Following the Lord Mayor’s Show cometh the dog’s dinner. Last weekend was not a profitable time for three sports teams I support. Tottenham Hotspur conceded two goals in injury time to lose 1-2 to Everton. This season they have made a habit of seeping late goals. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde:” to concede one goal in injury time is unfortunate, but to concede two is shear carelessness!”
Swansea City’s fate in the Premiership and Atlanta Falcons’ meltdown in the NFL were uncannily similar. The Swans defeated Arsenal away last Saturday and were lying 7th in the table. However their opponents Norwich City were unbeaten in their last 8 games and achieved the double over the Swans last season. Talk in the media preceding the home game centered on the possibility of the Swans qualifying for the Europa Cup, and the Champions League was not out of the question.
There was one notable omission from the Swans lineup, and no it wasn’t Michu who quite rightly has received the plaudits for his scoring exploits this season. Unfortunately Leon Britton was sidelined by a knee injury, and let’s face it he is the glue that holds the model aircraft together. The high flying Swans were playing like lame ducks and were 0-3 down at half-time. They came out in the second half determined to make amends and scored two goals before the hour to give the fans some hope. Regrettably Norwich scored a fourth to silence the beleaguered fans and Michu scored his second in extra time to make the score respectable.
The Swans face a tricky quarter final encounter at home with Middlesbrough on Wednesday in the Capital One Cup followed by a league game away to Spurs on Saturday. While it would be exciting to progress in the Cup survival in the Premiership should remain the number one priority. Any aspirations regarding Europe should be placed on the” back burner” because they are a mid-table team at best.
Atlanta is 11-1 this season and they were playing division rivals Carolina Panthers who are 3-9. Earlier in the season Atlanta scored late to win their home game against the Panthers 30-28, and some of the Panthers were trash talking all week claiming the Falcons were not that good. That should have been sufficient incentive for the Falcons to come flying out of the gate, but they started flat and were trailing 0-16 at half-time. Carolina scored another touchdown early in the second half and was leading 23-0 before the Falcons responded.
The Falcons narrowed the margin to 13-23, but they allowed the Panthers running back to complete a 43 yard run for another touchdown placing the game out of reach at13-30. It’s quite bizarre but normally you would consider an 11-2 team possible Super Bowl contenders, but Sunday’s loss exposed so many flaws which to be honest have been a concern all season.
In order to be successful in the NFL a team must be able to run the ball and prevent the other team from running the ball. Atlanta can do neither effectively coupled with the fact they have two imposters at corner back. Matt Ryan is not an elite quarter back and never will aspire to be. Yes, we will make the playoffs, but it will be short lived. We cannot compete with the likes of Green Bay or the New York Giants.
If I was a betting man I would put my money on the Swans avoiding relegation and the Falcons not making the Super Bowl. It’s only an opinion, but you know what opinions are like.
