Match Review – Swansea City 0-1 Brighton
Remember, remember the fifth of November, when Brighton were eighth in the Premier League.
Yes, eighth in the Premier League after a 1-0 win away at Swansea City which left Swans fans irate and their side in the relegation zone. The Albion meanwhile are seven points off the drop zone and four points off the Champions League. To the Nou Camp, we’re on our way?
Perspective people, perspective. The fixture list has been extremely kind to us so far. We faced Manchester City when they played 3-4-3 and were bedding in a number of new players and our only other game against one of the big six was at Arsenal. Come 5pm on Boxing Day we’ll have faced Manchester United, Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea in the space of a month and that will give us a much clearer indication of where we stand.
More away performances and results like this should ensure Premier League football for next season. If aliens had have arrived from one of Saturn’s moons and decided their first port of call on Earth was the Liberty Stadium, they would’ve thought the Albion were the side who had been in the Premier League for six years and Swansea were the newcomers.
We were better on the ball, wanted it more and were more clinical and the result of all that was victory thanks to Glenn Murray’s first half goal. Only Harry Kane has more goals in the top two divisions of English football over the past two seasons than Murray now.
The goal was handed to us on a plate by Federico Fernández who ducked out of the way of an Anthony Knockaert cross, allowing Murray to scramble the ball home. Sunday League defending and that’s being harsh on some of the stuff that goes on at Waterhall but Murray did well to convert it for his fourth goal in three games.
Swansea didn’t manage a shot in the first half and they were booed off at half time while we all headed to the bar. If Paul Clement wanted to keep his job we knew they would have to be better in the second half, and they marginally were.
They had a shot at least, Maty Ryan saving well from Tammy Abraham and then Luciano Narsingh rattling the crossbar in stoppage time. Had that gone in and Swansea escaped with a point, it would have been a travesty.
Thankfully it didn’t and the reward was three more points, back-to-back top flight away wins for only the second time in Albion history and another clean sheet in the bank.
