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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 UnitedLeeds26158348192953
2Burnley26141023192252
3Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd26166436171952
4Sunderland26148439221750
5Middlesbrough26118743321141
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom26913432211140
7Blackburn RoversBlackburn2511682823539
8Bristol City2691073330337
9Watford25114103536-137
10Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds2610793840-237
11Norwich CityNorwich269984337636
12Swansea CitySwansea2697103030034
13Queens Park RangersQPR2671182934-532
14Millwall257992423130
15Preston North EndPreston2661282834-630
16Coventry CityCoventry2678113437-329
17Oxford UnitedOxford Utd2577112840-1228
18Derby CountyDerby2676133135-427
19Stoke CityStoke2669112432-827
20Luton TownLuton2674152744-1725
21Portsmouth2458113041-1123
22Hull City2658132536-1123
23Cardiff CityCardiff2558122540-1523
24Plymouth ArgylePlymouth2548132453-2920


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