Swansea City | The Great Escape | The Long Read Part Two

The scene was set.

In the dressing room below the main stand at The Vetch, manager Brian Flynn was going through final preparations with his Swansea City side before they took on Hull City in a game that would decide whether they retained their Football League status.

After the team talk and the warm-up, Flynn could sense the energy and the focus in the home dressing room. His team were ready.

But an unexpected knock on the dressing room door threatened to break that concentration, owing to events some 146 miles away in Exeter.

“The big plus for us was at 10 to three there was a knock on the door and the match chief of police was there,” recalls Flynn.

“He called me and Peter Taylor, the Hull manager, into the corridor. He said they were hearing that Exeter was going to be delayed by 15 minutes because of crowd congestion.

“We could have the same and start 15 minutes later so the games would finish the same time.

“I said; ‘No, we are ready to go now’. Peter Taylor agreed with me, he could have said no but there was no reason to delay the game because his team were ready to go as well.

“That was a big plus for us because the scores were coming in from Exeter and our score was going down there as well.”

A good start and a first penalty

With all that pent up energy, the Swans made a good start as a packed Vetch roared them on.

Just seven minutes had been played when Leon Britton skipped away from two men in the middle of the field and retained the ball on the right.

Driving forward into the box, his run tempted Hull midfielder Steve Melton into a rash lunge. Britton tumbled and referee Scott Mathieson pointed to the spot.

“At the time I was playing right wing, most of my Swans career people probably remember me as a holding midfielder, but back then I was a bit more of a dribbler and I liked to try and take people on,” says Britton.

“I remember just getting the ball on the right wing, facing a couple of players up and just thinking ‘let’s try and take them on, get the ball in the box and see what we can do and what can happen.’

“I did a stepover, went past the player and he hung his leg out, he did trip me up.

“We were delighted, we were early in the game and had a penalty, we wanted to start well and get an early goal and obviously that gave us a great chance.”

That left James Thomas to step up for the resulting spot-kick, which he dispatched with some aplomb past Alan Fettis in the Tigers goal.

“The first penalty, I did feel pressure but definitely not as much as the second,” recalls the striker.

“It was early in the game, we had started quite well and I did not think twice. I picked up the ball and just concentrated. It was a decent penalty and it was a great start.

“I did practice penalties, nothing over the top, but I always felt confident when stepping up to take them. That day was no different really.

“I picked it up and put it away, but you know it’s still early in the game and there’s a really long way to go.”

The game turns

Swansea were 1-0 up and right where they needed to be, but the lead would not last long.

A hopeful flick forward looked set to be swept up by Lee Jenkins, but his efforts to take the ball away from Hull forward Stuart Elliott saw possession stolen and the ball sent into the bottom corner to make it 1-1.

Then, in the 25th minute, Michael Howard was unable to cut out a hopeful pass from Bob Burgess, Martin Reeves seized on the ball to fire Hull ahead.

At that point, the Swans were going down with Exeter level with Southend and having a better goal difference.

Jenkins and Howard were devastated by their errors, and appeared to be in tears, but their team-mates quickly picked them up with a long way still to go in the contest.

“Then two local boys Jenkins and Howard after making mistakes, and all of a sudden you can see the emotion in their faces, and it was the first time I felt that ‘we have to make this happen,’” says Roberto Martinez.

“I learnt a lot from that game because it’s how you control your emotions on a football pitch.  

“The silence of the Vetch when Hull City scored – there are moments that stay there forever, and that silence and emotional faces of the local lads – you have to react.

“From my point of view when I saw Lee [Jenkins] with tears in his eyes, you’re thinking ‘those are the right tears’, because it meant so much.  

“Everything was just about getting the ball down and playing. We were such a strong team in the way we wanted to play, everything was about playing through the lines. 

“You needed the right balance of emotions.”

“If I’m right, it was on about 25 minutes the second goal, so we had time and we were doing okay,” says Kris O’Leary.

“The two players had been pretty steady and done well leading into those games, so I did feel for them.

“Jenks was a year younger than me, he was an apprentice and had been at the club for quite a bit of time and then Michael Howard had come and played a lot of games.

“But we knew we had time and that we could get back into the game. It wasn’t like there were only a couple of minutes to go.”

Neil Cutler's key save

However, it would take a magnificent covering save from keeper Neil Cutler to keep Swansea’s deficit at just one.

A deep free-kick was initially missed by Cutler and the ball fell to Elliott at the far post, but the keeper flung himself at the ball and managed to block it away for a corner. It’s a moment that is often overlooked, but it’s importance is not lost on those involved.

“I think if it goes to 3-1, it’s a totally different game and there’s probably a different outcome,” says Alan Tate.

“I think it goes, not unnoticed, but, in terms of the magnitude of what Neil did that day.

“We’re looking back now after 20 years and that’s still the thing that stands out in my mind as being the biggest moment, because the difference between 2-1 and 3-1 is massive.”

“It was huge. If you were to go 3-1 down it would have been very tough to come back and win the game,” adds Britton.

“It was a hugely important moment in the match, it was an incredible save and it was probably the turning point.

“If it had gone 3-1 then maybe heads drop a little bit, the fans drop and you probably question whether we can do it.

“At 2-1 you always think you’ve got a chance, one goal and you’re level and we go again. It was a huge save and vitally important.”

A second penalty for James Thomas

And the big moments kept coming when Thomas won Swansea’s second penalty of the afternoon just before the break.

The striker got on to a flick on and looked to scoop the ball away from the covering Justin Whittle, with referee Mathieson deciding the Hull man had handled the ball.

Up stepped Thomas again, he went the same way and got the same result, the ball nestling into the corner of the net.

“The timing could not have been any better. The gaffer was probably getting ready to deliver one type of team talk, and to go in level was such a lift for the team,” said Thomas.

“I think the ref crumbled under the pressure of the home crowd and the noise on the day and gave us two penalties.

“The second one was not such a good penalty, but to go in level was massively significant.”

Lenny Johnrose strikes

Three minutes into the second half and things got even better for the hosts when they took the lead for the second time.

Martinez sent in a free-kick to the back post, and Lenny Johnrose was on hand to beat a defender to the loose ball and guide it into the net.

“The momentum changes completely when we score the third goal. The moment in the game where it was still a draw was difficult for us,” says Martinez.

“When we got that goal ahead, everything changed.

“Lenny was a father figure, he always made you laugh and had this contagious energy. He was a massive character in the dressing room.

“He gave us a big smile, and experience coming from a top career.”

“That wasn’t long after half-time which was a massive moment to score,” adds O’Leary.

“I think I might have ended up in the net after that goal. It was a massive moment, but you still know you’ve got to go on and push and finish the job.

“That goal was on the 48th minute, so I know people would say well there was a lot of time to go but we were in the ascendancy after half-time.

“Lenny was vital in the dressing room and on the pitch. He didn’t say a massive amount, but he helped us massively that season because you knew what you were going to get from him.”

Hat-trick hero

Just nine minutes later came the iconic moment that first springs into the minds of most people who were present that day.

Jonathan Coates had worked tirelessly all afternoon, and when he managed to poke the ball away from a Hull defender, Thomas instinctively stuck out a foot and suddenly found himself clean through on goal some 30 yards out.

His team-mates were expecting the striker to head for goal, but instead they watched in amazement as Thomas – spotting Fettis hovering some distance from his line – audaciously lobbed the ball over the keeper and into the net to complete his hat-trick and give Swansea some much-needed breathing space.

“I think Jonathan Coates won the ball in midfield and it just broke to me. I took a first touch and it just put the ball perfectly out in front of me,” says Thomas.

“It took me behind the defence and after that it was a bit of a blur really!

“Obviously the keeper was off his line, I was feeling confident after scoring two goals, and when you are confident you don’t really have to think. Instinct takes over.

“The first thing that came into my mind was to chip the keeper, I cannot quite believe it went in the top corner, but it did.

“I will never forget the noise, it’s still there in my mind and it was the best feeling ever on a football pitch.

“I think it was relief more than anything, all the pressure that had been building during the week, it was released when it was 4-2. You could feel it on the pitch and in the crowd and it was party time after that.

“All my friends were on the North Bank and my family were in the Centre Stand. I had people I did not even know coming up to me in the days after the game telling me they were there.

“It was brilliant.”

“I won’t say what I said at the time,” says Tate with a grin.

“When he gets the ball, I’m thinking ‘go around the keeper’ and as he’s chipped it! I’m going ‘what are you doing!’ … and then he’s suddenly celebrating!

“It was brilliant. Once we got two goals clear I think we were confident we were not going to concede two, because we were in a good routine defensively.

“The hat-trick goal was ultimately the thing that made everything safe because one goal can be wiped away with one mistake, but once you’re two goals clear you know you’re in a strong position.”

The celebrations begin

With there being nothing at stake for Hull, the final half-hour passed without too much alarm, and the players knew the job was done when referee Mathieson wandered over to where Martinez and Kevin Nugent were waiting to take a corner and informed them he was going to blow and they should get ready to make a dash for the changing rooms as supporters prepared to invade the pitch.

Sure enough the whistle went and Jacks poured onto the pitch from every direction. A lot of the players made it back to the dressing room before being engulfed, but a couple found themselves stripped to the bare essentials by excited supporters.

“Someone had my shirt, someone had my shorts, and I was walking around in my pants and my socks,” laughs Thomas.

“It was funny, I do not have a clue where the shirt went. At the time I thought it was a shame and it would be nice to have been able to keep it.

“But the following season a supporter pulled me at one of the games, and asked me to sign the shirt from the Hull game! So I found out where it had ended up, and I was happy to sign it.

“Then a few years later my shorts turned up, but I have the ball signed by all the players and Flynny. That’s in the attic somewhere now, but I still have it.”

“At that point, we were delighted. We wanted that, we didn’t want anything else,” said Martinez.

“We tried to make sure every player got in and I didn’t realise that I lost little Leon, and then everyone got into the tunnel. 

“We were counting round and we were one missing, and then all we see is little Leon with no clothes on people’s shoulders! 

“That was a great way to finish, and then I think the ‘Great Escape’ song came on at full blast.” 

Flynn addressed the crowd and thanked them for their help in getting the side over the line, before tying a Swansea scarf around his head.

The players headed to Pitcher and Piano on Wind Street to celebrate, any notion of a few quiet beers were quickly dispelled by the noisy welcome greeting them in the city centre.

“I didn’t have to buy a pint! We all arranged after the game to meet in Pitcher and Piano at 8pm,” says Thomas.

“We thought we would have a few quiet beers, but word had got out that we were going there and we got there and it was rammed.

“You could not walk through there, it was packed in like sardines with people throwing pints and drinks at us, it was a brilliant night.”

“I remember being in there but I can’t remember much of it,” grins O’Leary.

“A lot of the staff were in there and it’s not like it is today, the staff was small on numbers and they were all in there, some of the families are in there. It was just a really good night.”

“I can remember Pitcher and Piano, I can remember going in there because I’d just left my mam and dad because they were in the Goose and Granite,” says Tate.

“I was in there with my mam and dad and I must have had a text saying that all the lads were there.

“I walked there and it was heaving. Roger Freestone very rarely came out in Swansea and he was there that night.”

For Flynn and assistant Kevin Reeves, it was a far quieter night as the adrenaline wore off and the relief kicked in.

“Because our families were still at home, me and Kev rented together, an apartment down the Mumbles,” says Flynn.

“I said ‘there’s no way we were going out in Swansea’. It must have been 6.30pm, 6.45pm.

“We drove back to a place called in The Woodman and booked a nice quiet table in the corner for a bite to eat.

“We were both nearly falling asleep by 9.30pm and I think we must have been in bed by 10pm.

“I think it was just the adrenaline had all gone and tiredness had crept in.

“It was really good waking up Sunday morning and seeing all the press. I think we had every single paper delivered and read them all because it was just huge.”

A bright future ahead

Now there is no doubting that the events of that day in May 2003 would always have been held dear by Swansea supporters given the dramatic nature of the game.

But what has just added to its lustre and legacy has been the way Swansea made the most of their escape by embarking on a new golden era for the club.

Just eight years later, Swansea City completed their rise up the divisions by reaching the Premier League.

In a quirk of fate, the scoreline when they beat Reading in the play-off final mirrored that from the game against Hull.

The Swans won 4-2, and a player scored a hat-trick which included two penalties.

By the time the 10th anniversary of the Hull game arrived in 2013, the Swans had won the club’s first major honour with victory in the League Cup final and were planning a Europa League adventure.

Tate and Britton were central figures in that climb, while Martinez’s return as manager in 2007 had established a style of play the club continues to seek to adhere to today.

“I’m proud of what people like Tatey and Leon have done and dare I say it, Lee Trundle. I shouldn’t mention his name in terms of legends of the club, it hurts me to say it,” laughs Flynn.

“But it gave me the opportunity to sign those types of players. We laid the foundation, me and Kev, our foundation didn’t last very long after that I must say as it all came to an end that season.

“You’ve got to admit Huw made some great appointments as managers, one or two didn’t make it but generally his appointment of managers was brilliant. Brendan Rodgers, Roberto. All these have been great appointments.”

“It makes me proud to have been part of that and it’s a game that a lot of the fans and the club now go back to that match and think about it,” says O’Leary.

“I’m not proud of what led up to it, but I’m proud of that match and that we got out of it and the job we did.

“And playing in that game is something people always ask me about.”

Even all these years later, the significance of those events has not faded and Britton perhaps sums it up best as he reflects on an era in Swansea’s history that he was at the absolute heart of.

“I think you look where the club is now and obviously over the last 20 years you always wonder where the club would be if we had lost that game,” he says.

“You look at teams like Wrexham, who have been in the National League for years. I can only speak for myself and, if we’d lost that game I wouldn’t have signed, Tatey probably wouldn’t have signed, Trunds, Robbo probably wouldn’t have been at the club.

“You wonder where the club would have gone. That day was the catalyst for where the club is now and the incredible journey the club has been on.

“If you said to us after the Hull game that in eight years the club would be in the Premier League, in a fantastic stadium, winning at Wembley in front of 90,000 and playing the best teams in the world we would have thought you were crazy.

“You look back and it was a pivotal moment in the history of the football club and to be able to be a part of that journey all the way to the Premier League is something I’m incredibly proud of.”