It was all square at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday as Swansea City let a slender lead slip to draw 1-1 with Crystal Palace.
Gylfi Sigurdsson put Swansea ahead after 13 minutes with a curling free kick, the like Swansea fans have grown to expect since the Icelandic international signed from Tottenham Hotspur.
However, Scott Dann equalised for Crystal Palace early in the second half after Damien Delaney flicked on a corner, with Dann beating Federico Fernandez to fire home from close range.
Chances come and go
A few minutes after the opening goal, Swansea almost grabbed a second. A cross from André Ayew swung over to Wayne Routledge, but cut-back was palmed by Wayne Hennessey and eventually cleared away amongst several Swansea players.
The goalscorer’s corner then found its way to the back post where Ayew was sliding in, but his effort from a tight angle could only hit the side netting.
Swansea continued to pile on the pressure as Jack Cork’s cut-back found Routledge 10 yards from goal, but his curling effort was just inches the wrong side of the post for the home side.
Crystal Palace ended the half on a stronger note, with chances for Emmanuel Adebayor and Dann, but neither troubled Lukasz Fabianski.
Lively start to the second half
The London side also started the second half on the stronger foot as Jordon Mutch’s header was cleared away by Ashley Williams just before the equaliser - Dann making it 1-1 just two minutes after the restart.
Swansea had a penalty shout turned down just after 50 minutes, as Ayew galloped into the box and was clipped by Pape Souare, but Ayew then very nearly scored one of the goals of the season. On the byline with his back to goal, the Ghanaian flicked the ball up before lobbing it over his head and came very close to finding the far corner.
Substitute Modou Barrow also came close to scoring his first ever Premier League goal, cutting inside after Palace double-teamed him on the wing before firing just over from 25 yards.
Palace hang on
With 10 minutes to go, Hennessey produced a very good save from a Sigurdsson free-kick, definitely redeeming himself from conceding the opening goal, where many will say that he could have done better.
It was pinball in the Palace area with a few minutes to go, as Sigurdsson’s corner was connected with well by Williams but his shot was blocked by Souare and subsequently cleared.
Why Swansea were so insistent on scoring by floating crosses into the Palace area was baffling though, considering the opposition’s main strength is aerial duels, especially with Alberto Paloschi not being the greatest in the air.
Angel Rangel was without a doubt the man of the match however. The fullback put in one of his best 45 minutes of football since getting promoted in the first half, constantly causing Palace problems down the right flank.
Swansea remain unbeaten since the defeat to Sunderland almost a month ago, while Palace will be happy with a point after five straight league defeats in a row.