Ten years at the Liberty: First under the floodlights

To celebrate Swansea City's tenth season at the Liberty Stadium, we will be looking back on the stand-out moments over the last decade.
Here, we reflect on the first game to be played under the floodlights at the club's new home.

Swansea City 2 Yeovil Town 0
Coca Cola League One
November 18, 2005



Three months had gone by since Swansea City's move to the newly named Liberty Stadium, and it had seemingly brought them good fortune as they sat proudly at the top of the League One table.
The goals were raining in on a regular basis, with Lee Trundle and Adebayo Akinfenwa the leading men in the goal charts, and there was certainly plenty to cheer about for the home faithful as they prepared to welcome Yeovil Town to SA1.
It was to be Swansea's first game under the floodlights of the Liberty and the first on a Friday night.
The Somerset side were positioned in the bottom half of the table but had proven to be something of a "bogey" side for the Swans, who had failed to score against the night's opponents in their past three encounters.
On this November occasion, it was the Swans that were taking the game to the visitors, with a near capacity crowd treated to some high tempo football.
Both sides produced some fair but crunching challenges in an effort to gain the upper hand, with the Swans shading the opening 20 minutes without really testing Glovers goalkeeper Chris Weale.
But on 25 minutes, the game saw its first goal as Trundle put the Swans in front from the penalty spot after he was fouled inside the area by the bandana-wearing Nigerian international Efe Sodje.
The Swans then went close to doubling their advantage just eight minutes later when Trundle collected a loose ball before hitting the angle of the post and bar with a curling strike from 25 yards.
Yeovil, determined to prove they were still in the game, came close to equalising moments before the interval when a collision between Swans stopper Willy Gueret and Izzy Iriekpen saw the ball spill to Sodjie who, with the goal at his mercy, was denied by a goal-line clearance from Kristian O'Leary.
Evidently rocked by the first-half fight back from the visitors, the Swans began the second period nervously, and Gueret was called into action to make a double save to keep out Wales Under-21 international Arron Davies.
But Yeovil's cause was made far more difficult on 53 minutes when midfielder Lee Johnson was booked for a foul before receiving his marching orders seconds later for continual dissent.
With the visitors down to ten men, it seemed just a matter of time before the Swans would find their two-goal cushion. And it arrived in spectacular style on the hour-mark.
A back pass to Yeovil goalkeeper Weale was charged down by Akinfenwa, which prompted the stopper to make a hurried clearance that fell to Trundle some 40 yards away from goal in a wide left position. Nevertheless, the skilful striker controlled the ball on his chest before lobbing the ball high over the head of Weale and into the back of the net.



Player profile
Lee Trundle (2003-2007, 2009-2010)
Lee Trundle was a late entrant into professional and league football, having plied his trade in non-league football for Burscough, Chorley, Bamber Bridge and Welsh side Rhyl, where he first caught the eye of manager Brian Flynn.
He signed his first professional contract with Wrexham, where his dazzling performances soon made him a fans' favourite.
One of the highlights from his time with the Robins was the success he enjoyed with the club in the Welsh Premier Cup - he even scored a goal at the Vetch Field in the cup final victory of 2001.
When manager Flynn took over the reigns at Swansea City in September 2002, he saved the club from relegation from the Football League before making Trundle one of his first signings ahead of the following season.
Trundle made an instant impact, scoring on his debut against Bury at the Vetch in a 4-2 win, prior to scoring his first hat-trick for the side in an away victory at Cheltenham Town.
It marked the beginning of three seasons of goals and thrills for the loveable scouser, whose personality was such that he was regularly featured on Sky's Saturday morning football programmes where he showcased some of his outrageous skill with the ball.
In Trundle's three seasons with the club, he won promotion from Division Two, two Welsh Premier Cup winners' medals, a Football League Trophy winner's medal, while scoring over 20 goals each season.
But his desire to play in the Championship saw him sign for Bristol City in 2007 in a move worth £1 million to the club.
Trundle's time at Ashton Gate was a mixed bag. Although during his first season at the club he played at Wembley in the play-off final, he never really settled, and at one time he was loaned out to Leeds United.
Trundle returned to the Liberty Stadium in 2009 before moving to Welsh league outfit Neath the following year.
"Magic Daps" saw out his playing days with Preston North End, Chester and finally Marine, prior to becoming Swansea City club ambassador in 2013.