Games against Swansea City always evoke special memories for me because it was the fixture between West Ham United and Swansea City on 27th December 1982 that marked my very first visit to Upton Park.
West Ham won an entertaining First Division encounter 3-2 in front of a crowd of 23,843. I watched from the back of the North Bank, standing on a wooden stool alongside my dad, trying to get a glimpse of the action amongst the sea of claret and blue.
In those days, you simply turned up, queued at the turnstile and paid on the gate. How times have changed.
The history books confirmed that West Ham went into that game enjoying an impressive campaign under John Lyall sitting amongst the First Division’s front-runners. Swansea, managed by the legendary John Toshak, were attempting to recapture the form that had taken them from the Fourth Division to the top flight in record time and even seen them top the table the previous season.
The match as I recall was a cracker. West Ham’s goals came from a Ray Stewart penalty, Paul Goddard who featured in the match programme alongside his two Great Danes, and the Belgian winger Francois Van Der Elst. Swansea responded through veteran striker Bob Latchford, who scored twice to keep the visitors in contention.
Although decades passed before the clubs met regularly again. Between 2012 and 2018 the two sides developed a surprisingly competitive rivalry, meeting 12 times in the top flight. West Ham won six of those matches, Swansea won three and three ended level.
There were some memorable encounters along the way. Swansea ran out 3-0 winners in the first Premier League meeting between the clubs in August 2012. West Ham responded with several strong results of their own, including a 3-1 victory at the Boleyn Ground in December 2014. Particularly memorable was a Boxing Day clash in 2016 when the Hammers produced an excellent away performance to win 4-1 in South Wales. The most recent competitive meeting came in March 2018, when Swansea recorded a 4-1 victory at the Liberty Stadium.
The connection between the two clubs extends beyond fixtures. A number of players have represented both sides over the years, including Frank Lampard, who spent time on loan at Swansea early in his career, Lukasz Fabianski, who moved to East London after four excellent seasons with the Swans, and both Andre Ayew and Flynn Downes, who have also worn the colours of both clubs.
Historically, the head-to-head record favours West Ham, with Swansea’s record against the Hammers standing at 19 wins, 15 draws and 29 defeats across all competitions.
As for today’s game, I’m expecting a difficult afternoon for Nuno’s side. Swansea who lead the table will be tough opponents and I have a feeling the Swans might edge a scrappy contest 2-1.
Let’s hope I’m wrong.
I believe I was at that game, on the terracing under the main West Stand at the Boleyn. It was a cold old day and the crowd was noticeably thinner because of this. Happy you enjoyed the game and managed to keep warm. It seems like a different world now.
I have great memories of Van Der Elst scoring against Spurs at White Hart Lane. A excellently taken goal.