Should Dyer Have Taken the Penalty?

It was the only noteworthy moment of what was otherwise the most one-sided League Cup Final ever - no offence, but League Two midtablers, Bradford City were never really going to be a challenge at Wembley against a Premier League side in form and chasing European football in Swansea.

Nathan Dyer was on his way to a hat-trick when he was brought down by hapless Bradford keeper, Matt Duke in the penalty box. Swansea were 3-0 up by this time and cruising towards the club's first ever trophy and European football next season with Bradford looking like the Wellington Phoenix against Barcelona.

Dyer remonstrates with De Guzman

Jonathan de Guzman, Swansea's Canadian-Dutch midfielder, stepped up to take the penalty kick only for Dyer, on a hat-trick to rush up and demand to take the penalty and seal his hat-trick which would have been the first ever in a cup final in England.

A bit of an  argument ensued but de Guzman refused to budge to the demands of his teammate and history and took the penalty successfully. De Guzman would get two as well later on in the game while Dyer was substituted but would win the Player of the Match award.

So was de Guzman doing the right thing or was he being a right old dick to deny Nathan Dyer a shot at history that will never come again?

It seemed at first that de Guzman had done the right thing as it appeared that he was the designated penalty taker for the Swans - this was later denied by Michael Laudrup who said that he had no designated penalty taker and in fact, this was the first penalty awarded to Swansea all season.

Even if de Guzman was the designated penalty taker, the game was well beyond Bradford's reach and de Guzman should have let Dyer have his moment under lights - a hat-trick at Wembley in a Final that is as rare as Swansea's own appearances at Wembley.

If de Guzman just wanted a goal in the final, he needn't have worried as he would get one later on - a time when hindsight would have served him well.

Alas, one wonders what this will do for morale later on - you'd think nothing as at the end of the day, it's the result that matters and hat-tricks are really a side issue, just like being top goal or try scorer.

But on Swansea's big day, this is probably the one thing that most fans not from South Wales will remember. Nevertheless, well done to the Swans who have made quite a rise from the lower divisions of football to the very summit in little over 10 years.