Friday night will be the first opportunity for the majority of Swans fans to take a look at Nick Cusack's summer signings as the Swans take on Crystal Palace at the Vetch field, 7pm k.o. After the successful pre-season Dutch tour, which culminated in an impressive 2-1 victory over Den Haag on Tuesday night, Cusack's men will be out to impress in front of the Vetch faithful. With the opening fixture against Rushden only 2 weeks away the competition for 1st team places is hotting up and I'm sure Cusack's new signings will be looking to cement their places before the big kick off.
Cusack is expected to field a strong team against 1st Division Palace and a number of the new faces who impressed in Holland are expected to start the game. Among the new signings expected to make their Vetch field debuts are Swansea born striker James Thomas who grabbed both the Swansea goals in the win over Den Haag, left sided midfielder David Smith and midfielder Matt Murphy. The game should also see appearances from hard tackling midfielder Paul Reid, former Falkirk attacking midfielder David Moss, local striker John Keaveny and central defender David Theobald who is still on trial and hoping to convince manager Nick Cusack to offer him a contract.
Palace manager Trevor Francis brings his side to the Vetch on the back of three consecutive pre-season wins, a 3-0 victory against Barnet, a 2-1 victory against Carshalton and Tuesday nights 3-1 win at Cheltenham. With the transfer of Clinton Morrison to Birmingham seemingly on hold for the time being, Friday night's game may see an appearance from the highly rated striker. Experienced striker Dougie Freedman is also expected to play after his two goals against Cheltenham, along with Steven Kabba, Andrejs Rubins and new signing Danny Butterfield who have all impressed in recent friendlies.
With admission to all areas of the ground reduced to £5, a large crowd is expected to welcome the new look Swans side. The Vetch field itself could also be described as "new look", the old girl has received a much needed summer facelift in preparation for the 2002/03 season and what better way to start than a win against 1st division opposition?
See you there!!!
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