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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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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd20135228111742
2Leeds UnitedLeeds20125336142241
3Burnley2010822471738
4Sunderland20107329151437
5Blackburn RoversBlackburn1910452317634
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom2071122314932
7Middlesbrough209473425931
8Watford199462725231
9Swansea CitySwansea207672119227
10Norwich CityNorwich206863530526
11Bristol City206862525026
12Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds207582329-626
13Millwall196762017325
14Preston North EndPreston2041062026-622
15Luton TownLuton2064102335-1222
16Coventry CityCoventry205692529-421
17Derby CountyDerby205692226-421
18Stoke CityStoke205692126-521
19Queens Park RangersQPR204972026-621
20Oxford UnitedOxford Utd194692030-1018
21Portsmouth183872130-917
22Cardiff CityCardiff1945101730-1317
23Plymouth ArgylePlymouth1945101940-2117
24Hull City2037101828-1016


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