Martin O’Neill couldn’t possibly comment on such theories but is this not a game we would have lost or drawn up to the end of November? Early lead, immediate surrender of overall possession, sitting back deep, poor distribution – all the usual elements. MON’s e-mail salutes an entirely different outcome …
Dear Colin,
I’m delighted we’ve won the game. It was a case of two fantastic finishes and three very important points for us.
I think everything just caught up with the players today; they looked a little bit leggy at times, but nonetheless they stuck in at it.
The swirling wind probably didn’t help, but it was a game we had to win and we did just that.
It was a very solid defensive performance from us. I think Swansea had one real opportunity on goal, we scored not long after and that deflated them and gave us a little momentum.
It was a fantastic goal from Stephane Sessegnon. There was some nice build-up play from James McClean, but Sess did brilliantly to score it.
It was an important goal at an important time.
Swansea did very well last week [beating Arsenal] and they came here ready to continue in the same vein.
We knew we had to close them down and we did just that and then got the goal to go in front.
At times we sat back a little bit and couldn’t get the ball off them – it was nervy – but the crowd urged the team on to dispossess them and then the second goal really killed the game and saw us through.
All the best,
Martin O’Neill
* See Kartun Malaysia’s Flickr images at this link
It might be an inkling that Martin may make a change or two against Boro to keep things fresh. Gardner or Wickham maybe in for a start?
I think we are just a lot more patient. We let Swansea come at us more and open themselves up once we took the lead. We have never looked like a team in panic since O’Neill has come in. How many dodgey clearances and snap shots did we see with Bruce was there?
thought Swansea were tricky and had a lot of posession today. Some would say they deserved a point.
But, two pieces of quality from us seemed to do it. Plus Mignolet wasn’t troubled often.
I think maybe we approach a Swansea with a different mentality that a Man City, and that might cause us trouble. I got the impression after the 1st goal we thought, ‘we can walk this now and relax.’ Thats the impression I got from listening to the radio (I’ve not had chance to see the full match yet). Maybe someone could correct me if I’m wrong.
If MON thinks they look “leggy” then perhaps it is because he gets them moving in matches and presumably in training. The movement is so much better now both off the ball and when the opposition have it.
The improved results are not just because of increased confidence and the manager’s undoubted enthusiasm, as some pundits might have us believe, but more because of improved organisation, a better work ethic and players knowing their roles and playing with a sense of purpose.
I just don’t grt this “leggy” thing. They are professional athletes! If they had to do some of the hard work the supporters do 5 days a week, for a lot less money……….
Not much question in my mind that Steve Bruce would have played for a goalless draw and been glad of the point, if in fact we’d picked it up. Our next two league matches will, I think, tell a story — against teams that, like Swansea, are no mugs but in the middle of the table with us and fighting to consolidate their position. They’ll be good games and if we come out of them with six points we’ll be looking very good, too. By the time the Canaries come to the SoL, we’ll know who, if anyone, we’ve picked up in the January window. But first let’s put Middlesbore in their place.