Swansea crush Petrolul

Swansea all but sealed their place in the group stages of the Europa League as they destroyed Petrolul Ploiesti 5-0 in the first leg of their play-off tie at the Liberty Stadium.As with their first meeting with Malmo in the previous round, Swansea simply overwhelmed their opponents as they romped to a convincing victory.Wayne Routledge grabbed a first-half double with Michu also on the scoresheet to give Michael Laudrup's side a 3-0 half-time lead.An own goal from Petrolul goalkeeper Pecanha and a classy finish from Alejandro Pozuelo increased their advantage, before Gheorghe Grozav got a late consolation for the visitors.The tie was effectively decided inside 25 minutes as the Romanian cup holders floundered.There was a hint of luck about Routledge's opener. A Jonjo Shelvey free-kick ran all the way through to the winger but Pecanha looked to have his shot covered until Ovidiu Hoban stuck out a leg to guide it in.Michu quickly tapped in a second when Pecanha could not hold a Pablo Hernandez shot, before the latter delightfully teed up Routledge for a simple far-post header.Pecanha then inadvertently provided the fourth as he diverted Wilfried Bony's shot over the line after the Ivory Coast striker's effort squirmed under him, before Pozuelo raced on to a Michu pass to finish in style.But Petrolul had the last word as Grazov, whose goal had seen off Vitesse Arnhem in the last round, produced a stunning overhead kick to beat Michel Vorm.Laudrup had admitted he had not heard of a single Petrolul player until the sides were thrown together by the draw, and had warned his side of the dangers of underestimating their opponents.

Source: PA