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.
Leyton Orient 0-5 Swansea City, October 2007
When I was going back through the games of the past two decades I must admit this one had sort of slipped my mind. It’s what those in the travel business might call a hidden gem, one that doesn’t immediately spring to mind but when you look back on it you realise this was a special day and this is our joint biggest away win this century, you’ll hear about the other one (also In London) as we continue the countdown.
The Swans start to the 2007/8 season was pretty good, we had fourteen points from the first nine games when we travelled to Brisbane Road, although in truth that total should really have been higher and our performances hadn’t yet fully transferred into results. This was the afternoon that things started to click as we started to surge up the table.
It all started it the 4th minute when Tom Butler cut in from the left wing and unleashed a tremendous shot into the opposite top corner to give us the lead against the league leaders.
It was in the second half though when the game became very dominant for the away side. First Darren Pratley scored a long-range volley within a minute of play resuming, and quickfire goals from Butler again and then Paul Anderson gave the score a more emphatic look, before Warren Feeney rounded off proceedings with his second goal in a week – after previously scoring the winner against Swindon on the previous Tuesday.
This was one of fourteen away victories that season (a club record), one which the Swans would eventually end the campaign as League 1 Champions with a club-record 92 points on the board.