Three stars who shined as Swansea City pick up Adran Premier win over Cardiff City

Swansea City claimed South Wales bragging rights on Sunday, as they defeated Cardiff City 1-0 in the Adran Premier.

Stacey John-Davis scored the only goal of the game ten minutes into the second half, as Swansea held firm to deny the Bluebirds.

As we take a look back at the game, here are the three stars who shined in yesterday’s fixture.

Rachel Cullen

During Manchester United’s glory years under Sir Alex Ferguson, he would often utilise Ji-Sung Park as a firefighter. Whenever something needed to be sorted, the Korean would go over and extinguish the danger. That’s the role Rachel Cullen has in Jamie Sherwood’s system.

Swansea were the better team for large parts of the game, but at times were overrun in certain areas. During those occasions, Cullen would come to the rescue. Whether that was to mark a player tightly, to help double up on a forward, or to go and help out in the attack, Cullen would do all of this without hesitation.

In this new iteration of Swansea City, players like Cullen are so key. As well as a high footballing IQ, the midfielder has tremendous energy about her, and never stops until the final whistle. When asked about the importance of Cullen to his system, manager Jamie Sherwood explained why she’s so vital.

“In terms of the way we want to play, Rachel is integral to us because of the way she keeps and controls the ball. She identifies dangers across the pitch, and she puts out those fires. Her and Sophie have a great partnership in the midfield, and they’ve got a good balance. Rachel is part of a bigger picture for us, but everyone deserved their plaudits today.”

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Robyn Pinder

The Swansea front line and the narrative surrounding it will be dominated mostly by the likes of Katy Hosford and Stacey John-Davis, but Robyn Pinder plays an often-underappreciated role.

We’re used to seeing the former Archer as an out and out striker, but what she is able to do in this system is drift and play as a sort of roaming forward. That allows her to pick up space in certain areas, and that’s when we see how good her vision is, as more often than not, she can find teammates with ease.

Even when she isn’t affecting the attack, she is integral to this team. For the final 20 or so minutes, Pinder filled in at full-back; a role that doesn’t share many attributes when being an attacker. But again, the makeshift defender performed excellently and thwarted the likes of Ffion Price and Mikayla Cook in the closing stages.

Sherwood has worked with Pinder in the past and is delighted to be able to work with her again.

“I’ve known Robyn a long time, and it’s really pleasing to be able to link back up with her. I originally worked with her when she was 18 or 19, so it’s been a while since we’ve worked together. She’s a pleasure to coach, a player that wants more, and she sets standards at this club. That’s what we ask of all of our players, especially the experienced ones.”

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Stacey John-Davis

There is an air of inevitability every time Stacey John-Davis steps onto a football pitch.

Take someone like Arjen Robben. Whichever stadium he went into, everyone knew what he was going to do; cut inside and score. Yet, no one could ever stop the Dutchman.

To some extent, it’s the same with John-Davis. Everyone in the league knows she has insane speed, everyone knows she’s going to press you high up the field, and everyone knows if you give her an inch of space in the box, she’s going to make you pay. But no one is able to stop her!

That in itself shows how great a player John-Davis is. A player who has worked tirelessly on her craft and has become an expert at it. Her strike partner, Katy Hosford, has been working closely with John-Davis for many years and has praised her teammate for being the ideal striking partner.

“I’m absolutely buzzing for Stacey to get the goal. I don’t really care who scores as long as it ends up in the back of the net. Stacey is a natural goal scorer, and we’ve played together for over ten years, and that relationship has come on a long way over time. We’re always looking to set each other up and something we’ve worked on. When you’re a forward, you always want to have a good partnership with someone, and me and Stacey have done quite well over the years.”

(Featured Image: Lewis Mitchell/FAW)