TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OF A CRAZY DAY FOR THE SWANS
WHERE to begin after all that? As far as Swansea City are concerned, the hope must be that this incredible, astonishing, crazy victory, is exactly that: the beginning.
It what was seen as quite possibly Swansea City’s most important game in their Premier League lives, the win they somehow emerged with has to be the start of something better.
As much as it will be tempting to consider this as an automatic turning point, there will be little point in celebrating a match few will forget should it not lead to more.
You could pore over this performance and see evidence to suggest that Swansea will do well to survive should they continue defending with such dire conviction, just as you could analyse it and be convinced that teams that suffer relegation do not have the kind of character and will to win that was displayed when Fernando Llorente struck twice in injury time.
It is difficult to know where to start in looking at this schizophrenic display, but the win was the be-all and the end-all.
Bob Bradley’s insistence that a win was all this side needed to start believing again was evident right the way through this performance, the confidence of players in their actions on the field riding high and sinking low through this rollercoaster relegation tussle. At times, some of the football impressed more than it has done all year. At times some of the defending and decision-making was as bad as it has been.
But they came through it with the win, celebrated by players in a real show of togetherness and by the fans in possibly the loudest Liberty roar there’s been.
Swansea looked dead and buried, beaten as the realisation sunk in on a stunned, silent support that no side has survived in the modern-day topflight with six points from their first 13 games.
That was what was no doubt dawning on Bradley as he saw Wilfried Zaha’s shot spoon off the head of Jack Cork and over Lukasz Fabianski to level the scores with eight minutes to go. No doubt it was there in the mind of all at the Liberty – including plenty who gave up and left their seats – when Christian Benteke was gifted too much space to turn a 3-1 lead into a 4-3 scoreline to overcome with four minutes of time remaining. There was no anger, no animosity, just hushed realisation.
But then came Llorente, then he came again. Cue the roar, cue the disbelief, cue the win that lifts Swansea off the bottom, to within two points of safety and cue a far different feeling going into next weekend’s trip to Tottenham. After all, this is a side that no longer have the monkey of being winless since August on their backs – this is a side who are unbeaten in two games. Nothing to boast about, but not to sniff at either.
Still, if the result was worth celebrating, only fools would get carried away right now. They saw that for themselves here when, having gone behind early to Zaha, they threw away a 3-1 lead, with Leroy Fer twice finding the net from the far post after Gylfi Sigurdsson’s brilliant free-kick had levelled.
While some of the forward play pleased, while the press was far better, the defence still looked vulnerable and unsure of themselves, enough for Palace to take advantage of through James Tomkins, that Cork own goal and Benteke which highlighted the continuing problem of set-piece frailties. It was defending that was simply not good enough and that will lead to defeats more than victories as it did here.
Bradley admitted in one interview that he felt he was ready to “kill” some of his players as the death knell threatened to sound on realistic hopes of a survival push.
But there was also reason to believe that life can be breathed into this team. Jay Fulton impressed again in a midfield that worked relentlessly.
The decision to stick with Sigurdsson as a striker saw fans lash out at Bradley, but his touch, technique and tenacity all helped others into the game. A stunning performance with a stunning free-kick to boot, his influence and importance to this side is as obvious as it’s ever been.
Modou Barrow benefited, looking like he is learning to be more effective with the space and panic he creates, making sure Swansea looked dangerous when they finally threw off the shackles and stopped trying to play on the back foot.
And having been told by Bradley he must do more for this side, so Llorente showed what he can bring in the right circumstances.
Even for a World Cup winner, scoring the decisive ninth goal in a match in such a must-win situation would have been something of a moment to cherish. This, hopefully, can be the start.