Joe Allen bids farewell to Swansea City as star's final act sums him up

In the end, there weren’t any tears.

As Joe Allen left the field for the last time, against the backdrop of the applause of an adoring Jack Army, he merely raised a wry smile, before embracing boss Alan Sheehan for a hug on the touchline that felt like an eternity.

It was an appropriately understated curtain call for a legend whose much-storied career has been anything but. One would have forgiven him for absorbing as much of this afternoon as possible. But as we all know by now, it's not his style to make himself the main attraction.

Not that he had much of choice here, during what was an afternoon brimming with mixed emotions at the Swansea.com Stadium.

From the moment he led the team out for their pre-match warm-ups it became abundantly clear that the game itself, Sheehan’s first since being confirmed as permanent boss, was going to be a sidenote in the last dance of Welsh footballing royalty.

Allen had previously said the decision to call time on his career was partly motivated by a determination to end things on his terms, and an emotional sign-off at the club he first joined at the age of nine is something that might well sit up there with all the other incredible memories he has accumulated, in a career that has taken him to Liverpool, and indeed three major tournaments with Wales.

The man labelled the ‘Welsh Xavi’ by Brendan Rodgers during their time at Anfield together, once famously said he wished he could have played in an invisibility cloak, such was his unease at the prospect of even being considered the centre of attention.

Here, there was nowhere for him to hide. The 35-year-old striding out in front of a fervent sell out crowd, nearly 18 years to the day since his league debut for the club that has always