Gutsy Swans delight Laudrup
12th January
Manager Michael Laudrup praised his players for another gutsy display that earned the Swans a goalless draw at Everton.
The performance also saw the Swans reach the 30-point mark after just 22 Barclays Premier League games.
"I'm delighted to get the point," declared Laudrup. "Goodison Park is always a difficult place to play.
"We all know how Everton play. They put everyone under pressure, so we had to play a different way today - a way we're not really used to.
"It was similar to the Chelsea game in that we didn't play as much as we would have liked, but the players adapted well and we got the point a different way than we normally do.
"We had one or two chances, no more. But you have to accept sometimes what type of game it will be. I think the players adapted to the pressure of Everton. They play direct, they're a big team, but my defence did well. So to get a point at at a really difficult ground and after the tough run of fixtures we've had makes me very happy.
"Remember we had a really tough game at Chelsea on Wednesday in the same week we also had to play Arsenal. It's been a busy time for us, but we came through it.
"In fact, it has been a little bit more than a good week - it has been a great week.
"Three very difficult games, different games, but three great performances with two clean sheets that says a lot about the team and the spirit we have."
Everton manager David Moyes was disappointed his side was unable to break Swansea's resilience.
Moyes said: "We are a bit frustrated, but Swansea did a really good job in midweek on Chelsea, not dissimilar to today.
"We needed to play a bit better, pass it a bit quicker and be a little bit cleverer in the final third.
"We had three or four good opportunities, but just not perfect ones and I couldn't turn around and say I thought anyone missed a real sitter.
"I thought we kept going, we tried to do the right things.We could have done it better, but I can't fault the players for their effort.
"We just couldn't get the ball over the line today, that was the thing.
"Swansea have had a busy week, a hard week, and it is a great point for them. We are just disappointed we couldn't turn our opportunities into goals."
The performance also saw the Swans reach the 30-point mark after just 22 Barclays Premier League games.
"I'm delighted to get the point," declared Laudrup. "Goodison Park is always a difficult place to play.
"We all know how Everton play. They put everyone under pressure, so we had to play a different way today - a way we're not really used to.
"It was similar to the Chelsea game in that we didn't play as much as we would have liked, but the players adapted well and we got the point a different way than we normally do.
"We had one or two chances, no more. But you have to accept sometimes what type of game it will be. I think the players adapted to the pressure of Everton. They play direct, they're a big team, but my defence did well. So to get a point at at a really difficult ground and after the tough run of fixtures we've had makes me very happy.
"Remember we had a really tough game at Chelsea on Wednesday in the same week we also had to play Arsenal. It's been a busy time for us, but we came through it.
"In fact, it has been a little bit more than a good week - it has been a great week.
"Three very difficult games, different games, but three great performances with two clean sheets that says a lot about the team and the spirit we have."
Everton manager David Moyes was disappointed his side was unable to break Swansea's resilience.
Moyes said: "We are a bit frustrated, but Swansea did a really good job in midweek on Chelsea, not dissimilar to today.
"We needed to play a bit better, pass it a bit quicker and be a little bit cleverer in the final third.
"We had three or four good opportunities, but just not perfect ones and I couldn't turn around and say I thought anyone missed a real sitter.
"I thought we kept going, we tried to do the right things.We could have done it better, but I can't fault the players for their effort.
"We just couldn't get the ball over the line today, that was the thing.
"Swansea have had a busy week, a hard week, and it is a great point for them. We are just disappointed we couldn't turn our opportunities into goals."
