Popped down to the Liberty Stadium last night to watch Swansea v QPR. Although the score ended 0-0, it was one of the most eventful games I've seen in 26 years of attending football matches of different teams.
The game sparked into life midway through the first half, when a crunching challenge by QPR's Martin Rowlands knocked the Swansea keeper, Dorus De Vries, unconscious. The horrific thud of the impact was audiable even though I was sitting high up in the stands. Aparently he has been diagnosed with a broken jaw and will be out for a couple of months. I'm not a fan of dragging the police into on-the-field matters, but in my opinion. Martin Rowlands deliberately set out to injure the Swansea keeper and should be charged with assault.
Swansea had not started with a substitute goalkeeper, and so it was left to the stalwart defender, Alan Tate, to go between the sticks. As it turns out, Swans could have put a Subbuteo keeper in goal, as I don't recall QPR having a single shot on target for the rest of the game. Apparently Swansea had 25 shots all told, including a late shot off the outside of the post.
QPR had 6 players booked - and were extremely fortunate to end with 11 men (Rowlands should have gone, for starters). I was surprised at how negative and cynically QPR played - they failed to test Alan Tate's handling at all. Until yesterday I was a big fan of Ian Dowie and his "bouncebackability" attitude. But if that's how his sides play, I'm not so sure.
Dorus De Vries receives treatment on the field
Sub "keeper" Alan Tate goes walkabout outside the penalty box.