Swans Turn It on Late, Hands Carlos Carvalhal Dream Start in Premier League
A late double from bottom-of-the-league Swansea gave Carlos Carvalhal a dream start to life in South Wales, with the away side coming from 1-0 behind to beat Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday afternoon.
It was Andre Carrillo's 11th minute header that handed the Hornets the lead in their last game of 2017, and with Swansea having failed to win a game from being behind since the back end of last season - they looked to be in a good position.
However, as the game dragged on the Swans were always in with a shout of getting something from the match, and a late couple of goals from Jordan Ayew and Luciano Narsingh handed them a much needed three points.
New boss Carlos Carvalhal's debut as Swans boss brought in three changes from the club's embarrassing 5-0 defeat to Swansea on Boxing Day; most notably re-introducing RenatoSanches into the starting lineup, with Tammy Abraham and Sam Clucas also returning to the fold.
Meanwhile, Marco Silva followed up his side's 3-1 win over Leicester with only one alteration to Watford's starting lineup - replacing Argentine Roberto Pereyra with Stefano Okaka.
It took the Hornets little more than ten minutes to take the lead over the Premier League's bottom side. Great hold up play from Okaka worked the striker room away from his marker in Federico Fernandez, before cutting the Swansea defense with a through ball to Richarlison.
Lukasz Fabianski managed to block the Brazilian's shot on target, but it fell straight to the head of Andre Carrillo - who simply knocked it into the bottom left of the goal from inside the box.
The rest of the half kicked on with neither team carving out any real opportunities. Fabianski was called into action a couple of times from some rather weak efforts from the hosts; but at the opposite end, Heurelho Gomes could've been forgiven for setting up a deck chair and joining the rest of Vicarage Road in watching the match.
For a team fighting for their Premier League lives at the bottom of the table, Swansea showed very little urgency to get back into the game - few strong tackles, not much pace on the ball - allowing Watford to stroll into half-time with a comfortable 1-0 lead.
Watford almost doubled their lead early on in the second half when, again, Richarlison found his way in behind Swansea's Naughton. A zipped ball across the face of the goal was slightly too far ahead of the outstretched Okaka, who was a sure to score had he managed a toe on it.
The 53rd minute saw the referee come to the aid of the losing side after the Hornets had a goal softly ruled out that would've taken the scoreline to 2-0. Cleverley'sin swinging corner was met by the head of MollaWague. The defender connected confidently and put the ball into the corner of the goal, out of Fabianski's reach. However, it wasn't to be - the referee having adjudged Wague to have pushed Tammy Abraham.
The rest of the second half, much like the first, dragged on with little coming to fruition for either team. Carvalhal's side looked a squad bereft of confidence, and attacking intensity; while Silva's men, while still searching for their second in order to all but seal the win, seemed comfortable enough with the score standing at 1-0.
And that second goal so nearly came in the 86th minute. A quick counter-attack led to Andre Gray finding himself one on one with Fabianski. The striker rooted the ball straight at the keeper, who barely moved in order to save the effort.
Straight away that failure to score came back to bite the Hornets.
The Swans rushed the ball forward in the next attack, and a looping cross from Kyle Naughton was met by substitute Oli McBurnie. The Scotsman headed the ball down to Jordan Ayew, who slotted past Gomes and got his side the equalizer five minutes from time.
Absolute scenes erupted only three minutes later. A long shot from Nathan Dyer in the 89th minute was pushed away from the Watford keeper, only for Luciano Narsingh to be the first to pounce on the ball, netting the inevitable winner for the Swans, and making Carlos Carvalhal's debut with Swansea a night to remember.
And with that, the plucky Swans waltzed away from Vicarage Road with an incredible three points, moving off the foot of the table in their final game of 2017. Meanwhile can rest easy following Huddersfield's bore draw with Burnley, but will be frustrated at their lapse in concentration in the dying moments of the match.
