A Damp Squib on Bonfire Night in Swansea
Yesterday at 12:31 PM
The trip to Swansea was slightly complicated due to engineering works between Port Talbot and Swansea which meant a rail replacement bus for the last leg of the journey. I passed the time relistening to the From the Rookery End reflections on the Wednesday game which meant that I was in a very good mood by the time I arrived.
I was staying at the Grand Hotel opposite the station and was travelling solo, so I went down to the hotel bar to have dinner before the game. I made sure that I was there early as, on previous visits, the bar has been packed on a matchday. On this occasion, it was deserted. I left for the ground at about 7, as it is a 30-minute walk, and found myself alone for most of the journey, finally meeting up with others on the final stretch.
On arrival in the stand, I was told that the seating was unreserved, so I went and joined Don in the disabled enclosure.
Team news was that Cleverley had made two changes from the Sheffield Wednesday game with Sema and Ebosele in for Baah and the suspended Porteous. So, the starting line-up was Bachmann; Ebosele, Sierralta, Pollock, Larouci; Chakvetadze, Ince, Dwomoh, Kayembe, Sema; Bayo.
It was Swansea's Remembrance fixture so, prior to kick-off, there was a minute's silence followed by the Last Post and Reveille after which both managers placed wreaths on the pitch. As it was bonfire night, the ceremony was accompanied by the noise of fireworks going off.
As I prepared for kick-off, I put my distance glasses on and wondered why my vision was blurred. I soon realised that I had lost one of my lenses. It took me a while to find it so that I could see clearly again. I shouldn't have bothered.
The first chance of the game fell to the home side as Peart-Harris flicked the ball goalwards, but Bachmann gathered. Swansea should have taken the lead in the third minute as a pass from Ebosele was missed by Dwomoh and the ball ran through to Grimes who played a lovely pass to Peart-Harris whose initial shot was blocked by Pollock, the follow-up was heading for the bottom corner, but Bachmann dived to keep it out. The first attack of note by the Hornets came after 10 minutes when Sema broke down the left and got to the byline, the ball reached Ince, but he was unable to fashion a shot. Peart-Harris broke into the Watford box again and took a tumble, the referee waved play on, so he got up and took a shot that was blocked by Pollock for a corner. The hosts threatened again as Peart-Harris hit a dangerous cross to the back post, Vipotnik was sliding in but unable to connect.
There were complaints in the away end when the referee gave a corner after a Swansea player appeared to have had the last touch. The corner was played short and the eventual cross into the box was met by the head of Darling, Bachmann parried and Cabango turned in the rebound, but the flag was up for offside. The first booking of the game went to Ebosele who was adjudged to have fouled Ronald despite winning the ball. Grimes took the resultant free kick which flew wide of the far post. Half hour had passed before the Hornets managed their second foray into the Swansea box. On this occasion Chakvetadze broke forward and found Larouci whose cross was claimed by the Swansea keeper, Vigouroux. The Hornets threatened again as a cross from Larouci was blocked, the ball fell to Chakvetadze whose cross was caught by the keeper. The home side took the lead in the 35th minute as Gonçalo Franco crossed for Ronald who headed the ball back across goal for Peart-Harris to turn it past Bachmann at close range. Swansea had a chance for a second as Peart-Harris played the ball back to Gonçalo Franco whose low shot was easily gathered by Bachmann. A rare attack from the Hornets came as Chakvetadze played a through ball for Bayo, who appeared to be tripped, but the free kick was given against him. The first booking for the home side went to Grimes after he stopped a break by Dwomoh. There was a rare chance for the Hornets as Kayembe broke into the box, but his shot was blocked for a corner that came to nothing. Then Ebosele beat a couple of players and broke down the right before putting in a cross that was caught by Vigouroux. There were two bookings late in the half, first Gonçalo Franco and then Sierralta after Ronald appeared to run into him. There was two minutes of added time that passed without incident, so the half time whistle went with Watford a goal behind. It had been a very poor first half by the Hornets who just could not string passes together. Swansea were disrupting our attacks and Peart-Harris was running through us at will. I took heart from the fact that the last few minutes had seen some promising signs and Colin assured me at half-time that we are a second half team. We could only hope.
Cleverley made a change at the break bringing Baah on in place of Larouci, who had struggled in the first half. The first action of note in the second half started with an attack by Chakvetadze who ran into a Swansea player and lost the ball which was played out to Ronald on the left, he broke forward into the box, his shot was blocked, the ball fell to Gonçalo Franco whose shot flew well over the target. Then Ince played the ball out to Chakvetadze, and the Hornets won a corner from which the home side launched a counterattack that finished with a speculative lob from Ronald who, thankfully, couldn't hit the target. A lovely ball forward released Sema who found Bayo in the box where he won a corner. The delivery from Chakvetadze was met by a back header from Sierralta that cleared the bar. Cleverley made a double change at this point replacing Dwomoh and Sema with Louza and Andrews. The Hornets had an immediate chance to grab an unlikely equaliser as Baah played the ball back for Andrews who hit a terrific shot that was blocked before it hit the target. The resultant corner from Louza was caught by Vigouroux. Swansea made their first change at this point bringing Bianchini on in place of Vipotnik.
The Hornets threatened again as Louza found Baah, but his cut back was blocked. A lovely ball from Chakvetadze released Baah who broke into the box but was stopped by a great tackle from Darling. At this point Cleverley replaced Ince with Doumbia and the home side brought Christie and Allen on in place of Naughton and Gonçalo Franco. The next booking of the game went to the goalscorer, Peart-Harris, for a foul on Ebosele. The Hornets were looking for a leveller and Chakvetadze cut inside and shot just over the target. Cleverley made a final change bringing Jebbison on in place of Bayo. The next chance for the Hornets came after a throw from Ebosele reached Chakvetadze whose shot took a deflection and flew over the bar. Again, from the corner, Louza's delivery was picked out of the air by Vigouroux. The Hornets had another chance as the ball was given away to Jebbison, he broke forward and ran into a defender, but the ball fell to Louza whose shot was high and wide. The Hornets threatened again as Ebosele crossed for Baah, who tried a cross of his own that flew out of play. There was four minutes of additional time at the end of the game. A good passing move by the Hornets finished with a Pollock header towards Chakvetadze being put out. Bachmann came up for the corner which was cleared, it reached Andrews who played in Baah who advanced and blasted his shot into the side netting when he probably should have passed to someone in a better position. So, the final whistle went on another away defeat for the Hornets.
It was another disappointing showing on the road. To be fair, the second half performance had been much improved, and the Hornets created several chances from which they could have snatched a point, but that would have felt a bit fortunate. After the goal fest on Saturday, it was a disappointment that we didn't manage a shot on target over the 90 minutes. There was certainly more energy when Baah came on, but he made some poor choices. The first half was too cautious against a team that concedes few goals. Too often there were misplaced passes or a run into an opposition player who dispossessed them. The second half saw more forward breaks, but the Swansea defence was very well organised and restricted the opportunities to shoot.
It was sad to see that the ground was almost deserted. It was Swansea's lowest home crowd, Covid excepted, in five years. I guess that was unsurprising for a televised game on bonfire night, but it still saddened me.
The walk back to the city centre was solitary for most of the way. Then, just before I reached the station, I caught up with a couple of regulars who greeted me with, "Oh, you again. Can't get away from you. See you in Plymouth?" "Oh, yes."
