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Swansea logo
Championship | Gameweek 41
Jul 5, 2020 at 12pm UK
Liberty Stadium
Sheffield Wednesday logo

Swansea
2 - 1
Sheff Weds

Brewster (52'), Ayew (66' pen.)
Fulton (33'), Routledge (58')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Nuhiu (90+3')
Reach (65')

Swansea edge past Sheffield Wednesday to keep slim playoff hopes alive

Swansea edge past Sheffield Wednesday to keep slim playoff hopes alive
© Reuters
The Swans sit four points adrift of sixth-placed Cardiff with five games remaining.

Swansea kept their slim Sky Bet Championship play-off hopes alive with a 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday thanks to goals from Rhian Brewster and Andre Ayew.

Steve Cooper's side struggled in the first half as they struggled to adapt to their head coach's new formation, but they improved after the break.

Brewster opened the scoring before Ayew's penalty doubled the advantage. Wednesday manager and Swansea great Garry Monk saw Atdhe Nuhiu pull one back in added time but it was too little, too late for the visitors.

Swansea's defensive crisis saw full-back Kyle Naughton forced to step in as an emergency centre-back before Wednesday winger Jacob Murphy had three fine early chances.

The second saw Adam Reach's cross deflect slightly off Naughton to Murphy at the back post, but with plenty of space he could only spoon over the bar.

Minutes later, Murphy was in on goal again. This time his powerful low shot was saved by Freddie Woodman.

Swansea were operating with a three-man defence with Connor Roberts and Wayne Routledge as wing backs. They looked vulnerable, confused and too narrow, especially on the left with Murphy benefiting.

The home side's shoddiness at the back was coupled with a lack of an attacking threat and Jay Fulton was booked for a poor tackle on Julian Borner.

Alessio Da Cruz had a shot blocked by Marc Guehi and he also headed over but the Owls failed to make their opportunities count in the first half. Brewster's poor free-kick summed up Swansea's struggles.

Swansea's persistence with their shape at the break finally paid dividends after the break, with Ayew having a free-kick saved before the hosts moved ahead.

Roberts crossed from the right, Fulton flicked on, and Brewster was quickest to react as he fired home to open the scoring.

In the 63rd minute, Swansea swapped Routledge for centre-back Mike Van Der Hoorn for his first appearance since January 2 and soon it was 2-0 to the home side.

Roberts attempted to get on the end of Jake Bidwell's cross but was fouled by Reach, who was booked and then replaced, with Ayew stepping up to convert the penalty for his 16th goal of the season.

The fact Wednesday were two behind must have been of huge disappointment to Monk, especially after his team's first-half showing.

Brewster should have made it 3-0 when he raced in on goal from a brilliant Naughton pass but he could only hit the side netting.

The Liverpool loanee left the field late on using his shirt as a makeshift sling to nurse what looked like a shoulder injury.

Nuhiu headed in a cross from fellow Wednesday substitute Kadeem Harris to halve the deficit but Swansea held on.

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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds382311476255180
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd38257653282580
3Burnley382115252114178
4Sunderland381912755371869
5Coventry CityCoventry38178135548759
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom381318748341457
7Bristol City38141594941857
8Middlesbrough38159145748954
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn38157164240252
10Watford38157164751-452
11Millwall381312133739-251
12Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds38149155359-651
13Norwich CityNorwich381213136054649
14Preston North EndPreston381017113944-547
15Queens Park RangersQPR381112154450-645
16Swansea CitySwansea38128183849-1144
17Portsmouth38119184661-1542
18Oxford UnitedOxford Utd381012163955-1642
19Hull City381011173947-841
20Stoke CityStoke38912173751-1439
21Cardiff CityCardiff38912174262-2039
22Derby CountyDerby38108204051-1138
23Luton TownLuton3898213460-2635
24Plymouth ArgylePlymouth38712194077-3733


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