Match report
FULL TIME: Swansea City 1-0 Everton
And that’s that! Swansea have survived Everton’s late onslaught! They take all three precious points! On the touchline, Paul Clement shakes Ronald Koeman’s hand and then blows his cheeks out hard. That was tense! But the Swans are now out of the relegation zone! They’re a point above Hull City, with a superior goal difference to boot. Next up: Sunderland away, then West Brom at home on the final day. Their fate is in their own hands again. The roof of the Liberty Stadium was last spotted coptering over Cardiff.
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90 min +2: A minute of midfield faff. Swansea will take this as well!
90 min +1: Baines fouls Ayew cheaply in the midfield. Swansea will take that!
90 min: Valencia heads Baines’ corner over the bar. Huge relief. The home fans with their hymns and arias again. There will be three added minutes.
89 min: Kenny chases after a loose ball down the right. He hooks it into the centre, Mawson hacking it out for a corner. A suggestion that might have gone out of play before Kenny crossed. The corner leads to another. Then Lukaku finds a gap down the left, and hammers a low shot into the middle. Mawson again is on hand to hack away. Lukaku tries again, and this time sees his effort deflected out for a corner. From which...
88 min: The goalscorer Llorente is replaced by Borja.
86 min: A free kick for Everton out on the left. Barkley whips it into the Swansea box. Mirallas heads it on. Williams, coming in from the right, very nearly connects. But the ball evades him and flies out of play to the right of goal. Williams might have been offside had he met that and scored, but it would have been close. Wow. Swansea are really living on their nerves now.
84 min: Llorente and Williams come together under a high ball. It’s a garden-variety tussle, but for some reason Williams loses the head completely and throws Llorente to the ground. The striker gets up and does the Why?! mime. Williams thinks about escalating the situation. The referee steps in. Very strange, because this match has been played in good spirit, despite the tension.
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83 min: Kenny, out on the right, nearly finds Lukaku in the centre with a peach of a cross. Not quite. The young right-back tries again. This time Mawson hacks clear. It’s attack versus defence, though. Davies makes good down the right and hoicks one inside. Fer heads upfield, but Baines latches onto the clearance, takes a touch and shoots. The shot flies over the bar.
82 min: Baines and Valencia combine well down the left at high pace. But they’re swarmed by white shirts, and somehow neither can get a cross into the box.
80 min: Lukaku spins past Olsson down the right, latching onto a Barkley pass. He cuts inside and from the right-hand edge of the D smashes an unstoppable shot ... into the side netting. Had that been on target, Fabianski would have had no chance, so sweetly was it struck. But Swansea survive. Hearts in mouths there, though, with the home side so close to three precious points in their fight to avoid the drop.
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78 min: Jonjoe Kenny comes on for Mason Holgate.
77 min: Sigurdsson slides a pass down the left for Carroll, who finds Fer at the left-hand corner of the six-yard box with a glorious low cross. Fer opens his body up and lets fly with a sidefoot. Stekelenburg somehow manages to parry it. The ball clanks back off Williams and out of play for a corner, which isn’t much of an event. But once again Swansea come so close to a two-goal cushion!
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75 min: Ki off, Fer on. A pocket-sized MBM entry.
74 min: Sigurdsson curls a cross into the Everton box from the left. It momentarily threatens danger, but neither Llorente nor Ayew can get near it, and Mirallas mops up on the right wing.
73 min: Cork comes on for Britton. Swansea can see the finishing line now, and the tension crackles accordingly.
71 min: Williams launches long. Lukaku brings the ball down and sends it wide right for Holgate, who earns a corner. Llorente heads it clear at the near post. But the ball’s dispatched back into the area by Davies on the right. Mirallas has it at his feet, eight yards out! He must score, but Sigurdsson somehow manages to block it, and Swansea hack clear. How on earth did that not lead to an equaliser?
69 min: Corner for Swansea down the right, courtesy of Sigurdsson and Llorente. It’s whipped into the middle. Fernandez meets it, and the ball’s surely whistling into the top right. But it hits the unwitting Barkley and loops over the bar. Another corner! And this one’s met by Llorente, who powers a fine effort towards the left-hand side of the goal. Stekelenburg drops to claim it well.
67 min: Valencia and Davies combine down the inside-right channel and the ball’s fed to Lukaku, who turns and bashes a low shot straight down the throat of Fabianski. Swansea are sitting deep, inviting bother. Meanwhile it must be the interval at the Old Vic, because here’s Gary Naylor: “Trolled by a Millings and Murray double act! Who needs David Thomas and Bob Latchford? My life is complete.”
65 min: Enner Valencia comes on for Gareth Barry.
64 min: Barkley finds space down the right. The ball’s swung into the centre, where Mirallas and Davies confuse each other. Swansea are living dangerously, the nerves fraying. They can’t keep on like this.
62 min: It turns a bit scrappy. These things happen.
60 min: Davies wins the ball off Ki in the centre circle, then sends Mirallas away on a right-to-left meander that nearly ends in a shooting chance on the edge of the Swansea box. The winger’s crowded out of it, though, and can’t get anything away. Everton are first to pretty much everything right now.
58 min: Naughton launches long for Llorente down the inside right. Llorente nearly wins a towering header on the edge of the box, but Williams does enough. Right now, Swansea are struggling to hold the ball up in the final third, more often than not. Everton are on top, a state of affairs that’s emphasised when Lukaku once again causes merry hell down the right wing, but can’t quite find a team-mate in the centre.
56 min: And this was nearly 1-1, as Lukaku sashays down the right and whips a low ball straight through the Swansea area. The ball somehow evades both Davies and Mirallas, and flies out of play to the left of the goal. Any touch and that was surely in. Speaking of touches, just before that move Britton slid in very hard on Gueye, and was very fortunate to escape a booking.
54 min: It’s hit deep towards Llorente. Barry clears. Swansea recycle possession down the right. Llorente cuts in from the wing and lashes a shot which turns into a cross. The ball hits Mawson, still up from the corner, and drops to Ayew on the penalty spot. Ayew, leaning back slightly, swings a leg and scuffs a shot onto the outside of the right-hand post and away. Stekelenburg was rooted to the spot, so had Ayew connected properly, that was 2-0.
53 min: Lukaku very nearly finds Barkley in acres of space down the inside-right channel, but the pass is overcooked. Everton have looked a different team since the restart. But Swansea finally show a bit up front, Ayew powering up the right and earning a corner. From which...
51 min: Britton bowls Davies to the ground as the young Everton midfielder twists up and down the inside-left channel. A free kick, and a chance for Barkley to swing it into the mixer. Swansea allow it to bounce near the back stick. Barry hooks it back in. Jagielka nearly plants a meaningful head on the ball, six yards from goal, but eventually it’s cleared.
49 min: Swansea are struggling to get a hold of the ball. They’ll recall how the first half started like this, too.
47 min: The half begins with a period of sterile Everton possession. The tension around the Liberty is palpable.
And we’re off again! Ross Barkley replaces Dominic Calvert-Lewin. His team-mates get the ball rolling. And in lieu of action, here’s Mac Millings to fill a space: “If I’ve done the maths right (and let’s be honest here), the mighty Hornets’ 3-0 reversal at the home of the Champions makes them one goal better than Manchester City, and as such, puts them in the driving seat for a Champions League spot for the first time in their illustrious history - finally making up for the 1984 Cup Final heartbreak, when, to quote Gary Naylor himself: ‘Cheating Andy Gray unfairly headed the ball out of Steve Sherwood’s innocent hands, thus delivering the trophy to an utterly undeserving (and highly overrated) journeyman Everton side.’ But I’m over it.” Hopefully Naylor’s at the theatre and/or can’t be bothered to respond.
HALF TIME: Swansea City 1-0 Everton
Time for a quick Swansea corner on the left. Sigurdsson loops deep, and Ki heads harmlessly wide to the right. And that’s that for the first half. As things stand, Swansea are out of the relegation zone, leapfrogging Hull City! But before they can contemplate that, a long 45 minutes stretches out in front of them. It could be a thrilling second half. Don’t go anywhere!
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45 min: Davies tries to spin his way clear down the right and into the Swansea box. He’s diddled by clever Sigurdsson, who steps in front of him and falls to the ground under the slightest challenge, buying a cheap free kick. The pressure is off.
43 min: Williams sprays a simple pass into the stand down the right. The home fans enjoyed that. It wasn’t out-and-out abuse, just a wee bit of fun. He might have copped a bit of flak from his team-mates a couple of seconds later, though, had the hospital pass he sent towards Gueye been snaffled by Ki. The Swansea midfielder was inches away from intercepting and starting a two-on-one counter with Llorente.
41 min: Something of a lull.
39 min: Jagielka tries to usher the ball out down the Swansea left for a goal kick. Ayew snaffles it on the line. He feeds Olsson, who shoots from an ambitiously tight angle. The shot’s defected out for a corner, which isn’t up to much. This is a highly entertaining match now, with both teams showing menace in attack.
37 min: Baines whips a cross in from a deep position on the left. He nearly finds Lukaku in a shooting position on the left-hand corner of the six-yard area. Not quite, but Lukaku is able to swivel and turn the ball back into the centre of the box. Hopefully someone will run onto it for Everton? Nope! Gueye nearly manages it, but the ball somehow evades him.
36 min: Everton try coming back at Swansea. Twice in a minute Holgate tries to release Lukaku down the inside-right channel with a killer pass; twice Mawson is on the spot to clear.
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35 min: This is all Swansea now. Sigurdsson lumps a free kick into the Everton area from deep. Stekelenburg comes out to claim, with bedlam going on all around him.
33 min: More room for Ayew out on the right. He tries to curl a cross into the area, but it’s blocked by Baines at the expense of a corner. Sigurdsson takes. It’s only half cleared. Naughton crosses from the right. The ball gets all the way to Mawson, six yards out, level with the left-hand post. He must score! He shoots, but Holgate sticks out a leg to deflect away for a corner on the left. That set piece is a non-event by comparison. Swansea so very close to doubling their lead. I’m not sure you can even blame Mawson for that miss, it was just brilliant last-ditch defending.
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31 min: Swansea want more. A free kick’s earned down the left. They load the box, and Sigurdsson stands over the set piece. He curls one towards the far post. Stekelenburg comes off his line and punches clear with confidence.
GOAL! Swansea City 1-0 Everton (Llorente 29)
Naughton cuts inside from the right and feeds Sigurdsson in the box. Sigurdsson looks to turn Barry and is clumsily checked by Barry. Penalty? It’s not given. But no matter! Because Swansea come straight back at Everton through Ayew down the right. He reaches the byline and digs out a stunning cross, up and down towards Llorente at the far post. Llorente rises above Jagielka, and plonks the ball into the bottom left!
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27 min: A brief break as some bampot rushes the pitch and tries to get a hug off Lukaku. Who wouldn’t want a cuddle off the big man? But there’s a time and a place.
26 min: Sigurdsson floats a harmless ball into the Everton box. Danger over.
25 min: Gueye cuts in from the left and clanks his pass inside into the legs of referee Martin Atkinson. That allows Ayew to scamper forward at some pace down the middle of the park. Davies, tracking back in panic, is forced to nudge him over. That might have been a booking, but the referee, perhaps a little embarrassed at being such a high-profile part of the Swansea break, cuts the Everton man some slack. Fair enough. A free kick 35 yards from goal, and a chance for Swansea to load the box.
23 min: Ki sprays a delicious pass wide right for Naughton, who is bombing up the wing in the progressive style. He’s checked unceremoniously, but fairly, by the backtracking Calvert-Lewin. A nice whiff of Total Football about all that, everyone swapping positions.
22 min: Sigurdsson is very nearly sent away down the right by a clever Naughton flick, but with Llorente and Ayew making menacing runs ahead, the ball runs out of play. The Icelandic international sucks his teeth in frustration.
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20 min: Davies shimmies in from the left. He considers shuttling it wide right to Mirallas, but instead checks, turns and flicks a pass down the left channel for Calvert-Lewin, who immediately shuttles it further forward for Lukaku. It’s a lovely move, clever and intricate, but Lukaku’s touch just inside the box lets him down and Mawson is able to clear.
18 min: Ayew clears. The very promising Davies picks the ball up deep and wedges a pass down the inside-left channel in the hope of releasing Calvert-Lewin into the area. There’s just a little too much on the pass, which floats out of play for a goal kick.
17 min: Mirallas is given a little too much time 30 yards from the Swansea goal. He turns and batters a low shot which is deflected out to the right. Corner. From which...
15 min: Carroll is sent into space down the left by a clever scooped pass from Britton. But instead of whipping a first-time cross into the middle, he lets the ball bounce once too often and Holgate takes control of the situation, ushering man and ball out of play for a goal kick. Swansea are in this game now, though, after those quiet opening minutes during which they let Everton dominate.
13 min: Naughton flings a long throw into the Everton box from the right. Llorente flicks it on, and the ball very nearly drops for Ayew. But not quite. Olsson, on the edge of the box, can’t quite decide whether to pile forward in the hope of latching onto a loose, bouncing ball. He who hesitates is lost. Everton clear.
11 min: Mirallas, in the centre circle, has an opportunity to send Calvert-Lewin scampering down the inside-left channel, with Swansea very light at the back. But he shanks his crossfield pass straight out of play. It’s not quite sparked into life yet, this match. Plenty of time.
9 min: ... not much. Mawson can’t get his head to the set piece. Carroll tries to recycle the ball out on the left, but can’t find anyone with his cross. Ki tries to slip Llorente into the box with a ball down the inside-left channel, but the pass doesn’t stick. But at least Swansea have finally shown in attack.
8 min: Sigurdsson has been shadowed by Barry since the get-go. He finally escapes his marker and slips a pass down the right for Ayew, who earns a corner. From which...
6 min: Olsson, with a bit of space and time down the left, has a chance to release Carroll into Everton territory along the wing, but he pushes his pass forward out of play. That was a simple enough ball, and it’s perhaps betrayed a few Swansea nerves.
5 min: Holgate, deep on the right, curls one forward and nearly releases Davies down the channel. Mawson is across quickly to intercept and clear. It’s the away team hogging the ball right now. Swansea are struggling to get hold of it, and keep it when they do.
3 min: More space for Everton down the left, as a result of Mirallas’s prompting. Baines loops a cross straight through the Swansea box, way over Lukaku’s head. But Everton’s early positivity has quietened the stadium down a little. First job done.
2 min: Swansea knock it around the back awhile, very patiently, in the style of 1970s Liverpool. The influence of John Toshack lives on. A chance for everyone to find their feet.
And we’re off! Swansea get the ball rolling. Ashley Williams returns to south Wales for the first time since his big-money move to Goodison. The home fans singing their hymns and arias. Everton are quickly on the front foot, Mirallas making ground down the left. He lays off for Barry who crosses for Lukaku to head harmlessly towards Fabianski. A bright start from the visitors.
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The teams are out! One hell of an atmosphere at the Liberty Stadium; the home fans clearly know what they have to do. Swansea are in their crisp and classic all-white strip. Everton have perhaps needlessly changed into their dark-blue second kit, so no run-out for their famous royal blue, but they look very smart nonetheless. We’ll be off in a minute!
Ronald Koeman also speaks, and aims a shot across the bows of Ross Barkley. “We have a small chance to catch Arsenal in sixth. It is possible if we win this game. We will be playing against a diamond, and always I like to control the game, so that’s the reason Gareth Barry is in. Ross Barkley is on the bench. We need more productivity from the midfielders and the strikers, so that’s the position of Kevin Mirallas.”
Paul Clement speaks in the wake of Hull City’s defeat. “We spoke about the implications of whatever kind of result came in from Hull. Whether they won, drew or lost, it was still important that we won, so that’s the mentality we will use today, and in the next game against Sunderland, and the last game against West Brom. Take care of our business, and if we do that, especially now, we’ll be in a very good position. What I’m most pleased about going into this game is that, having won all three points against Stoke, we followed that up with a very good performance against Manchester United. We know our form is good. Stephen Kingsley did very well in our last two games, but Martin Olsson offers a little more offensively and as we’re playing at home that’s why he’s in the team.”
A huge boost for Swansea ahead of this game! Already-relegated Sunderland have won 2-0 at Hull City; bang goes Tigers manager Marco Silva’s long unbeaten home run, a sequence stretching all the way back to March 2014 when his Estoril side hosted, and were defeated by, Rio Ave in Portugal’s Primera Liga. What a time to lose that proud record! Hull are in serious bother now. Swansea can leapfrog them tonight if they beat Everton, escaping the relegation zone in the process, and shoving Hull back into it. Swansea will be a point and at least five goals better off if they manage it. Rob Smyth, wearing his Clocko hat, has all the latest.
The Swans make one change to the XI sent out at Old Trafford last weekend ahead of that very creditable 1-1 draw with Manchester United. Martin Olsson steps up in place of Stephen Kingsley.
The Toffees make two changes to the starting line-up named for the 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea last Sunday. Gareth Barry and Kevin Mirallas are in; Enner Valencia and Ross Barkley drop to the bench.
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The teams
Swansea City: Fabianski, Naughton, Fernandez, Mawson, Olsson, Ki, Britton, Carroll, Sigurdsson, Ayew, Llorente.
Subs: Amat, Fer, Borja Baston, Nordfeldt, Cork, Narsingh, Kingsley.
Everton: Stekelenburg, Holgate, Jagielka, A Williams, Baines, Gana, Barry, Davies, Calvert-Lewin, Lukaku, Mirallas.
Subs: Robles, Barkley, Valencia, Lookman, Pennington, Kenny, J Williams.
Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).
Evening all!
Swansea City looked down and out. Their honeymoon under Paul Clement appeared to be well and truly over. The brief revival they’d staged under the new manager had skittered to a halt, as they embarked on a six-match streak composing five losses and a 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough. A 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough. The dying Swans. But all of a sudden, renewed hope! A solid 2-0 win over Stoke was followed by an impressive point at Manchester United, and the revival was revived. Swansea looked down and out all right. But now the great escape is back on!
It’s still touch and go, and they desperately need to win here this evening. Three points are essential for survival, and they’ll be forgiven for thinking Everton may oblige. That’s because recent results between the two sides are very much in their favour: Swansea are unbeaten in six, having won at Goodison Park last January then come within a minute of another deserved victory at the Grand Old Lady in November.
Everton, however, are gloriously unpredictable. Their 3-0 loss to Chelsea last weekend put an end to any faint hopes of the Champions League; now it’s pretty much certain they’ll end in seventh spot, whatever they do in their last three matches. They could, therefore, be mentally on the beach. Or they could take advantage of their strange position to enjoy some free-wheeling pressure-free football. Ronald Koeman’s side are certainly capable of that on their day: witness the hidings they’ve recently given to Manchester City, Bournemouth, Hull and the champions Leicester. On the flip side, they’ve only won four times on the road this season. So good luck in guessing what they’ll get up to against desperate opposition. Anything could happen. It’s on!
Kick off: 5.30pm.
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