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Swansea City ruthlessly demolished League Two Notts County 8-1 to seal their passage to the fifth round of the FA Cup in emphatic fashion.
Tammy Abraham scored his first goal since October to put the dominant hosts ahead and 90 seconds later his through ball set up Nathan Dyer to double their lead.
Dyer added a third with a sweet first-time strike and, although Noor Husin responded for the visitors with a powerful hit, Abraham finished a fine team move to give Swansea a 4-1 half-time lead.
The procession continued after the break with goals from Kyle Naughton, Wayne Routledge and Tom Carroll – whose beautiful curling effort was the pick of the bunch – as well as a memorable debut strike for Daniel James.
Swansea’s biggest margin of victory at the Liberty Stadium sets up a fifth-round tie away against manager Carlos Carvalhal’s former side Sheffield Wednesday.
Swans run riot
Swansea’s priority this season is undoubtedly trying to secure top-flight survival but, given their favourable draw, Carvalhal and his players may be forgiven for thinking they could make an improbable appearance at Wembley.
When the Portuguese was appointed in December, the Swans were bottom of the Premier League table and appeared destined for relegation.
And although they are not safe yet, a run of just one defeat in nine games under Carvalhal has seen Swansea climb out of the bottom three and transformed the mood at the Liberty Stadium.
Their priorities were clear with seven changes from Saturday’s league draw at Leicester, though that did not stop them producing a vibrant attacking display against Notts County on Tuesday.
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Abraham opened the scoring as he turned in Luciano Narsingh’s inviting low cross, before threading an excellent through ball to Dyer, who finished smartly in the bottom corner.
The winger scored his second with an even better strike from another Narsingh cross and, after Husin’s firm effort for the Magpies, Abraham restored Swansea’s three-goal cushion with an emphatic finish from a third Narsingh assist.
Naughton struck only his second goal for the Swans early in the second half after a poor punch from the visitors’ goalkeeper Adam Collin, and Routledge got in on the act with a neat low finish.
Carroll added a seventh in spectacular fashion, turning 20 yards out and planting his arcing shot into the top corner, before 20-year-old winger James came on for his debut and marked the occasion with a crisp, swerving effort from the edge of the penalty area.
Magpies turn their attention to League Two
If this competition was a secondary concern for Swansea, the same could be said for a Notts County side third in League Two and aiming to win promotion this season.
The value of an extended run in the FA Cup was clear and the Magpies’ owner Alan Hardy said before the match that a place in the last 16 would earn the club close to £750,000.
However, there was never any scope for an upset as Kevin Nolan’s men were brutally dismantled by their free-scoring Premier League opponents.
They turn their attention back to their League Two promotion bid with a trip to Barnet on Saturday.
Man of the match – Nathan Dyer (Swansea)
What the managers said
Notts County manager Kevin Nolan: “I don’t think they deserved to be 8-1, but it is one of those games where their finishing was Premier League standard. If you give them opportunities they are going to punish us – of 14 shots on target and eight have gone in.
“We need to concentrate on what is important, which is the league. We need to take this hit and keep smiling.
“Coming to a Premier League team, you need to hope some of their players take it easy and your players are on top form and that gulf in class comes closer, but some of our players maybe froze and did not react to the same standard as the rest of the season.
“We could have scored three or four – but Swansea were fantastic and did a professional job.”
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Swansea manager Carlos Carvalhal: “It is important if it is the best result in the history, but the most important thing is the attitude of the players that made all the difference. I told them before the game that we have a challenge tonight.
“I am very proud of the players as they accepted the challenge. They made Notts County look like they are not a good team, but they are a good team. The way we played made the difference. The attitude was fantastic.
“We also finished the game with three boys from the academy and we never know if we will need them during the season.”
High-scoring Swans – the best of the stats
- Swansea’s 8-1 scoreline against Notts County is their biggest winning margin in the FA Cup.
- In fact, a seven-goal victory is the biggest margin between two league sides in the FA Cup since Chelsea beat Ipswich 7-0 in a 2011 third-round tie.
- The Swans are also the first side to score eight goals against another league side in the FA Cup since Walsall beat Torquay 8-4 in a second-round replay in December 1995.
- Tammy Abraham ended a 14-game goal drought with his first goal in 825 minutes for Swansea.
- Nathan Dyer scored a brace for the first time since August 2014 when netting twice in a 3-0 win for Swansea against West Brom.
- Luciano Narsingh provided a hat-trick of assists against the Magpies – as many as he had recorded in his previous 31 appearances for Swansea.
Live Text
Match ends, Swansea City 8, Notts County 1.
Second Half ends, Swansea City 8, Notts County 1.
Matthew Virtue-Thick (Notts County) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Kyle Bartley (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Matthew Virtue-Thick (Notts County).
Foul by Wayne Routledge (Swansea City).
Alan Smith (Notts County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Tammy Abraham (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Alan Smith (Notts County).
Attempt missed. Tammy Abraham (Swansea City) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Daniel James with a cross.
Attempt missed. Luciano Narsingh (Swansea City) left footed shot from the right side of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Tammy Abraham.
Offside, Notts County. Nicky Hunt tries a through ball, but Jorge Grant is caught offside.
Corner, Notts County. Conceded by Kyle Bartley.
Foul by Ki Sung-yueng (Swansea City).
Jonathan Forte (Notts County) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Goal! Swansea City 8, Notts County 1. Daniel James (Swansea City) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Tammy Abraham.
Attempt blocked. Adnan Maric (Swansea City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Substitution, Swansea City. Adnan Maric replaces Mike van der Hoorn.
Foul by Wayne Routledge (Swansea City).
Shaun Brisley (Notts County) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt blocked. Tom Carroll (Swansea City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt saved. Daniel James (Swansea City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Tom Carroll.
Goal! Swansea City 7, Notts County 1. Tom Carroll (Swansea City) left footed shot from outside the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Wayne Routledge.
Substitution, Notts County. Alan Smith replaces Jon Stead.
Attempt missed. Connor Roberts (Swansea City) left footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Tom Carroll with a through ball.
Substitution, Swansea City. Daniel James replaces Nathan Dyer.
Substitution, Notts County. Jonathan Forte replaces Lewis Alessandra.
Substitution, Notts County. Robert Milsom replaces Noor Husin.
Goal! Swansea City 6, Notts County 1. Wayne Routledge (Swansea City) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner.
Connor Roberts (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Lewis Alessandra (Notts County).
Nathan Dyer (Swansea City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Noor Husin (Notts County).
Attempt saved. Connor Roberts (Swansea City) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Wayne Routledge.
Nathan Dyer (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Lewis Alessandra (Notts County).
Goal! Swansea City 5, Notts County 1. Kyle Naughton (Swansea City) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the top right corner following a corner.
Corner, Swansea City. Conceded by Adam Collin.
Attempt saved. Luciano Narsingh (Swansea City) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Nathan Dyer.
Attempt saved. Jon Stead (Notts County) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
