Swansea produced a masterful display to dispose of Preston with a four-goal blitz at the Liberty Stadium.
Welsh side dispose of North End with ease at Liberty Stadium
Swansea produced a masterful display to dispose of Preston with a four-goal blitz at the Liberty Stadium.
Swans manager Brendan Rodgers was taking charge of his first home Championship game and his side romped to victory thanks to three first-half goals.
Stephen Dobbie opened the scoring with a well-taken finish in the 23rd
minute. Darren Pratley grabbed the second from David Cotterill's corner and Nathan Dyer then added a third before the break after a well-worked move.
North End's misery continued in the second half as Cotterill, who impressed
throughout, added a fourth from the penalty spot for the Swans who looked more like the team that will be chasing promotion this term.
Deadlock
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.
Hairdryer
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.
