We have partnered with Betfair and the Benjamin Bloom Football Channel on YouTube to cover the Championship play-offs. Here, Ben looks ahead to the second leg between Swansea and Barnsley at the Liberty Stadium (Saturday, 6.30pm)…
The first leg
It was a big tick in the box for Swansea boss Steve Cooper after Monday’s first leg at Oakwell, with much of the talk in the build-up focused on Barnsley. The attention on Barnsley was understandable. In a season with two relegated parachute teams already up and another two leading in their play-off semis, a surprise package promotion would certainly be a ‘good news’ story. But this is knockout football, a cruel mistress who doesn’t care in the slightest what makes a ‘good news’ story.
Swansea and Cooper have been there before. They recently spent seven years in the Premier League, and just last season competed in the play-offs, losing in the semi-finals to Brentford. As a manager, Cooper earned his reputation in knock-out football, winning the under 17 World Cup with England in 2017. Cooper has leaned on that experience, using the contacts he made to bring members of that team – Joel Latibeaudiere, Marc Guehi, Morgan Gibbs-White and Rhian Brewster – all to Swansea on loan.
On Monday, the aforementioned Guehi started at Barnsley, forming a formidable defensive last line along with keeper Freddie Woodman and his centre-back partner Ben Cabango. The three of them were excellent, Andre Ayew curled in the only goal, and despite a big chance for Callum Brittain, Barnsley were effectively kept at arm’s length. Swansea left Yorkshire with the advantage and Cooper took the plaudits, in a display of highly effective knockout football.
One to watch – Andre Ayew (Swansea)
Apologies for any perceived lack of creativity here, but this feels like an open goal I need to convert. Since the departure from Swansea of Oli McBurnie to Sheffield United, Dan James to Manchester United, and the end of Brewster’s loan spell last season, there has been a lot of pressure on Andre Ayew when it comes to goals. Yes, Jamal Lowe has weighed in with frankly more than his share of goals, hitting 14 as a converted winger, but Ayew is still the leading man with 16.
With Ayew, it’s not just about goals, it’s about personality, leadership, and that rare intangible commodity of being a big-game player. Certain footballers look scared when the chips are down, and the exact opposite can be said of others. These players puff their chests out and seem to enjoy the drama. And Ayew certainly falls into that category.
On Monday the Swansea game plan was to weather the Barnsley storm, and when the opportunity came, to use the extra experience and quality they possessed on paper. It was a trademark Ayew goal, a mixture of power and technique. As usual, he picked a big moment, a pattern that is now repeating itself with a sense of predictability. Ayew scored in the play-offs last season, against top four rivals Norwich and Brentford this season, as well as two high-pressure injury-time penalty winners against Stoke and Middlesbrough. When the wheels were threatening to fall off Swansea’s season he scored and assisted at Millwall, and when the play-offs needed confirming he pulled out a virtuoso substitute cameo at Reading.
Sometimes it’s okay to state the obvious. Saturday is a big game, Andre Ayew is a big game player.
Andre Ayew to score first at 11/2 (Betfair)
One to watch – Daryl Dike (Barnsley)
On Monday, Daryl Dike would have hoped to have been everything Ayew was for Swansea. Sadly for the USA striker, while Ayew was being heralded as the match-winner, Dike was replaced and trudged off on 88 minutes. He had not impacted the game in the way anyone associated with Barnsley would have wanted him to.
It’s important to add a couple of bits of context here, however. Firstly, it is not unusual for Dike to be substituted off by manager Valerien Ismael, but normally it’s a regeneration of attacking resources rather than an admission of surrender. Secondly, Dike’s lack of impact was not for the want of endeavour or opportunity but more a symptom of Swansea’s well-executed game plan and defensive performance.
The truth is Swansea played Dike beautifully. At his best the American is a very tough customer – his pace, power, finishing and physicality, coupled with the Barnsley game plan, has been a recipe for disaster for those facing him. Dike has scored nine goals in just 13 starts since arriving on loan in February, and his form was the final piece in the jigsaw as Barnsley’s season went from strength to surprising strength.
It was down to Ben Cabango and Marc Guehi to stop Dike, and Steve Cooper’s decision to utilise the extra mobility of Cabango, as opposed to the experience of Ryan Bennett, was another he got right. Indeed, there was a revealing sign early in the game that foreshadowed Dike’s tough night. As Cabango shepherded an early ball out, Dike tried everything to unsettle him both physically and verbally. Cabango trotted away, ignoring any mind games, and that steely focus was maintained throughout the game.
If Dike starts again on Saturday he’ll be certain to not want as frustrating a game as he was given on Monday. Much will depend on his team, but then again much of his team’s success will depend on Dike. Will he get the better of the excellent Swansea centre-backs and do what he’s done so frequently during his explosive short stay in the Championship?
Daryl Dike to score anytime at 9/4 (Betfair)
Key battle – Steve Cooper vs Valerien Ismael
I could pick out many key battles on the pitch for this second leg. Down the flanks there’s Callum Styles v Kyle Naughton and Callum Brittain v Jake Bidwell. There’s the previously mentioned heavy-duty matchup of Dike vs Cabango and Guehi in the Barnsley attacking third. After the first leg, however, it feels only right to focus on the dugouts and the two managers, Cooper and Ismael, ahead of a game that is sure to get very tactical very quickly. Here we have the two more ‘chess player’ style managers coming up against one another.
Barnsley boss Ismael has taken the Championship by storm this season and appealed to those who like a bit of tactical variation, and certainly those who like an underdog. When Jurgen Klopp famously spoke of ‘heavy metal football’ his description could easily be prescribed to Barnsley right now. Heavy metal is loud, in your face, not particularly subtle, and an antidote for those who prefer their music a little more visceral than pop or folk. Like heavy metal, Barnsley are direct, not subtle, and liked by many. They rely on an intense press and making defenders defend, but there is no absence of technical quality or tactical acumen. Don’t turn up, Barnsley will beat you.
Returning to the word subtle, we could probably use it to describe Swansea manager Steve Cooper. He is more understated than many of his managerial peers, but he also finished higher in the league than most of them. We’ve already spoken glowingly of Cooper’s pedigree and success in tournament football, and he most certainly won the tactical battle on Monday night. Playing against Barnsley requires concentration, physicality, and an acceptance that at points during the game the regular style may need to be temporarily abandoned for the greater good. Swansea did all of those things on Monday, and when the moment came had the quality to execute their plan.
Cooper will need to be at his chess-playing best on Saturday and move his pieces throughout the game with precision. The first-leg lead means he has the advantage of being able to adopt a defensive strategy, but past experience says this can sometimes even work against players if their focus isn’t spot on. Ismael will be brave, and to continue with the chess theme, will attack with knights, bishops, rooks, probably all at once. It will be intense between the two, and perhaps he who strikes first will ultimately avoid checkmate.
Swansea Fan View
I’d love to see us impose our way of playing onto Barnsley a little more in the second leg; we are a better footballing team and feel we are capable of a result if we take control of the game early on. Look what happened when we kept the ball on the ground and gathered a bit of possession, we created an opportunity for Ayew to do what he does best. If we move the ball around quickly from left to right, I can see us having a lot more control than we did in the first leg.
I think Steve Cooper was spot on with the formation and I’d like to see four at the back again; we know it works against their system and I’d go with the same four, they were utterly fantastic on Monday. The only changes I’d like to see is maybe Korey Smith for Conor Hourihane, as Smith gets really stuck in and helps us win the ball back in midfield, and possibly Wayne Routledge over Liam Cullen as his experience lends him well to games like these.
There’s another big shift needed from the Swansea boys, but we are all behind them. What a dream it would be to get to Wembley.
@AmyClement94, @SwansCastMedia
Barnsley Fan View
Swansea are strong, solid with a sprinkle of quality up front and an amazing keeper. BUt I believe we deserved to get at least a draw in the first leg, and if we had scored that chance early in the second half we would’ve gone on to win.
They were putting the kettle on every time they had a throw-in, time-wasting even in the first 10 minutes. They looked terrified to let us build any sort of momentum, but credit to them, they knew how to slow the play and limit our opportunities which earned them a slender lead. It wasn’t our night, but this is far from over, we’re a better team than them, we just have to put the ball in the back of the net. If we get one early in the second leg, I believe we will get three.
@JoeBeardsall, Red All Over YouTube Channel
Bet Builder
Betfair have boosted Benjamin’s Bet Builder from 10/1 to 12/1. Go to ‘All’ on the markets page and scroll to the bottom to back his selection.
Odds correct at the time of publication. 18+ Please Gamble Responsibly. Visit begambleaware.org
The post Swansea v Barnsley: Chess-playing Cooper must cope with kitchen sink appeared first on Football365.