Context. 1) Swansea are a very good possession based side that narrowly missed promotion to the Premier League and a signicant step up in quality from the fodder we have practiced against thus far this summer.
2) It was a PSF on a hot summer evening.
Positives. The new signings that played this evening were all upgrades on what we had last season. So was Randell in midfield!
My analysis. We started well pressing high and causing Swansea problems. We could and should have taken the lead. However as Swansea got into the game they found space between the midfield and defensive lines. Some posters on here saw this as our midfield was too lightweight, I saw this as our defence were sat a little too deep allowing space in front of them. In the second half the back three noticeably worked together to keep a higher line which denied Swansea the space between the lines and rendered them as impotent. With the defence pushed higher the midfield magically appeared stronger. Yes Panuche gave a valuable injection of energy on a energy sapping hot evening. IMO we started as the better team and finished the better team. For 15 minutes in the first half we were a little at sea, but unlike last season, the team appeared to have reflected at half time and addressed the threats the opposition posed. All in all a good workout.
Finally, one last shout out for Ryan Law, two fantastic bits of skill in the second half culminating in him cutting inside and then firing in a great shot that hit the post. So, I will agree with those who commented during the first half that he shouldn't be playing at this level; you are right, based on his second half performance he should be playing at a higher level.
Opinions opinons. Keep the faith!