de Guzman Scores In USA Tour Defeat

New loan signing Jonathan de Guzman scored Swansea City's only goal in their opening USA Tour match against the Colorado Rapids.

Michael Laudrup watched on as he took charge of his first game - while his players had to battle against hot temperatures and altitude levels of a mile above sea level.

The Swansea boss fielded two different sides for each half (apart from the goalkeeper - Gerhard Tremmel), with the first half side being mostly players who struggled to get first team experience last season. The four first team regulars to play in the opening 45 minutes were Ashley Williams, Leon Britton, Nathan Dyer and Danny Graham. Others with chances to impress the new gaffer included Fede Bessone, new signing Michu and Jazz Richards.

Almost 6,500 were at Dick's Sporting Arena, and the home crowd were delighted to see their team storm into a 2-0 lead after just 14 minutes, with Andre Akpan and Kamani Hill netting early on.

de Guzman grabbed a goal back for the Swans in the second half whilst Leon Britton and Leroy Lita had some of their best chances to get a draw.

SWANS: (First half): Gerhard Tremmel, Jazz Richards, Garry Monk (capt), Ashley Williams, Fede Bessone, Leon Britton, Mark Gower, Michu, Nathan Dyer, Stephen Dobbie, Danny Graham.

SWANS: (Second half): Gerhard Tremmel, Angel Rangel, Chico, Alan Tate, Ben Davies, Kemy Agustien, Jonathan de Guzman, Andrea Orlandi, Wayne Routledge, Luke Moore, Leroy Lita.

de Guzman said he was delighted to see his 25-yard effort from a free kick curl past the goalkeeper and into the net, he told the Official Site:

"I was talking with (Andrea) Orlandi over who would take it. I took it and went for the corner and I was delighted I beat the keeper.

"Who will take the next one? Well, Orlandi has a good shot too though, so we`ll see how it goes."

de Guzman then talked about the game in general, adding:

"It was difficult (against the Rapids) as it was our first game as a group,"

"It can be tough for new players to adapt, while it was difficult in those conditions. We were at very high altitude.

"But we did well. We did well on the ball and defended well, while we kept possession pretty well too.

"It went well in the second half. We played the ball a bit faster and played well as a team.

"We`ve got a few number of new players, and we`re all gelling well.

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