Match Day Thread Swansea City 1 v 0 Preston North End

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Swansea City v Preston

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League - Sky Bet Championship
Date - 11 August 2018
Kick Off - 3pm
Venue - The Liberty Stadium

After their encouraging opening day away victory over Sheffield United, the Swans play Preston in their first home Championship fixture in more than 7 years.

Swansea Manager, Graham Potter will have been encouraged by what he witnessed at Bramall Lane - the defence looked strong, the players rose to the challenge after they went a goal down, and Montero has the skills to flourish in The Championship.

Additionally, the new boys, particularly McKay and Cellina looked good, Dhanda made a match-winning cameo off the bench - scoring with his first touch in League football - with Asoro's performance like the proverbial curate's egg, good in parts. Asoro showed some near touches, but was not as consistent as Potter would like - indeed it was Asoro's wayward pass that led to the Blades' only goal.

Preston won their opening day fixture at home to QPR 1-0 courtesy of Alan Browne's second-half looping header at the back post as Rangers struggled for possession and shots.

Preston boss Alex Neil said the manner in which they secured the victory "sums the Championship up".

The former Norwich and Hamilton boss continued: "We could have won more comfortably because I think for 70-75 minutes we were excellent, moved the ball well and created good chances.

"Half-time we were talking about being more clinical in the final third. For all our good play, a scruffy goal like that wins us the game."

The Swans and Preston have met on 59 occasions previously, with Swansea winning 23, Preston winning 20 and 16 draws.

Arguably, the most important fixture between the clubs took place on 14 March 1964 when Preston beat the Swans 2-1 in the Semi-Final of the FA Cup played in front of 63,000 fans at Villa Park.

However, most Swans' fans would regard the 3-1 victory over Preston in 1981 as the most important - the victory saw the Swans promoted to the top tier of English League football for the first time:

Preston won the last match between the clubs when they last met in a Championship fixture in April 2011 - Ashley Williams scoring for the Swans, with a brace from Iain Hume for Preston.

Turning to Saturday, I'm hoping that the Swans players will have grown in confidence from their comeback victory at Bramall Lane, and I'm going for a 2-1 win for Potter's team.

 

Loved the Evil Genius ‘s goal against them a few years back!

 

I am hoping we can keep a clean sheet so 2-0

 

I hope we make the Liberty a fortress and not like last season where we were a shambles at home that eventually got us relegated...

 

Hell Taff that's one old video you've dug out!...... and I was there at Preston behind the goal in the standing area, in my bell bottom jeans!!!.......

 

Thats my scarf Tosh is wearing in the after match interview

That year I met Shanks at the Blackburn away game.When I asked him how he thought things would go he told me.........exactly how it panned out in the end!

 

I agree, how we do at home this year will define our season, the way we set up away from home appears to be that we will pick up some points, Just hoping we are up to breaking teams down when they come to us to try and not get beat that will show where we are at.

 

Just as the Sheff Utd game was a shot in the dark, so will Saturdays game against Preston.

Suddenly the fans expectations have been raised when in reality Preston are more than capable of coming here and turning us over, just like Hull did two seasons ago after we beat Burnley away on the opening day.

It will be a different type of challenge, especially if Preston put eleven behind the ball in the first half. A third of our team have never played at The Liberty!

I'd love three points but I'd take a point to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Just like building a cricket innings, you don't score fours off every ball!

Positive vibes and improvement all round will be key

 

Mr negative

 

More like sitting on the fence! At least I didn't predict defeat nor do I expect it

 

Get those splinters out of your arse.....

 

Three points is the only acceptable outcome from me.
We have just spent a few years in the PL and should be expecting to beat most teams at home in the Championship.

As a side note for needing "Championship type players" as football must be more direct in this division, I disagree wholeheartedly.
9 times out of 10 you would expect a PL side to beat a Championship side - so why would anyone want to play Championship style football to get through the league. I'm sure Newcastle didn't do that and they bounced straight back up. We should be aiming for a style of football that suits the PL and we'll do well.
I felt when we were promoted to the PL that we wouldn't go straight back down because we were already playing football that suited the PL.
The sides that don't survive in the PL after promotion do so because they fail to play a style that works in the PL.
People often just repeat crap they've heard in the media/elsewhere and believe it without thinking too hard about it.
PL football is better than Championship football. Who would you put money on ?

 

2-1 to the Swans

 

I do agree, but we are apparently getting rid of all the apparently PL class players we have. Newcastle are few and far between and were the one side in the last few years who didn't decimate their PL squad you can only play at that standard with that standard players, how often do all these sides go straight back up, more don't than do. So sometimes it is just about adapting to the league you are in, it just isn't as simple as because we were pl we should be better, we don't have the same squad.

 

I'm expecting a massive improvement with our home games this season as we were shocking especially against the bottom sides.....It didn't make any sense at all why we were so bad as we beat Liverpool and Arsenal and the defence was adequate but when we played anyone around us and below us we were shocking.....Potts must have seen the video's and i'm sure he has fixed things, Im expecting a home win by at least 2 goals.......I hope.

 

I'm surprised at you ,you're normally Mr positive but early days,

That's better , but it's your fault if we lose

 

and that imo is good news , the team on Saturday bore no resemblance to the dross we put up with last and previous seasons. PL for me is no great loss and that's not sore grapes , I posted 6 or so years ago " now we got there what could we achieve other than stay up" ,take a few scalps along the way but basically do enough to survive ,great for the odd game but always looking over our shoulder ,Now we could go either way both exciting in their extremes but a chance to actually win more games than lose and make the football world take notice instead of being the dope in the ring taking the punches from the so called big Clubs.

 

You said the word "lose"

 

ouch