Swansea City gave new head coach Francesco Guidolin the perfect welcoming present as they beat Watford 1-0 to climb out of the English Premier League relegation zone on Monday.
Guidolin was announced as Swansea head coach, to work alongside interim manager Alan Curtis, just hours before kickoff at the Liberty Stadium.
The 60-year-old Italian is to have the final say on team selection, but he was in a watching brief only as he looked on from the stands before his first official fixture at Everton on Sunday.
Photo: Reuters
Guidolin’s presence had the desired effect as captain Ashley Williams’ first-half goal secured Swansea’s first win in their past five games in all competitions.
Swansea’s second success in their past 13 matches lifted them above Newcastle United into 17th place and Guidolin will begin work with the south Wales club one point clear of the bottom three as he bids to maintain their top-flight status for a sixth successive season.
“He’s [Guidolin] a very experienced coach and it’s probably something we needed, an experienced leader. If he can get the performances and the results as well then I think that’s what we’re looking for,” Curtis said following his final match in sole charge.
Photo: Reuters
With only one victory in seven games under Curtis since he replaced the sacked Garry Monk, Swansea felt compelled to make a change and the early signs were promising.
Since leaving his role at Udinese in May last year, Guidolin had worked as a technical supervisor for the three teams belonging to the Pozzo family — Udinese, Watford and Granada — so he might have had a few interesting insights to pass to Curtis.
Jack Cork fired over from long-range and Andre Ayew prodded a shot straight at Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes in a lively opening from the hosts.
Photo: Reuters
After dominating the initial skirmishes, Curtis’ team were rewarded in the 27th minute when Wales international Williams rose highest to power in Ki Sung-yueng’s cross for the first goal by any Swansea defender since March 2014.
Watford did not have their first shot on target until a minute before halftime when Ben Watson’s free-kick was only cleared as far as Jose Jurado, who shot straight at Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
Watson was the provider again when Watford came close to equalizing early in the second half, but this time Miguel Britos flicked a header narrowly over the crossbar from the midfielder’s inswinging free-kick.
The visitors were starting to hit their stride and Jurado was just off target from the edge of the penalty area after exchanging passes with Nigeria striker Odion Ighalo.
Jurado forced Fabianski into a decent save as Watford pushed for a late equalizer, but when Troy Deeney shot wide in stoppage-time, Guidolin was finally able to start celebrating.
“All the games are big for us now. We need points as quickly as possible and get up the table,” Williams said after netting his first ever Premier League goal at the Liberty Stadium.
“We heard the news last night and everyone got onto Google to try and find out as much about him. It’s given everyone a bit of a lift, and to try and go out onto the field and do as much as you can,” Williams said of Guidolin’s arrival.
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