Brewster strikes to lift Cooper
STEVE COOPER hailed the courage of his Swansea team as they kept their play-off hopes alive thanks to a second-half surge against Sheffield Wednesday. Goals from Rhian Brewster and Andre Ayew saw Swansea take all three points after they had struggled to adapt to Cooper’s new formation before the break. Wednesday substitute Atdhe Nuhiu grabbed a consolation for Garry Monk’s visitors in added time. ‘I told the players at half-time they had to be men and play with more courage and they did that. The heart and commitment shown was excellent,’ said Cooper. ‘We were fighting in the first half in terms of our defending, but we needed to show more belief in ourselves going forward.’ Amid a defensive injury crisis, Cooper opted for a three-man backline with Connor Roberts and Wayne Routledge as wing backs, which Swansea struggled to adapt to. ‘We didn’t occupy the width of the pitch enough,’ added Cooper. ‘Wayne having to play like a left back and not a wing back wasn’t the idea. He stuck to the task, we had to talk through it at half-time, and it was better in the second half.’ Wednesday winger Jacob Murphy had three great chances and his misses came back to haunt the visitors. Brewster opened the scoring when he reacted quickest to Jay Fulton flicking on Roberts’ cross. Ayew’s penalty doubled Swansea’s lead after Adam Reach had fouled Roberts. Brewster left the field late on using his shirt to support a shoulder injury. ‘Rhian had a bad shoulder anyway, which he did at the start of the Millwall game. He hasn’t dislocated it,’ said Cooper. Nuhiu headed home late on from Kadeem Harris’s cross, but Swansea held on. ‘It’s so, so frustrating,’ said Wednesday manager and former Swansea captain and boss Monk. ‘We played so well in the first half but in the second we had a few minutes of madness. The players are as frustrated as me. You can’t be as dominant as we were at first and not come away with goals.’