Top Twenty Away Days This Century. Number 13.

The Swans recently put a poll out about the best away days in recent years and some of the selections and votes left me feeling underwhelmed. Therefore I’m going to bring you my top 20 over the coming weeks and months and rank them in what I think is the correct order. This is a very tough ask so I’ve drawn up a system to try and separate the games based, on our performance, the occasion, the entertainment, the atmosphere and the result. Each of these is ranked out of five to give a maximum score of 25. 

Liverpool 1-3 Swansea, October 2012

The Swans came up against Brendan Rodgers for the first time since his departure from the club, in a 4th round League Cup tie, and it would not be a happy reunion for our former manager. 

Backed by 5,000 away fans, Michael Laudrup’s side were on top in the first half and were rewarded when Jonathan De Guzman’s corner was met by Chico Flores who buried his header to give Swansea the lead. 

Rodgers had made many changes to his Liverpool side and was clearly unhappy as Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez were introduced at half time. But it was the Swans who doubled their advantage with 18 minutes left when a breakway saw Michu touch the ball to Pablo Hernandez whose cross found Nathan Dyer for a tap in, right in front of the Kop. 

Gerrard and Suarez then gave Liverpool a way back into the game when the former’s free kick was headed home by the latter. 

The home side pushed for an equaliser that would have forced extra time, but in the last minute the Swans made sure of a place in the last eight for the first time in our history thanks to De Guzman who converted Michu’s cross from close range.  

Performance 5, Occasion 4, Entertainment 4, Atmosphere 3, Result 4

Overall 20