Jack The Lad: The late, late show
In our new website feature, supporter-turned-blogger Jack The Lad whets his appetite for Saturday's trip to Selhurst Park by reliving last season's clashes with Crystal Palace.
The 2016-2017 season won't be one that's remembered with great deal of fondness by Swansea City fans.
The campaign was the most difficult since the Swans were promoted to the Premier League in 2011.
However, there were some highlights to look back on, and two of the most memorable were against this Saturday's opponents Crystal Palace.
The two league fixtures against the London club provided six hugely valuable points and two massively morale boosting and thrilling wins.
When we kicked off the home game against Palace at the end of November, we were bottom of the Premier League.
When we trailed 4-3 going into injury time it looked as if we were going to stay there.
But what happened over the next few minutes will go down in Swansea City folklore as Fernando Llorente struck twice to record an unforgettable 5-4 win for the Swans, which lifted us off the bottom of the table and gave manager Bob Bradley his first win as the club's manager.
Despite this unforgettable match, by the time the sides clashed again at the start of January at Selhurst Park, the Swans were back at the bottom of the table.
There was also new man in charge, Paul Clement - the club's third manager of the season - although Alan Curtis took charge of the team on the night.
Although the game wasn't the goal fest the Liberty Stadium encounter had been, there was once again late drama and a vital win for the Swans.
When Wilfred Zaha volleyed home in the 83rd minute to equalise Alfie Mawson's first-half strike, it looked as if the Swans were destined to stay rooted to the bottom of the table.
But in the 88th minute, an unlikely figure popped up to score what proved to be one of the Swans most important goals of the season.
Substitute full-back Angel Rangel was in exactly the right place at the right time to produce an expert finish to put the Swans back in front and seal another dramatic three points.
Considering the Swans finished only seven points above the relegation zone, the double they secured over Palace proved vital in the club's survival.
In fact, the Swans have an excellent recent record over the Eagles.
In the last 12 encounters between the two sides going back to 2009, the Swans have only lost once to Palace.
Indeed, the Swans have only lost five times to Palace out of a total of 27 clashes since the sides first met back in 1920 - the Swans having won 12 and drawn the other 10 matches.
So, the omens are looking good for a positive result once again from this Saturday's clash.
Can I just ask one thing of the Swans players this weekend? Could you not leave things quite so late this time? The old ticker's not quite what it used to be!
