Swansea v Morecambe (FA Cup Third Round) | Vital Football

Swansea v Morecambe (FA Cup Third Round)

K

keith margam

Vital Football Legend
Swansea v Morecambe (FA Cup Third Round) Sat 6 Jan 17:30

It’s that time of year again when PL and Championship clubs enter the Third Round of the FA Cup, bringing with it the benefit of a two week break from League action and a chance to play fringe players.

The draw has been kind to us with a home tie against a League Two club. Winners of this round get £105,000.

Last year we drew away 1-1 to lowly Bristol City and lost the home replay 1-2 in extra time with the Swans 18 shots, 6 on target, 1 goal and Bristol 6 shots, 2 on target, 2 goals!

Morecambe FC, nicknamed the Shrimps, is on the Lancashire coast and their local rivals are Accrington Stanley. They were relegated from League One last season and currently sit in 17th position in League Two.

Leighton James managed them in 1994 when they were in the Northern Premier League.

Ex-Swans winger Gwion Edwards and Cardiff City loanee midfielder Eli King are the Welsh connections playing there. Free agent Gwion having only signed a few days ago until the end of the season after being released by Wigan end of last season.

Our new manager Luke Williams will know all about Morecambe after his Notts County team beat them 5-0 last Friday with 75% possession and a hat trick from League Two’s leading scorer Macaulay Longstaff.

Morecambe have won only one of their last ten games, a 0-5 away win at Doncaster three weeks ago.

Having said all that we know that the FA Cup can be a great leveller and often turns up surprise results and we should not take this tie too lightly. I’m sure we won’t.
 
Swans 11 changes:

Swans: Andy Fisher, Kristian Pedersen, Joe Allen (c), Jerry Yates, Yannick Bolasie, Charlie Patino, Nathan Wood, Kyle Naughton, Ollie Cooper, Sam Parker, Azeem Abdulai

Subs: Carl Rushworth, Matt Grimes, Jamie Paterson, Mykola Kuharevich, Liam Cullen, Nathan Tjoe-A-On, Bashir Humphreys, Kyrell Wilson, Filip Lissah

Shrimps: Adam Smith, David Tutonda, Jacob Bedeau, Farrend Rawson (c), Yann Songo'o, Joel Senior, Jordan Slew, Chris Stokes, Jake Taylor, Charlie Brown, Oscar Threlkeld

Subs: George Pedley, Tom Bloxham, Eli King, Michael Mellon, Adam Mayor, Cammy Smith, Gwion Edwards, Max Melbourne, Saul Fox
 
It’s a funny old game, as Greavsie would say, and this one was certainly one of them. Morecambe offered very little threat and we could not break them down with the 11 changes from the West Brom game.

They tried to press us high and gave us no room to play the ball and we ended up playing like a Martinball team, plenty of possession but no penetration in the opposing half. Statistics say we had almost 70% possession with just 3 shots on target throughout, two of those for the two goals, Morecambe having zero shots on target. Bolasie on the left wing was having some success against Senior, with a few nice touches early doors. He put in some good crosses but there was no one there to get on the end of them. Stalemate at half time with a Patino header which was well saved the highlight. Unchanged second-half, and within two minutes we had our first goal, a Patino shot from Parker’s cross. The game then continued with the same pattern of play, Swans having plenty of possession but unable to do anything with it.

The introduction of Grimes and Humphreys for Allen and Abdulai on 58’ made little difference, nor Cullen and Paterson for Parker and Bolasie on 68’. It wasn’t until the 87’ that we finally got the second goal, Yates seizing on a defensive mistake to fire home. Kukharevich then came on for Yates on 88’ but hardly had chance to impress in the seven minutes of play left.
Early days yet though, as the new head-coach has barely stepped through the door and should be given the time to get his ideas across.

A free week without a match ahead before Birmingham away next Saturday, then the big one a week later at home to high flying Southampton. Revenge time we hope after the 5-0 drubbing a few weeks ago.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.