Carmarthen 3 Swansea 3

Full report now online thanks to Murton_Jack.

The Swans started the match with a 4-4-2 system of:

Willy

Tate - Monk(c) - Austin - Williams

Robinson - O'Leary - Pratley - McLeod

Fallon - Trundle

The Swans made a positive start with a Lee Trundle run resulting him going over in the box under a Carmarthen player's challenge, but the ref gave nothing which was probably the right decision as Trundle did go over very easily.

Then after 5 minutes Carmarthen were awarded a free-kick on the left wing, Swansea failed to deal with the ball swung in and Carmarthen defender Martyn Giles bundled the ball home.

The Swans reacted by creating some half chances, a Rory Fallon bicycle kick from Kevin McLeod's left wing cross was well saved by the Carmarthen keeper, and after some good link-up play with Trundle, Fallon flashed another effort just wide.

But just as it seemed Swansea were starting to settle, Carmarthen grabbed a second goal. Poor defending gave Carmarthen number nine Mark Dodds too much room to curl home an effort from the left hand corner of the penalty box, the shot seemed to take a deflection but I couldn't be sure as I was behind the opposite goal.

Swansea then pulled a goal back through number ten Lee Trundle. A good ball found Kevin McLeod on the left flank and his cross found Trundle who powered the ball home with a side foot volley.

But Carmarthen soon made their lead two again, when another free-kick from their left was missed by everyone including Willy and flew straight into the net.

The defence was looking shaky, with Monk & Austin off the pace, and Alan Tate regularly miss-hitting passes. Kris O'Leary played well in central midfield making plenty of meaty challenges, and new signing Darren Pratley was impressive. Pratley looked quick & athletic, made plenty of challenges and looked quite comfortable on the ball. The only thing I would say about Pratley is he didn't look like someone who would score many goals, and sometimes chose passes when there were opportunities to run or shoot.

Half Time: Carmarthen 3 Swansea 1

Swansea made five changes at half time which gave a team of:

Oakes

Tate - Izzy - Watt - Williams

Robinson - O'Leary(c) - Pratley - McLeod

night - Bayo

Swansea looked much more solid second half and Carmarthen didn't really have any chances of note. Swansea pulled one goal back through a bizarre effort from (I think) Kevin McLeod. A long ball was sent towards McLeod on the left wing, who seemed to try and steer the ball back into the box, but somehow ended up in the back of the net.

Swansea soon levelled when McLeod received the ball on the left again, and Leon Knight beat the Carmarthen defender to his cross to prod home the equaliser.

Trialist keeper Andy Oakes had very little to do, took a few crosses comfortably but did have a tendency to send his goal kicks in the direction of Leon Knight who was being easily beaten in the air by the Carmarthen centre-back. Izzy looked impressive on his return to action, and Steven Watt also played well but did get completely skinned by the Carmarthen centre forward on one occasion.

Shaun McDonald replaced Tate late on at right back, and Darren Pratley seemed to pick up a knock which meant that Trundle returned to the action.

Overall, the second half display wasn't too bad, but we were let down again by failure to defend set-pieces. The Swans looked rusty and failed to find any great tempo, but these friendlies are there for a reason and hopefully we'll find some sharpness before the start of the season.

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