Ten years at the Liberty: Golden Graham signs season off with victory

To celebrate Swansea City's tenth season at the Liberty Stadium, we are looking back on the stand-out moments over the last decade.
Here, we reflect on the final match of our first campaign in the Premier League as the Swans signed off with a win over Liverpool.



Swansea City 1 Liverpool 0
Barclays Premier League
May 13, 2012



It was party time at the Liberty Stadium by May 2012 as Swansea City fans celebrated a memorable and unexpectedly successful first season in the Premier League by dressing up as Elvis Presley.
A remark about the Swans made at the start of the season, stating that the South Wales-based club had as much chance of staying in the Premier League as you had of seeing Elvis ensured that the Liberty became one big Elvis convention - for the day, at least.
The Swans had secured an 11th-place finish in the Premier League, a full 11 points clear of any relegation concerns and a historic finish to a season that they could be proud of.
The final fixture of this remarkable season saw the visit of English giants Liverpool, who - despite their famous history - had failed to reach any great heights during the 2011-12 campaign.
With the sun beating down on the Liberty pitch, the two sides emerged from the tunnel to a raucous reception in appreciation for their season's efforts.



Brimming with confidence, the Swans soon settled into their familiar passing game and quickly put the struggling Reds onto the back foot.
Joe Allen, who had proved a revelation during his debut season in the Premier League, soon began to pull the strings from midfield and was instrumental in Swansea's first chance of the game when he made a run into the opposition box before firing an effort across goal that just evaded the on-running Danny Graham.
But the extent of the panic and frustration growing within the visiting side was evident, which was personified in the event of Andy Carroll playing a backwards 30-yard pass to goalkeeper Doni, who inexplicably chose to pick up the ball and give away a needless indirect free-kick.



Gylfi Sigurdsson then drew a save from the deputising Liverpool stopper, before Nathan Dyer tested his reflexes with as snapshot on the brink of half-time.
The second period saw Liverpool emerge from their slumber. Carroll certainly looked sharper, especially when he provided a highlight for Match of the Day when he attempted an audacious overhead kick, which brought an equally stunning response from Michel Vorm.
But in an attacking sense, this was as good as it got for the Reds, and the Swans continued to push forward in an effort to break down a stubborn Liverpool defence.
With time running out, and with a scoreless draw on the cards ,came the winner just four minutes from time when Scott Sinclair cut inside from the left wing before switching the ball to the opposite flank. Angel Rangel was on the receiving end, and the Spaniard pulled the ball back for Danny Graham to fire home from ten yards.




Player profile
Joe Allen (2007-2012)
Born in West Wales in Narberth, Joe Allen joined the Swans at the age of nine.
After graduating through the youth ranks, Allen was just 16 when he made his first-team debut for the Swans in an FAW Premier Cup tie against Port Talbot Town before making his first Football League appearance in an end-of-season fixture against Blackpool.
In an attempt to gain regular first-team football, Allen joined Wrexham on loan in 2008, only for his temporary spell to be cut short through injury after just two games.
But it was an injury to team-mate Ferrie Bodde that gave Allen his chance in the Swansea first-team - and it was from there that he never looked back.
Allen soon became a regular starter for the Swans for the next four seasons, and he played an instrumental role in helping the club reach the Premier League.
When manager Brendan Rodgers left the club in July 2012 to join Liverpool, one of the first things he did was to sign Allen for £15 million.
His time on Merseyside has been mixed, with injuries hampering his role as a regular in the starting line-up; although, he has made over 80 league appearances for the Reds over the course of the past three years.
In the summer of 2012, Allen also had the distinction of representing Great Britain at the London Olympics, alongside Swans team-mates at the time Scott Sinclair, Neil Taylor and loanee Steven Caulker.
Allen - when fit - is also a regular fixture in Chris Coleman's Wales side, for whom he made his debut in 2009.