Swansea City ensured themselves safe passage into the fourth round of the FA Cup as they overcame home side Tranmere Rovers with a comfortable 6-2 victory at Prenton Park this afternoon.
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Bafetimbi Gomis was the first Swansea player to flex his muscles as he received the ball from youngster Modou Barrow, but his shot from distance did little to trouble Fon Williams in the Rovers net.
City appeared a little tentative in the opening half and it took another 15 minutes for the visitors to muster another chance, this time as Gomis and Barrow combined again, with Gomis firing straight at Williams, who did brilliantly to tip the ball over the bar from close range.
With the away side slowly growing into the contest they should have taken the lead on the 30-minute mark, as Dwight Tiendalli showed some good skill to turn in a ball for Marvin Emnes, but he could only send his shot wide of the post.
Swansea's growing dominance finally paid off, however, when stand-in captain Nathan Dyer broke into the box four minutes later, before drilling hard and low into the bottom-left corner.
Barrow continued his encouraging form early in the second half and he was the architect behind Swansea's second goal, as the Gambian-born striker picked out Tom Carroll, who made no mistake from a mere six yards out.
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Gerhard Tremmel had very little to do in the first period, although he was called into action after the break by loanee Shamir Fenelon, who saw his effort dug out at the bottom corner by the diving German stopper.
The visitors confirmed progression into the next round with just over 30 minutes to play when the influential Barrow grabbed a goal of his own by tapping into the bottom corner after being sought out by Gomis.
The home side pulled a consolation back in the 70th minute courtesy of Max Power, who lashed in past Tremmel from the left side of the box, before Swansea restored their three-goal lead through Gomis.
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The action didn't end there, however, as Rovers continued to show some fight thanks to Cole Stockton who headed in from a set piece.
Swansea were determined to showcase their superiority in the wake of the goal and they ended the game with two more for themselves when Wayne Routledge drilled across goal and into the bottom corner, while Gomis added another late on to make it 6-2.
Christopher Dodd
