The 3-0 victory over Millwall yesterday marked head coach Michael Duff’s first away victory of the year, yet it appears that some of this season’s bigger wins are being overlooked. Starting this morning, let’s do that.
The Swans have the best goal difference and best goals scored columns among the bottom 10 teams in the Championship rankings. Six of the thirteen goals scored this season were really a result of the last two games, which were against Millwall and Sheffield Wednesday. Jerry Yates has three goals, Jamal Lowe has two, and Mykola Kukharevych opened his account for the Swans with a coolly executed header yesterday. The goals are dispersed somewhat as well.
The bad news was that Kristian Pedersen experienced a minor groin strain during practice on Friday after traveling up a day early for yesterday’s game. Jerry Yates was hit repeatedly during the game, and as a result, he was taken off with two dead legs at halftime. The Swansea.Com Stadium will be without Pedersen for Wednesday’s match against Norwich City (kickoff: 7.45 p.m.), and Yates’ ability to recuperate will largely depend on his ability to run without pain on Monday. With Josh Ginnelly sidelined for the whole season and Nathan Wood and Joe Allen out until early January, it is already known that the injury list is lengthy. Azeem Abdulai will undergo rehabilitation for several weeks before taking
After yesterday’s triumph, Duff did say that his team is becoming “a bit thin in the ground.” Speaking of those wounds, he said. “During a workout, Kristian Pedersen felt his groin. Last week, in my opinion, he was our best player. He might not be ready for the upcoming two games, but he will undoubtedly return after the break for international play.Jerry Yates and Charlie Patino had to leave the game against Millwall, forcing the Swans manager to make two substitutions. We’ll simply have to wait and see on that since Jerry took two dead legs,” Duff continued. Charlie simply had a cramp. We’re starting to become a bit nervous, so hopefully nothing else happens when the guys come in for a cooldown tomorrow.
A plus is Liam Walsh’s welcome return to the Swans bench, though. It’s really a question of wait and see with Liam because he frequently gets hurt shortly after recovering from an injury. If he starts on Wednesday, Mykola (below) introducing himself to the Swans supporters at Millwall will give them confidence that he can adjust; he does have a beautiful look to his play and enjoys a challenge. The Swans may be playing this week, but west Wales has definitely regained its optimism and self-assurance.
Seventh-placed Norwich City will present a very different challenge to Millwall and Sheffield Wednesday when they visit Swansea. Swans fans can find some solace in the fact that despite scoring nineteen goals this season, they have also given up sixteen. They defeated Birmingham City 2-0 yesterday, but keep in mind that they are human. They recently shipped six at Plymouth and seemed disheveled all over the park.
Over the next few days, we’ll continue to prepare for the game on Wednesday evening.
