place on the bench for the game, was brought on after 21 minutes, replacing the injured Kevin McLeod.

As a result, a 1-goal lead is never enough and we’ve been punished for this in previous games. It was the same story tonight as Nicholls grabbed an equaliser for the Saddlers after 68 minutes.

Not long before their equaliser, Jackett made his second substitution, bringing on Adrian Forbes for Leon Britton.

Lee Trundle also had a strong penalty appeal turned down in the second half as we looked for a goal to regain the lead.

Andy Robinson then put us back in front 7 minutes from time, a goal which looked like being enough to take us through. But former transfer target James Constable grabbed Walsall’s second equaliser of the night just 2 minutes later – as Swansea threw away yet another lead.

Kevin Austin in fact was at fault for both of their goals, and maybe Jackett now has regrets over not starting Watt instead.

The full time whistle was blown by the ref as the teams were now set to play extra time. Strangely enough, Jackett brought off Trundle for Akinfenwa, a decision that I’m sure didn’t go down well with the 6,600 or so Swansea fans.

Extra time was goalless and penalties were now going to decide the outcome of the match. The first 8 penalties were converted successfully, but Knight and then Ricketts missed their spotkicks for the Swans. With Walsall taking theirs first, both players were unable to score winning penalties.

Swansea were then given a third chance to seal the game, Deakin blazed an attempt over the bar and Tate scored to put us through to the Southern Area Final to play League One leaders Colchester!

Penalties:

0-1: M. Standing
1-1: A. Robinson
1-2: G. Smith
2-2: R. Martinez
2-3: M. Wright
3-3: A. Forbes
3-4: A. Gerrard
4-4: A. Akinfenwa
4-4: A. Oakes (missed)
4-4: L. Knight (saved)
4-4: C. Westwood (saved)
4-4: S. Ricketts (saved)
4-5: D. Fox
5-5: G. Monk
5-5: Deakin (missed)
6-5: A. Tate

Player Ratings

Willy Gueret 7/10
Weren?t really bothered much, the two goals Walsall scored were well taken. Made a good save in the penalties and came close a few times in them.

Sam Ricketts 7/10
Didn?t do too bad today, didn?t do much wrong, got forward good and had a cracking shot on goal that was just wide.

Garry Monk 8/10
Didn?t spot any mistakes. Did everything right.

Kevin Austin 6/10
From what I saw, it was his man that got away to score, not the Austin we saw at the beginning of the season.

Alan Tate 7/10
Passing was good, tackled well and nothing got passed him, worked well with Britton on the right hand side.

Andy Robinson 9/10
My Man of the Match, Worked hard all game and never stopped running, he caused a lot of problems for Walsall. Had a few efforts on goal including his free kick in the last minute of normal time that hit the side netting.

Roberto Martinez 7/10
Some sloppy passes, but gave a few decent ones. Average game from him.

Kevin McLeod N/A
Didn?t see much of him, went off after a few minutes due to a bad tackle.

Leon Britton 8/10
Caused a lot of problems for Walsall, linked up very well with trundle/knight and Tate putting some good moves together.

Leon Knight 7/10
First time I’ve seen him tonight and he was looking sharp, with the right passes forward he could score a lot more. He made some decent runs forward.

Lee Trundle 5/10
Goes down too easily, wins bugger all in the air, cant hit with his right foot, greedy at times. Poor tonight.

Bayo Akinfenwa 7/10
Did great when he come on, won a lot of ball in the air and had a decent run on the ball. He should have come on earlier! Took his penalty well.

Darren Way 7/10
He did very well for his first game back from injury and with his new team-mates. Came on for Mcleod who got injured. Played in the centre with Martinez. Worked hard and never gave up. I?ll look forward to seeing him again.
Tried his best when he came on, dogged for every ball, made a few decent runs, won a few headers. Took his penalty well.

Thanks to philmix for his player ratings and comments.