2011 nPower Championship Playoff Semifinals: Reading, Swansea Advance To Wembley

With Craig Bellamy out and Reading’s Adam Federici putting in a masterful performance, the Royals have advanced to Wembley Stadium to take on Swansea City in the Championship Playoff final after defeating Cardiff 3-0. The first leg ended 0-0 in Reading, seemingly setting up a scenario where Cardiff were heavy favorites to advance to the final, but Reading put together a solid performance on Tuesday evening. Though the score is a bit flattering to the visitors, they certainly did enough to win and deserve to be in the final.

Shane Long scored a brace in the first half, and both goals were partially gifted to him. He scored the first on a chip after Stephen Bywater came off of his line and failed to clear a ball and he scored the second goal on a penalty kick. Cardiff pushed forward throughout the second half but couldn’t find a goal. Eventually, Jobi McAnuff put the icing on the cake with a goal in the 84th minute.

Well, it’s going to be tough to blame this performance on Craig Bellamy. Thanks to an rush of blood to the head of Stephen Bywater and a silly foul in the box, Cardiff City trail Reading 2-0 on the night and on aggregate at their home ground. The good news for them is that away goals are not in play in the Championship playoffs, but they have a serious uphill battle in front of them, and it’s one that Bellamy’s presence would have made easier.

Shane Long scored both goals for Reading, an he now has 24 goals on the season. The first came on a great finish, but the opportunity was gifted to him. In the 28th minute, Bywater rushed out of his goal to try to beat Long to a goal, but failed miserably at clearing it. Long regained possession and hit an impressive chip, hitting the back of the net to open the scoring. Just before the stroke of halftime, Noel Hunt was fouled by Dekel Keinan in the box, resulting in a Reading penalty. Long converted, and Reading now have a comfortable 2-0 lead and look to be well on their way to Wembley.

Swansea City will be advancing to Wembley Stadium for a chance to get into the Premier League in the 2011 nPower Championship Playoff Final, but they certainly didn’t get there without some degree of luck. After somehow holding Nottingham Forest to a 0-0 draw at the City Ground after going down to ten men in the opening minute, Swansea have defeated Forest 3-1 in controversial and dramatic fashion to knock them out of the playoffs in the semifinals for the second year running.

Though the ending was controversial, Swansea certainly deserved to go ahead in the first place. The opening 25-30 minutes of the game were fairly even, with Swansea perhaps creating the better chances, and Lewis Britton of Swansea was the man who opened the scoring. Cutting in from the right side of the pitch on his left foot, Britton curled a great shot to the far post that Lee Camp had little chance to save.

Nottingham Forest are still in deep trouble, but they’re not completely dead yet. Striker Robert Earnshaw was substituted into the game in the 78th minute, and just two minutes after entering, he hit a great strike to bring Forest back within one goal. It’s currently 2-1 in favor of Swansea City, and the away goals rule does not apply in the nPower Championship Playoffs. So, if Forest can miraculously find an equalizer, this tie will be headed for extra time.

The goal came off a great team move, culminating in a great through ball from Radoslaw Majewski to Earnshaw. The Welsh international was thinking shot the second the ball came off Majewski’s boot, and he took an early crack, sending the ball into the back of the net. It would be stunning to see Forest create another goal without conceding to force extra time, but crazier things have happened in the Championship playoffs.

After 45 minutes of play at the Liberty Stadium, Swansea City appear to be well on their way to Wembley Stadium to contest the 2011 nPower Championship Playoff Final for a spot in the English Premier League. They’re up 2-0 on the night and on aggregate at halftime of their semifinal, second leg match against Nottingham Forest, and the visitors have looked completely devoid of ideas since Swansea broke the deadlock.

Jason Britton, who has been brilliant for the entire duration of the tie thus far, opened the scoring on the 29th minute with a great curling left-footed shot from 20 yards out. Swansea kept up the momentum and scored a second goal just four minutes later as Stephen Dobbie powered through the Forest defense and hit a low, well placed finish into the bottom corner for his 10th goal of the season. The Swans are very much in control, and it would take a minor miracle for Forest to recover at this point.

Nottingham Forest have it all to do now, as Swansea City have scored their second goal in four minutes, going ahead 2-0 on the night and on aggregate. The away goals rule is not in play in the nPower Championship Playoffs, so two goals would merely get Forest into extra time, not give them the win. Jason Britton’s stunning opener was a big enough blow to Forest, but Stephen Dobbie’s great second has given Swansea an absolutely massive lead.

While the first was only partially the fault of the defense, with Britton deserving more credit than anyone deserved blame, the second goal absolutely should have been dealt with. Dobbie had three defenders ahead of him when he picked up the ball outside of the penalty area, but he somehow managed to beat all three of them as Luke Chambers and Wes Morgan let Dobbie run right throw them, then place a low shot into the back of the net.

Swansea City’s little central midfielder Jason Britton put in a brilliant shift in the first leg and he got off to a brilliant start in tonight’s game against Nottingham Forest, and he’s arguably been the most influential player over the first 120 minutes of play in this 2011 nPower Championship Playoff Semifinal tie. So, it’s only fitting that he’s the man who has scored the opening goal, putting his team ahead 1-0 and doing what each team’s strikers have failed to do thus far.

Based on the fantastic goalkeeping and last ditch defending so far in this tie, it felt like it was going to take something truly special for either team to score, and Britton has delivered it. In the 29th minute, during a patient Swansea build-up, Forest’s defense anticipated a pass by Britton and gave him entirely too much room. From the left side of the penalty area, he cut inside on his left foot and took a fantastic curling shot with his left foot, putting the ball into the back of the net from 19 yards out.

Swansea City and Nottingham Forest are off to an absolutely blazing start, and we can only hope that both teams can keep 11 men on the pitch for an extended period of time, unlike the first leg. Both teams have had fantastic opportunities so far, but just like last week’s first leg, neither team has been able to capitalize. However, it’s early in this one, and it would be stunning to see a tie with this many shots and attack-minded players go much longer without a goal being scored.

Thanks to the fact that they have 11 men and Stephen Dobbie on the pitch, Swansea have been able to press forward a great deal early, creating a number of shots in the first five minutes. Forest’s defense is working hard, though, and they already have two blocked shots.

Nottingham Forest win the ‘stunning lineup’ contest for the year, as they will be deploying a 4-3-3 that does not include either Robert Earnshaw or Kris Boyd. Both strikers looked dangerous in the first leg of this tie, though neither scored, and both have a wealth of big game experience, with Earnshaw having scored well over 100 goals in English football and Boyd having played in Europe and Old Firm derbies with Rangers. They have both been omitted for tonight’s game against Swansea City, who have zero surprises in their lineup.

Swansea City lineup (4-2-3-1): De Vries; Tate, Monk, Williams, Rangel; Allen, Britton; Dyer, Dobbie, Sinclair; Borini

The English Football League Championship playoffs are among the most entertaining set of matches anywhere in world football on a year to year basis, but the first legs of the 2011 playoffs left the fans feeling unsatisfied and wanting more. Both ties ended in 0-0 draws, but neither had a lack of scoring chances. Poor finishing and great goalkeeping kept the scores level, setting up some potentially close second legs. As it stands, the chances of a Welsh team making it to the Premier League look high, as both Swansea City and Cardiff City take draws back home, where they will be favored against their respective opponents, Nottingham Forest and Reading.

Swansea will be without 22-year-old defender Neil Taylor, who was shown a straight red card for a challenge just a minute into the first leg. Swansea have appealed his suspension, but there’s a good chance that’s not getting reversed ahead of Monday’s game, mostly because Taylor actually put his studs into the thigh of Lewis McGugan, and the incident was not a figment of Mark Halsey’s imagination.