Swansea City Survival Hopes Hit By Defeat At Bournemouth

Swansea City Survival Hopes Hit By Defeat At Bournemouth
17:05, 05 May 2018

Bournemouth 1-0 Swansea City

Swansea City are running out of time. Bournemouth held out for a 1-0 victory at Dean Court courtesy of Ryan Fraser's first half strike to put Eddie Howe's team beyond the 40-point mark for the third successive season - and plunge the Swans deep into trouble.

It was a familiar story for the visitors, who squandered several good chances in an end-to-end first half before running out of steam in the second period, leaving Carlos Carvalhal's without a win in seven Premier League matches. Should Southampton pick up a point at Everton in the late kickoff Swansea will drop into the bottom three.

It was Bournemouth who started sharpest, a through ball from Marc Pugh putting Callum Wilson through on goal inside the opening minute only for Federico Fernandez to scramble back and force him off the ball. It was a move indicative of a nervy, disorganised start for the visitors and in the eighth minute Ryan Fraser had the ball in the back of the net, only for the linesman's flag to halt his celebrations. For the umpteenth time the Swans' back three had been split open. Luckily, this time they got their angles right.

But for all Bournemouth's early pressure it was Swansea who fashioned the first shots on target. Kim Yueng-Sun's free-kick eventually landed at the feet of Mike van der Hoorn, whose low shot was parried well by Asmir Begovic, and moments later another goalmouth scramble saw Nathan Dyer shoot on the stretch from six yards out, but again Begovic blocked.

It was breathless stuff. When Tom Carroll was outmuscled by Lewis Cook in midfield the youngster released Ryan Fraser down the right, his inch-perfect low crosses handing King a glorious chance to open the scoring - but he could only blast it high and wide. This frantic counter-attack summarised an end-to-end opening half hour; the mirror-image 3-4-3 formations meant both under-stocked midfields often lost the ball, leaving three-on-threes in the final third.

A sense of urgency, of desperation to break the deadlock, defined the atmosphere inside Dean Court as much as the unusual tactical battle. Bournemouth's long balls led to meaty challenges on King and Wilson, while both Ayews fought assertively for space at the other end. Andre did well to outmuscle Steve Cook on the half hour mark and swing a cross to the back post which Martin Olsson headed over from close range.

Just as the game appeared to be calming down Ryan Fraser gave Bournemouth the lead from a clever free-kick routine. Having been fouled by Alfie Mawson on the edge of the penalty area Andrew Surman looked ready to tee up Nathan Ake, but instead rolled the ball across the box for the unmarked Fraser, whose curling effort went through the crowd (via a small deflection) and into the centre of the goal.

Swansea didn't sulk, although within 90 seconds there were heads in hands for entirely different reasons. A one-two between the Ayew brothers put Jordon clean through and he somehow blazed over. It was a shocking miss that left Swansea trailing at the break despite.

Begovic made another stop within 30 seconds of the restart, pushing Jordon Ayew's half-volley around the post, although this didn't follow the pattern of much of the second period. Bournemouth had begun to control possession and calm the game down, the only real opening in the first 20 coming courtesy of King. He wriggled away from two challenges on the right before chipping a cross for Steve Cook, whose towering header went over the bar.

It wasn't until the 67th minute that Swansea had another shot on goal, a wild long-range effort from Carroll going inches over the bar. It was increasingly obvious why Carlos Carvalhal's side, increasingly lethargic on a humid day on the south coast, had scored just two goals in their last seven matches.

Bournemouth almost doubled their lead 15 minutes from time. The hosts forced a corner after a flowing move down the right allowed Surman to shoot from range, his shot being deflected wide. Ake rose highest from the resulting corner but his glancing header went straight down the keeper's throat.

As an ambling second half drifted away from Swansea Carlos Carvalhal made a series of tactical changes. First he switched to a 4-3-3 with Andy King coming onto the field and within ten minutes he'd switched again to a 4-2-3-1. Neither system worked, not least because Eddie Howe was quick to match his opponent's formation changes, with Bournemouth the more dangerous in the closing stages as they countered in the spaces left by a frantic Swansea.

In the 85th minute Lucas Fabianski pulled off a quite incredible save. Ryan Fraser ran almost the length of the pitch before spreading the ball to King, whose low cross handed Wilson a tap in from no more than three yards out - and yet somehow the Swans keeper dived across goal to deny the visitors.

And that was that. Swansea couldn't muster a late rally, the game fizzling out to leave Carvalhal's team on the brink. Home matches against fellow strugglers Southampton and Stoke City give Swansea fans cause for optimism, but after another listless attacking display their Premier League status has never looked more fragile.

x
Suggested Searches:
The Sportsman
Manchester United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Premier League
Sportsman HQ
72-76 Cross St
Manchester M2 4JG
We will not ask you to provide any personal information when using The Sportsman website. You may see advertisement banners on the site, and if you choose to visit those websites, you will accept the terms and conditions and privacy policy applicable to those websites. The link below directs you to our Group Privacy Policy, and our Data Protection Officer can be contacted by email at: [email protected]

All original material is Copyright © 2019 by The Sportsman Communications Ltd.
Other material is copyright their respective owners.