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Swansea 0 Blackpool 1 - full match report
IT was fitting that another memorable season ended with this fine victory in South Wales, at a stadium that is becoming something of a final-day happy hunting ground.
OK, so there weren't nine goals to savour this time but one was enough to earn victory and surpass last season's points total.
If there was any lingering doubt about whether Tony Parkes and Steve Thompson deserve the management job, it has now dissolved completely.
DJ Campbell's terrific strike (note to chairman: for goodness' sake, break the bank and sign the lad up) was enough to beat a pretty yet pretty blunt Swansea side and finish the campaign on a high.
The odds on that happening were slim if what occurred during the team's breakfast at their hotel was anything to go by.
A member of staff had kindly agreed to tape the Ricky Hatton fight in the early hours, the idea being to play it to the squad as a nice way of relaxing for an hour and taking their minds off the task in hand.
So they all settled down with their food in front of the TV, pressed the play button – and less than six minutes later it was all over.
Hatton was out for the count before Shaun Barker even had chance to tuck into his scrambled egg.
The leisure plans for the morning were hastily rescheduled, not that it bothered the team too much for they never really looked like losing.
Yes, Swansea had the lion's share of possession but they didn't create too much and rarely was Paul Rachubka truly extended.
Maybe it was playing on a good pitch that helped.
There was something wonderfully ironic about the presentation before kick-off – Swansea's groundsman received an award for the best playing surface in the Championship.
The pitch was indeed immaculate. "It's better than ours was in August," said one Blackpool onlooker in jest, but with accuracy.
Personally, I was simply relieved to be there for kick-off. After spending the previous evening in Cardiff, and, with hindsight, possibly indulging in one shandy too many, I set off a little later than planned for the Liberty Stadium.
Still, after carefully typing 'Swansea City FC' into my sat nav, I was confident of arriving in good time.
Indeed, as we landed in Swansea centre I scoffed at a van-load of Blackpool fans heading in the opposite direction, saying aloud, 'Well, you lot are going the wrong way.'
I didn't feel so smug minutes later, when the sat nav informed us we had reached our destination. There was indeed a football field in front of me, but it was Vetch Field, the ground Swansea departed in 2005 (incidentally, I digress, but the last player to score at the Vetch before it closed? One Adrian Forbes).
Cue a frantic dash across the city – not helped by gridlocked traffic – and arrival at the correct venue a mere 10 minutes before kick-off.
Glad I made it because what a terrific place the Liberty Stadium is.
With a better PA system than your average Elton John concert, it feels like a proper football arena.
Many of the 447 Blackpool fans had entered into the spirit of things by staying in Wales for a weekend of fun and frolics, or by getting dolled up in fancy dress.
They were here for a good time whatever the outcome, though as it turned out they had three points to celebrate into the bargain.
DJ Campbell's strike secured victory and what a cracker it was.
Receiving the ball from Brett Ormerod in the 13th minute, he sidestepped centre-back Ashley Williams and fired a left-footed drive past Dorus de Vries. The Swans keeper may have a natty name but he had no chance of saving such a pinpoint and well-struck effort.
Well done to Ormerod for making a good decoy run which aided Campbell.
But the no.9 did most of the hard work and it was a strike that really illustrated how important he has been to the club since arriving in January.
Nine goals in 20 starts is a terrific return in the Championship and it is no exaggeration to state that he and Charlie Adam – combined with the displays of Alex Baptiste and Shaun Barker in the second half of the season, plus goalkeeping of a consistently high standard from Paul Rachubka – have been the main reason the Seasiders have stayed up.
As they did at Bloomfield Road in December in Simon Grayson's last game in charge, Swansea played the better football but failed to create many real opportunities.
A Jason Scotland strike saved by Rachubka and a goalmouth scramble which ended with Danny Coid almost kneeing the ball into his own net – only for it to be stopped on the line by, of all people, a slightly bewildered Scotland – was the closest the home side got to giving their glorious season the finale it probably deserved.
They have been a credit to the division and play the game in a terrific manner.
But yesterday it was Pool who probably had the better opportunities and Barker should have headed in rather than wide on 21 minutes from a David Vaughan corner.
They should have had a penalty at the end too, when Adam burst forward from midfield and, as he does so well, got the wrong side of the defender and forced the foul.
The offence was committed by Alan Tate a good two yards inside the area but referee Carl Boyeson gave a free-kick on the edge of the box. I would never dream of suggesting the official might have been evening things up after waving play on moments earlier, when Ormerod appeared to clip Jordi Gomez in the opposite penalty area.
In the end none of those shenanigans mattered.
Pool got the victory they wanted and celebrated in front of their own delirious fans before being applauded off by the very sporting Swansea supporters. It was a nice touch, always pleasing to see, and very generous of them considering this is the second time in recent years that Blackpool have ruined their final-day celebrations.
The beer was cracked open in the dressing room and continued flowing on the coach journey home. The players deserve to let their hair down after a fine season's work, in which they again defied the odds to stay up.
Jealous of Burnley and Preston being in the play-offs? Don't be.
Blackpool are making very nice, steady progress, and with the first instalment of the TV cash due in June they may be able to creep a little higher in the table next season.
In the meantime, forget about football for a while, de-stress and enjoy the summer.
It will soon be August again, when the maddening, infuriating but somehow always irrestible rollercoaster ride will start all over again.
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Weather for Blackpool
Monday 13 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 32 mph
Wind direction: West
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Cloudy
Temperature: 6 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 28 mph
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