At least one Blues striker is happy!
Swans on rampage as Tammy grabs glory
Carlos Carvalhal does not seem like the kind of man to embrace the concept of vengeance but he has the chance to settle a score at least in the next round of the Fa Cup.
swansea’s rout of Notts County has set up an encounter with sheffield Wednesday and a return to Hillsborough for Carvalhal less than two months after leaving the Championship club.
The Portuguese insisted his parting on Christmas Eve was by mutual consent but there were supporters who called for his dismissal and it is clear he feels they were misguided.
His impact in guiding swansea out of the relegation places suggests he is correct, and this remarkable victory, the club’s biggest in Fa Cup history, provided another sign of his credentials.
Tammy abraham and Nathan Dyer got a brace each in the opening half, while four further goals after the break culminated in Daniel James marking his senior debut with a fine strike.
Carvalhal praised his team for hitting the same level as in recent wins against liverpool and arsenal and denied his return to Hillsborough would be a grudge match.
‘I feel I go back home,’ Carvalhal said. ‘I will not prove anything. I have fantastic relationship with the chairman. The majority of fans received me very well, the minority were emotional. We gave everything to the club.’
It was a chastening night for Notts manager Kevin Nolan, who can at least now focus on trying to gain promotion from league Two.
The scoring got under way in the 18th minute when abraham found the net for the first time since october. luciano Narsingh exchanged a one-two with Kyle Naughton and then pulled back his cross to abraham, who complemented his clever run with a cute finish.
The hosts waited only 83 seconds to double their advantage. Mike van der Hoorn set in motion a slick counter that saw abraham produce a defencesplitting pass. Dyer raced on to the ball and slipped his shot beyond adam Collin.
Not content, Dyer got another 10 minutes later, arriving perfectly on to Narsingh’s cut-back 25 yards out to hit a precise first-time strike into the corner.
It had been a torrid opening for Nolan’s team but on 35 minutes they got one back. swansea only partially cleared a long free-kick and Noor Husin hit a brilliant strike that curled wickedly inside the post.
But the gap opened again on the stroke of half-time. Narsingh sprinted on to a fabulous pass by Kyle Bartley and pulled back once again to abraham, who finished with aplomb.
swansea stepped on the gas after the break. Naugton slashed home swansea’s fifth after a poor punch at a corner from Collin, and before the hour Wayne routledge seized the ball following more dodgy defending to find a confident finish.
soon after, Tom Carroll adorned the game with his own terrific effort, curling in from the edge of the box. and late on, 20-year- old substitute James shuffled his feet to fire into the back of the net after a chest down by abraham.