Four-star Swans punish poor Preston

Swansea beat a poor Preston side 4-0 on Saturday thanks to three first-half goals in Brendan Rodgers' first home Championship game in charge.

Last Updated: 14/08/10 at 17:36 Post Comment

Pratley: Among Swansea scorers

Pratley: Among Swansea scorers

The lively Stephen Dobbie, who spent the second half of last season helping Blackpool win promotion, opened the scoring with a well-taken finish in the 23rd minute.

Darren Pratley pounced from David Cotterill's corner to grab a second goal, displaying his stated desire to focus on his football after a turbulent couple of weeks regarding his future. Nathan Dyer then added a third before the break after a well-worked move.

It got no better for North End in the second half as Cotterill, who impressed in midfield, added a fourth from the penalty spot for a Swansea side who saw a severe lack of goals derail their promotion bid last term.

The victory and manner of the performance would certainly have delighted Rodgers who watched his side go down 2-0 at Hull last weekend.

In stark contrast, opposite number Darren Ferguson will have been furious with the way in which Preston have lost their opening two league games for the first time since 1989/90.

Scott Sinclair, a midweek record signing from Chelsea, enjoyed a superb Swansea debut on the wing while Premier League target Angel Rangel returned at right-back after a thigh injury.

Ferguson made just one change to the starting XI after the 2-0 loss at home to Doncaster on the opening day, with midfielder Adam Barton coming in for Darel Russell.

A moving minute's silence was observed prior to kick-off in honour of Swansea striker Besian Idrizaj who passed away over the summer following a heart attack at the age of just 22.

The 14,010 inside the Liberty Stadium witnessed an end-to-end opening quarter in which Swansea midfielder Cotterill almost broke the deadlock when his drive rebounded off a post.

But City fans did not have to wait long for the opener as, within a matter of seconds, Alan Tate regained possession and fed Dobbie who fired into the bottom corner from a central position just inside the penalty area.

North End were second best after the opener as the hosts gained the upper hand and it was 2-0 in the 40th minute.

Cotterill's corner was flicked on by Garry Monk and then Ashley Williams before Pratley punished the visitors' woeful defending by finishing from close range.

And the game was over as a contest before half-time as Cotterill found Dobbie with a reverse pass and he squared the ball across the face of goal for Dyer to convert from six yards.

Preston boss Ferguson must have dished out hairdryer treatment more associated with his father at the interval as his side emerged for the second half well ahead of their hosts.

But it seemed to make little difference as Swansea went close to adding a fourth goal within a minute of the restart through Sinclair, Pratley and then Dyer.

Yet the fourth was soon on its way as Keith Treacy brought down Dyer in the penalty area and Cotterill converted the resulting spot-kick.

Swansea went in search of a fifth, occasionally leaving the visitors free to attack - Treacy hit a post in the closing stages - but the goal glut was over, leaving North End still waiting for their first victory at Swansea since 1963.

Football365 Facebook Fan Page

The Football365 fan page is a great place to meet like minded people, have football related discussions and make new friends.

Sky Bet

    • Retrieving latest Sky Bet odds

More Match Results

Monday, 13 May 2013
19:45
Brighton 0-2 C Palace Report
Sunday, 12 May 2013
12:30
Watford 3-1 Leicester Report
Friday, 10 May 2013
19:45
C Palace 0-0 Brighton Report
Thursday, 09 May 2013
Leicester 1-0 Watford Report
Saturday, 04 May 2013
12:45
Birmingham 1-1 Blackburn Report
Bolton 2-2 Blackpool Report
Brighton 2-0 Wolves Report
Burnley 2-0 Ipswich Report
Charlton 4-1 Bristol C Report
C Palace 3-2 Peterboro Report

npower Championship

Position Team P GD PTS
1 Cardiff 46 27 87
2 Hull City 46 9 79
3 Watford 46 27 77
4 Brighton 46 26 75
5 C Palace 46 11 72
6 Leicester 46 23 68
7 Bolton 46 8 68
8 N Forest 46 4 67
9 Charlton 46 6 65
10 Derby 46 3 61
11 Burnley 46 2 61
12 Birmingham 46 -6 61
13 Leeds 46 -9 61
14 Ipswich 46 -13 60
15 Blackpool 46 -1 59
16 Middlesbro' 46 -9 59
17 Blackburn 46 -7 58
18 Sheff Wed 46 -8 58
19 Huddersfld 46 -20 58
20 Millwall 46 -11 56
21 Barnsley 46 -14 55
22 Peterboro 46 -9 54
23 Wolves 46 -14 51
24 Bristol C 46 -25 41

Updated Sat, 04 May 2013

Footer 365

Bastian Schweinsteiger aiming to treat Wembley to footballing perfection

Bayern Munich's Bastian Schweinsteiger aims to treat Wembley to footballing perfection in the Champions League final.

Pardew to remain at the helm

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew will remain in charge at St James' Park after holding talks about his future with owner Mike Ashley.

LB: Toffees won't come unstuck

Leighton Baines insists the upheaval of losing manager David Moyes to Manchester United after 11 years in charge will not derail Everton.

Mail Box

More Scared Of Losing AVB Than Bale...

We thought we would have to resort to another mailbox about maths but we've had some grand opinions about Man United, Newcastle, Tottenham and more. Oh and maths...

An Ode To Rafa And Loads More Mails...

We have one Chelsea fan who recognises the job done by Rafa Benitez while there's maths from Liverpool, Newcastle and Manchester. And Shawcross to Arsenal? Nah...

© 2013 British Sky Broadcasting Ltd. All Rights Reserved