Borussia Monchengladbach v Swansea City friendly match report
15th July
Matt Grimes celebrated his 20th birthday with a cool finish that earned the Swans a deserved share of the spoils in their opening pre-season tour friendly in Grassau, Germany.
It was an impressive performance from the Swans, who used 22 players in total, as they dominated possession against Champions League qualifiers Borussia Monchengladbach.
SWANS: Lukasz Fabianski, Kyle Naughton, Kyle Bartley, Ashley Williams (capt), Franck Tabanou, Jay Fulton, Ki Sung-Yueng, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Nathan Dyer, Andre Ayew, Bafe Gomis.
SUBS: Kristoffer Nordfeldt, Angel Rangel, Federico Fernandez, Stephen Kingsley, Neil Taylor, Jack Cork, Jonjo Shelvey, Matt Grimes, Wayne Routledge, Marvin Emnes, Eder.
BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH (starting XI): Tobias Sippel, Roel Brouwers, Raffael, Lars Stindl, Ibrahima, Traore, Marvin Schulz, Tony Jantschke, Steffan Nkansah, Andre Hahn, Nico Elvedi, Marlon Ritter.
Swans boss Garry Monk gave debuts to new signings Franck Tabanou at left-back and Andre Ayew on the left wing. Kyle Naughton started at right-back with Ashley Williams and Kyle Bartley in the heart of the defence.
Jay Fulton was given the holding role in the middle of the park with Ki Sung-Yueng and Gylfi Sigurdsson just in front. Nathan Dyer started on the right wing with Bafe Gomis as the main striker.
With the heat soaring, Monk was expected to make wholesale changes on the hour for the first friendly of the new season.
Borussia started the brighter as Fabianski was forced into a first-minute save from Marlon Ritter before Nico Elvedi headed wide soon after.
Swansea soon settled though and started to force their way into the game with some patient possession. Kyle Bartley was in determined mood as his crunching tackle on Andre Hahn in the 13th minute earned him the first yellow card of the game.
Swansea found themselves behind a minute later though as Ibraham Traore cut in from the right to fire a low shot beyond Fabianski and into the far corner.
Monk's men kept their heads though and went on to dominate the possession for the rest of the half as Bartley met a Gylfi Sigurdsson corner with a downward header that bounced just wide.
Franck Tabanou, who was impressing down the left with some driving runs, fired a fierce shot wide from the edge of the area with 21 minutes gone before both sides took a well deserved drinks break.
When play resumed, Swansea continued on the front foot as Bafe Gomis headed a Sigurdsson corner inches the wrong side of the upright, before the striker just failed to beat goalkeeper Tobias Sippel to Elvedi's sliced clearance after good work down the left from Tabanou and Andre Ayew.
Swansea couldn't grab a deserved equaliser however as the referee brought the first-half to a close.
Half-time: Swans 0 BM 1
Swansea started the second-half with the same side that ended the first while Borussia made a number of changes.
The Premier League side maintained good possession again but were nearly hit on the counter-attack in the 52nd minute when Branimir Hrgota found himself in a good position only to blast over the bar.
Monk changed his entire side on the hour with Kristoffer Nordfeldt making his Swans debut in goal and Eder up front. Angel Rangel came in at right back with Neil Taylor on the left. Federico Fernandez and Stephen Kingsley patrolled the heart of the defence with Jack Cork, Matt Grimes and Jonjo Shelvey in midfield. Wayne Routledge and Marvin Emnes took to the wings with Eder leading the attack.
Swansea upped the pace with the fresh legs and grabbed a deserved equaliser in the 68th minute after a good cross from Routledge on the right fell perfectly for Matt Grimes on the edge of the area.
The midfielder kept his cool to celebrate his 20th birthday with a neat finish to make it 1-1.
The Swans continued to dominate and looked the only winners as Eder nearly grabbed Swansea's second towards the close.
But although the winner never came, it was a performance that would have pleased manager Monk.
It was an impressive performance from the Swans, who used 22 players in total, as they dominated possession against Champions League qualifiers Borussia Monchengladbach.
SWANS: Lukasz Fabianski, Kyle Naughton, Kyle Bartley, Ashley Williams (capt), Franck Tabanou, Jay Fulton, Ki Sung-Yueng, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Nathan Dyer, Andre Ayew, Bafe Gomis.
SUBS: Kristoffer Nordfeldt, Angel Rangel, Federico Fernandez, Stephen Kingsley, Neil Taylor, Jack Cork, Jonjo Shelvey, Matt Grimes, Wayne Routledge, Marvin Emnes, Eder.
BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH (starting XI): Tobias Sippel, Roel Brouwers, Raffael, Lars Stindl, Ibrahima, Traore, Marvin Schulz, Tony Jantschke, Steffan Nkansah, Andre Hahn, Nico Elvedi, Marlon Ritter.
Swans boss Garry Monk gave debuts to new signings Franck Tabanou at left-back and Andre Ayew on the left wing. Kyle Naughton started at right-back with Ashley Williams and Kyle Bartley in the heart of the defence.
Jay Fulton was given the holding role in the middle of the park with Ki Sung-Yueng and Gylfi Sigurdsson just in front. Nathan Dyer started on the right wing with Bafe Gomis as the main striker.
With the heat soaring, Monk was expected to make wholesale changes on the hour for the first friendly of the new season.
Borussia started the brighter as Fabianski was forced into a first-minute save from Marlon Ritter before Nico Elvedi headed wide soon after.
Swansea soon settled though and started to force their way into the game with some patient possession. Kyle Bartley was in determined mood as his crunching tackle on Andre Hahn in the 13th minute earned him the first yellow card of the game.
Swansea found themselves behind a minute later though as Ibraham Traore cut in from the right to fire a low shot beyond Fabianski and into the far corner.
Monk's men kept their heads though and went on to dominate the possession for the rest of the half as Bartley met a Gylfi Sigurdsson corner with a downward header that bounced just wide.
Franck Tabanou, who was impressing down the left with some driving runs, fired a fierce shot wide from the edge of the area with 21 minutes gone before both sides took a well deserved drinks break.
When play resumed, Swansea continued on the front foot as Bafe Gomis headed a Sigurdsson corner inches the wrong side of the upright, before the striker just failed to beat goalkeeper Tobias Sippel to Elvedi's sliced clearance after good work down the left from Tabanou and Andre Ayew.
Swansea couldn't grab a deserved equaliser however as the referee brought the first-half to a close.
Half-time: Swans 0 BM 1
Swansea started the second-half with the same side that ended the first while Borussia made a number of changes.
The Premier League side maintained good possession again but were nearly hit on the counter-attack in the 52nd minute when Branimir Hrgota found himself in a good position only to blast over the bar.
Monk changed his entire side on the hour with Kristoffer Nordfeldt making his Swans debut in goal and Eder up front. Angel Rangel came in at right back with Neil Taylor on the left. Federico Fernandez and Stephen Kingsley patrolled the heart of the defence with Jack Cork, Matt Grimes and Jonjo Shelvey in midfield. Wayne Routledge and Marvin Emnes took to the wings with Eder leading the attack.
Swansea upped the pace with the fresh legs and grabbed a deserved equaliser in the 68th minute after a good cross from Routledge on the right fell perfectly for Matt Grimes on the edge of the area.
The midfielder kept his cool to celebrate his 20th birthday with a neat finish to make it 1-1.
The Swans continued to dominate and looked the only winners as Eder nearly grabbed Swansea's second towards the close.
But although the winner never came, it was a performance that would have pleased manager Monk.
