Swansea City 1 - 1 Chelsea - Match Report

Swansea were denied their second successive Premier League scalp in the most cruel of ways after Scott Sinclair's opener against his former club was cancelled out by a deflected Jose Bosingwa shot that secured a point for Chelsea. In what was very much a game of two halves, Swansea dominated the first yet Chelsea deserved their eventual equaliser after completely ruling the home team out of the game in the second half. The visitors were without a string of key players with John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ramires all missing through injury whilst Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou were both still away for international duty. Gary Cahill was forced to wait yet another game for his debut despite the absence of his England international team mate, Terry. The first half started with Swansea taking control of the game. Chelsea gave them room for them to carry out their slick passing style and were made to chase shadows the majority of the first half hour. A Gylfi Sigurdsson free kick would later give Swansea the assist for a goal but the on loan Hoffenheim player created another great chance earlier in the match. The ball was swung in deep for Steven Caulker to head toward goal but Danny Graham couldn't make the most of Chelsea's efforts to clear the loose ball. Chelsea almost immediately came back at the Swans out of nowhere when David Luiz found Daniel Sturridge open in the 18 yard box, only for him to drag his shot wide. In a move that typified Swansea's attacking intent during this first fourty five minutes they were gifted no less than three successive clear cut chances on goal. A through ball found Danny Graham who attempted to lift the ball over Petr Cech with no result. Gylfi Sigurdsson latched on to the resultant loose ball with Cech in no man's land but Branislav Ivanovic blocked his attempt. Graham yet again found the ball to his feet with a goalkeeper-less Chelsea goal at his mercy however this time it was David Luiz who ensured the scores stayed level. Finally Joe Allen bounded onto the rebounded ball but Cech was finally available to clear the danger. Chelsea slowly brought themselves back into the game after the 30 minute mark with efforts from Juan Mata, Oriel Romeu and David Luiz all attempting to test Michel Vorm but to no avail. Five minutes before the half time whistle, another set piece from Gylfi Sigurdsson creates the opportunity for Swansea to take the lead. Sigurdsson swung in a free kick deep into the Chelsea area, Jose Bosingwa fails to clear the ball well and Scott Sinclair hits a looping volley to get the better of Petr Cech. The former Chelsea player showed the utmost respect despite putting the Swans ahead, refusing to celebrate in front of the visiting fans. With the score at 1-0 and Swansea showing no signs of stopping, a big change was needed by Chelsea in the second half and the duly delivered. From the kick off there was an extra spring in the Chelsea players step. Passes were more accurate, possession was retained more efficiently and the Swansea players were closed down with ease, negating the control the home team had over the first half. The defensive resolve of Swansea was clearly being tested after a barrage of efforts were directed towards Michel Vorm and co. Oriel Romeu, Michael Essien - a second half substitute - and Jose Bosingwa all came close in the first twenty minutes of the second half. With the clock counting down, the Chelsea chances continued. Teasing balls from Florent Malouda, Juan Mata and Jose Bosingwa forced the best out of Ashley Williams and the rest of the Swansea back four. Daniel Sturridge was offered a brilliant chance to fire at goal with less than fifteen minutes remaining on the clock but the swarm of white shirts forced him to take his shot early and skew wide yet again. By the eightieth minute Swansea looked a shadow of their former selves, consistently giving the ball away as opposed to retaining it and showing signs of fatigue, however Nathan Dyer almost sealed the win for them after a rare offensive manoeuvre found him one-on-one with Petr Cech but the pocket winger couldn't fire his shot on target. Many would've thought that the final straw of clinching a point was taken from Chelsea after Ashley Cole was sent off for his second yellow card offence of the game but the Blues kept their resolve to battle on. Deep into injury time another Jose Bosingwa was the saviour for Chelsea. The Portuguese full back had squandered his previous chances on goal but after cutting in on the flank, his shot edged its way past Michel Vorm via a deflection from Neil Taylor. It was no less than Chelsea deserved after their tireless efforts on goal in the second half but with the final whistle in touching distance, Swansea will feel very unlucky not to have taken three points this evening.