Darren Pratley scores twice as the Swans win at Sheffield Wednesday to go fifth for Christmas

Report - Wales Online

DARREN Pratley’s ice-cool brace helped Swansea City brush aside the winter weather to turn up the heat on Championship strugglers Sheffield Wednesday.

After recently bemoaning his team’s inability to find the cutting edge necessary to convert dominant performances into points, boss Paulo Sousa will have been delighted to see a timely role-reversal at Hillsborough. While his team were matched in most areas by the managerless Owls, Pratley’s clinical finishing ensured they made the most of their rare sights of goal.

With the hosts struggling to get out of the rut that cost manager Brian Laws his job last Sunday – a run that has now seen them go 10 games without victory and six without a goal, the 24-year-old was on hand to pile on the misery after just five minutes. And, while Wednesday valiant tried to fight back, Pratley’s well-taken second all-but secured the three points in the 36th minute.

The manner of the former Fulham man’s goals will perhaps be the biggest positive for Sousa. The Portuguese had called for composure in the box during his pre-match interviews and that’s exactly what he got.

It was a stark contrast to last week’s home defeat to Nottingham Forest. In both games Swansea had only two real chances to score but, while Forest walked away with a 1-0 win at the Liberty Stadium, Wednesday were made to pay for giving their visitors even a sniff of goal.

It wasn’t all smiles for the travelling Swans fans though – while one midfielder stole the show on the pitch, another one quickly found himself becoming the main talking point off it.

After two weeks dominated by his stalled contract talks, fans’ favourite Leon Britton was unceremoniously dropped from the matchday squad.

With temperatures bordering on freezing, the combative midfielder was both literally and metaphorically left out in the cold.

It is understood Britton was fully match fit and, while the 27-year-old refused to comment when asked about his absence before kick-off, Sousa later insisted it was purely based on footballing reasons. But, with defender Albert Serran occupying the holding role in midfield when he came on to replace Jordi Lopez, it seems hard to believe Britton was surplus to requirements.

Nevertheless, while his presence in the stands may detract from the result, it should not take the gloss off either the victory or Pratley’s goal-scoring heroics. It was a vintage performance from the energetic midfielder and, with Sousa also calling for an early goal during the week, he ensured his manager wasn’t disappointed.

With Swansea’s first real attack of the game, Gorka Pintado’s superb chipped pass was met by a perfectly-timed run from Pratley. Wednesday’s fragile back four had played a woeful offside trap and, with all the time and space in the world, the midfielder placed a superb finish past Lee Grant.

But instead of feeling sorry for themselves, the hosts were soon pressuring for an equaliser. But they found Dorus de Vries in fine form, producing two fine saves in as many minutes to deny first Jermaine Johnson and then Darren Purse.

While many would have expected them to give up after such an early setback, the Owls continued to push forwards.

But Sousa’s men always looked dangerous on the break and, producing the cutting edge that has been missing in recent games, they doubled their lead in the 36th minute.

The impressive Andrea Orlandi slid Nathan Dyer in down the left and, as he pulled the ball back into the box, Pratley was perfectly placed to side-foot a powerful shot to double his tally.

The second goal naturally sapped the life out of Wednesday and the 18,000-strong home crowd. And, while they didn’t really deserve to be 2-0 down, it wasn’t a surprise to see Sean McAuley and his men trudging off to a chorus of boos at half time.

The Owls’ caretaker boss then brought on Francis Jeffers to try to give his side some hope of rescuing a point. But, while the former England striker gave the hosts greater numbers going forwards, he could do little to improve the distinct lack of confidence that is plaguing his team-mates.

In reality the second half was a more even affair, with Wednesday slightly edging territory if nothing else.

But neither keeper really had much to deal with and, with the exception of a Luke Varney shot that was superbly blocked by Alan Tate in the 72nd minute, the Yorkshiremen rarely looked like scoring.

Even when Darren Potter’s cross caused chaos in the Swans box in injury time, Mark Beevers couldn’t make the most of the open goal he was presented with when de Vries dropped the ball. The defender sliced his effort wide to sum up a disappointingly familiar afternoon for his team.

For Sousa’s men that was a rare scare during a game in which they were rarely troubled. And, as snow fell at Hillsborough following the final whistle, Swans moved up to fifth in the table and ensured it was a white Christmas for everyone involved at Swansea.

Photo: Action Images

Derby County Polls