Swans glide past Forest
SWANSEA CITY
UNLIKE the rest of us, Swansea seem to be enjoying 2021 as they go gliding on in two competitions gathering friends and admirers.
This thumping victory not only put them into the fifth round for the third time in four seasons, it extended their unbeaten run to seven games, of which they have won six.
New recruit Conor Hourihane did not get on the scoresheet but his poise and class was as influential as anyone as Forest were comfortably despatched.
Two goals from young striker Liam Cullen, were backed by two more from skipper Matt Grimes and a late addition by substitute Ollie Cooper.
Forest did manage to get themselves back into the tie when Anthony Knockaert made it 2-1 at the start of the second half, but the belief drained from every pore after a harsh penalty call went against them and Grimes made it 3-1 from the spot.
Referee Kevin Friend
SWANSEA: Woodman 7; Latibeaudiere 7, Bennett 8, Guehi 7 (Bidwell 65, 6); Roberts 7 (Garrick 75, 6), Grimes 7 (Fulton 65, 6), Hourihane 7 (Cooper 65, 7),
Dhanda 7, Manning 7; Routledge
6 (Lowe 20, 6), Cullen 8.
Unused subs: A Ayew, Naughton,
Webb, Cabango.
N FOREST: Smith 5; Jenkinson 5, Worrall 6, Figueiredo 5, Bong 6 (Blackett 75, 5); Mbe Soh 6, Bachirou 5 (Guerrero 46, 6); Lolley 7, Freeman 4 (Cafu 46, 6), Knockaert 7 (Mighten 75, 5); Taylor 5. Unused subs: Christie, Grabban, Ameobi, Dawson, Samba. MAN OF THE MATCH: Liam Cullen. Busy, bright and looked calm for both his goals.
REFEREE: Kevin Friend 6. made an immediate enemy of Forest manager Chris Hughton when he made the penalty call after Ryan Manning went down despite no contact from Forest captain Joe Worrall.
“The ref makes a dreadful decision, one where I was quite confident from where I was that it wasn’t a penalty,” Hughton said. “I’ve seen it again and it isn’t. And of course it changes the game.
“The lad’s gone down. I don’t like to use the word ‘diving’, but from the angles I’ve seen there’s no contact. The lad drags his leg a little bit – and it’s certainly simulation.”
Hughton was right to be unimpressed with the decision, but any manager whose team lose 5-1 after making 10 changes from the game before, is barking up a different tree to most fans.
Forest were awful for 45 minutes, by which time they were 2-0 down as Cullen poached his first and then Grimes thumped home a tremendous shot with Hughton’s side looking like lost souls.
Grimes’ penalty made it 3-1 before Cullen pocketed a second goal and Cooper grabbed his first goal in only his second appearance.
Swans boss Steve
Cooper said: “It’s a fantastic scoreline, through to the next round, players making their debut, young players scoring and loads and loads of positives.”