THE SYDNEY Swans have gone down to Collingwood by 14 points in a highly entertaining NAB Cup clash at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.

The Swans overcame a slow start to hold a narrow lead late in the third quarter, but the Pies finished the stronger side to advance to the semi final stage of the competition with a 1.12.12 (93) to 1.10.10 (79) win.

Dane Swan was outstanding for the Magpies with 24 possessions and four goals with Dayne Beams (23 touches), Dale Thomas (21) and Andrew Krakouer also important.

Adam Goodes was the standout up forward for the Swans with three goals to go with his 13 possessions, while Josh Kennedy continued his strong pre-season form with 30 disposals.
 
The Pies piled on the pressure from the opening bounce, dominating possession and forcing multiple turnovers, with inaccuracy in front of goal the only flaw in their game.

Collingwood assistant coach Matthew Lappin, standing in for Mick Malthouse, was delighted with the early intensity of his charges.

"We jumped out of the blocks well and they pegged us back as we thought they would," Lappin said.

"They brought a really strong side and they are a competitive, proud group who are playing for their new coach.

"I was really pleased the boys were able to get back over the top of them in the end. They lifted their intensity and we ended up with a hard fought win."

The Swans struggled to move the ball into their forward half with any fluency and found themselves quickly back on the defensive whenever primary target Goodes was unable to get the better of Chris Tarrant.

A goal to American ruckman Shae McNamara broke a run of behinds for Collingwood and when youngsters Ben Sinclair and Alex Fasolo followed suit, the Pies had a deserved 29-point lead.

Ryan O'Keefe's first major pulled that margin back to 22 points at the first break and his side took that momentum into the second term where they were able to turn the tables on their opponents whose intensity had waned noticeably.

Lewis Johnston's early supergoal got the ball rolling for the Swans, who were suddenly first to the ball and hitting targets by foot.

Krakouer tried to wake his teammates from their slumber with a brilliant chase and tackle that resulted in the Pies' first goal of the quarter, but their buffer was slashed to just five points before Swan sent his side into half time 11 points in up with his first goal.  

Swan doubled his tally soon after the restart as Collingwood lifted to ensure the game would remain a tight one for the remainder of the evening.

The Swans were well in the contest now after their slow start and finally hit the front thanks to Goodes' second 15 minutes in, but two goals to Beams (one super, one regular) gave the Pies a slender two-point lead heading into the final stanza. 

Swan was able to stamp his authority on the match once and for all as the last quarter progressed with his two goals setting up the impressive win.  

Swans' coach John Longmire lamented his side's tardy start to the match, but came away with plenty of positives nonetheless.

"They jumped us in that first quarter, but I think we did well in the second and third quarters to get back in the game," Longmire said.

"Maybe we expended a fair bit of energy [doing that] and probably ran out of legs a little bit in the last quarter because we tried to so hard to get back into the game after the first quarter."


COLLINGWOOD                0.5.6    0.7.7    1.9.9    1.12.12 (93)
SYDNEY SWANS                0.2.2    1.4.5    1.9.7     1.10.10 (79)

GOALS
Collingwood: Nine-point goals: Beams Goals: Swan 4, Krakouer, Beams, Cloke, Macaffer, McNamara, Thomas, Sinclair, Fasolo
Sydney Swans: Nine-point goals: Johnston Goals: Goodes 3, O'Keefe 2, McGlynn 2, Jack, Malceski, Moore

BEST
Collingwood: Swan, Beams, Thomas, Krakouer, Ball, Maxwell, Davis
Sydney Swans: Goodes, Kennedy, Grundy, McGlynn, Rohan, Jack, Mattner, Bird

INJURIES
Collingwood: Nil
Sydney Swans: Hannebery (head knock)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Chamberlain, Donlon, Gleeson

Official crowd: 10,773 at Etihad Stadium

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.