Despite injuries to Earnshaw, Wilson and McKenna we battled through to earn a massive three points which lifts us back into the automatic promotion places. Both sides had chances to win the game but it always looked like a draw was the most likely result. However, in injury time, Chambers arrived from nowhere to continue his rare ability to score vital goals for the club.

These three points set us up perfectly for the forthcoming trips to Preston and Barnsley. Two mid-table teams where we have a great chance to turn around our recent troubles on our travels.

The injury to McKenna is a massive concern as we approach a series of mid-week games. Whilst his recent performances haven’t maintained the early standards, his presence alone in the side justifies his inclusion.

Moussi certainly didn’t do enough to suggest that he’s a worthy replacement. Either a direct replacement or a left-back, enabling Cohen to return into midfield is essential to maintaining our current position.  With the large number of games approaching, it’s likely that some of the reserves will have to step up and make an impression on this season.

In an attacking sense, Swansea got plenty of men behind the ball and left Kuqi up front on his own with Pratley breaking from deep whenever possible. It’s not hard to see why they’ve struggled to score many goals this season and yet concede so few.  Pratley did look a class act with his ability to break into space from deep, hopefully we haven’t given up the chance for him and will return with an improved offer in the summer.

On this occasion, their chances came from our own defensive mistakes. Kuqi took advantage of Morgan’s hesitation which required Camp to save smartly from close range. Chambers, for no reason, presented the ball on the bye-line for Kuqi but Pratley couldn’t reach the pull-back.

They’ll still be complaining about a possible penalty decision against Cohen on Pratley. The contact was minimal and Pratley never really made the most of the opportunity and seemed more interested in falling to the ground. We suffered similarly at Doncaster and Coventry so it’s nice to see things evening themselves out.

At the other end, we created plenty of chances but too often we lacked composure in front of goal. McGugan and Majewski found themselves through on goal but their efforts barely troubled the keeper. Blackstock had a goal disallowed for offside whilst Boyd’s effort required an excellent save.

Both sides cancelled each other out for long spells and it looked like we’d have to settle for a useful point. However, late in injury time, McGugan whipped in a perfect corner, their keeper came out and missed, the ball almost hit Chambers and flew into the goal.

Camp didn’t have too much to do but made an important save from Kuqi in the first half to keep us level. A few dodgy moments from some bouncing back-passes but we got away with them.

We looked much more balanced defensively with Cohen replacing Perch at left back. This provided much better support for the midfield in front of him. He should have scored when Anderson skipped past their left back and laid it perfectly into his path. In the end, the volley ended up high and wide when a header might have been the best option. MOTM Gunter continues to show his obvious talents at both ends of the field. Never really troubled by their attacks and showed real pace when attacking on the break.

We missed Wilson’s presence in the centre of defence as both Morgan and Chambers showed moments of panic. With Swansea’s lack of numbers going forward, we got away with it but if they had shown more ambition going forwards we might have been in trouble.

Moussi often looked a mess in midfield, arms and legs all over the place. On the few occasions he won the ball, it wasn’t long til the ball was presented straight back to a white shirt. On one occasion, he even managed to tackle Cohen. McGugan did a reasonable job in midfield and was always capable of providing decent service to Anderson and Boyd. He certainly looked much better than recent appearances. He’s likely to have an increasing involvement in coming weeks due to McKenna’s injury.

Boyd looked a classy player on his debut and showed moments of real promise. He provided important width to compliment Anderson down the right. Looked very comfortable on the ball and linked up very well with the other forwards and created some really dangerous situations breaking forward. On the other side, Anderson looked much better on the right hand side and we’ve missed his combination with Gunter in recent weeks.

Majewski struggled to have any real impact on the game and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him rested in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully the arrival of Boyd will reduce the reliance on Majewski, to create something from nothing, that’s existed for long spells this season. Blackstock continues to work tirelessly up front and too often he lacked the necessary support around him.

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Tags: Games Won, MOTM Chris Gunter