Swans still await first win

Swansea missed an opportunity to secure their first ever Premier League win against Sunderland.

Premier League new boys still searching for their first win

Swansea missed an opportunity to secure their first ever Premier League win as they missed a string of chances in a 0-0 draw against Sunderland. An expectant crowd at the Liberty Stadium settled in for what was an entertaining game as both teams tried to bounce back from midweek Carling Cup defeats. But in terms of chances created, Swansea definitely shaded it. Danny Graham was involved in most of their best moves and his first-half header was the best of the opportunities. Scott Sinclair thought he had broken the deadlock with a thunderous drive that was spat back by the bar, while a deft glancing header from John O'Shea grazed the bar. Michel Vorm was at his best to keep Sunderland at bay in the Swans goal, and although it was a valuable point gained, they will surely be disappointed not to have scored their first Premier League goal, and claimed a first win. Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers named the same XI that lined up against Wigan last weekend as tried to keep faith with his players. O'Shea almost opened his Sunderland account inside two minutes as he headed against the bar from a Sebastian Larsson corner, while Asamoah Gyan fired wide after neat play by the Sweden international.

Positive

Sunderland's positive start continued as Swans goalkeeper Vorm was forced to make a smart stop to deny Gyan in the 13th minute after Stephane Sessegnon had played the Ghana striker in. Vorm was called into action again when a Steven Caulker backpass sold him short, and the Dutchman excelled as he put in a well-timed tackle on Gyan. But Sinclair came so close to giving Swansea a 24th-minute lead as his 25-yard strike came back off the bar with Simon Mignolet beaten, before Nathan Dyer headed narrowly wide. Sinclair's strike ignited a period of Swansea pressure and it took a superb Wes Brown block to deny Graham from an astute Leon Britton pass. The game had been simmering thanks to a series of niggly fouls and the first genuine flashpoint arrived as Lee Cattermole went down holding his face after a tussle with Kemy Agustien, but referee Mark Halsey took no action against the Swansea player despite replays suggesting an elbow had caught the Black Cats midfielder.

Missed

Graham then missed the best chance of the half as he headed wide from inside 12 yards with the goal at his mercy. Swansea picked up where they had left off with Dyer shooting over after Graham had disrupted the visitors' efforts to clear. The former Watford man was soon involved again as, from a deep Neil Taylor cross, he saw his header diverted wide by Mignolet. The Belgian goalkeeper then did just enough to deny Ashley Williams a free header as the pressure increased, while Graham curled wide from a Wayne Routledge through ball. The hosts could easily have been punished as an incisive Sunderland break found Gyan in acres of space, but the outstanding Vorm was again up to the task. The busy Graham shot straight at Mignolet while Sinclair blazed wildly over as the hosts desperately sought a winner. But they could not conjure up a goal in a frantic finale and will face daunting trips to Arsenal and Chelsea after the international break.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Swansea City	Team Statistics	Sunderland
0	Goals	0
0	1st Half Goals	0
3	Shots on Target	2
11	Shots off Target	4
4	Blocked Shots	5
7	Corners	4
7	Fouls	10
1	Offsides	0
0	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
78.5	Passing Success	68.9
15	Tackles	26
73.3	Tackles Success	92.3
61.9	Possession	38.1
49.1	Territorial Advantage	50.9