Piroe back on target to dent Lions’ top 6 hopes
JOEL Piroe struck his 18th goal of the campaign to earn Swansea City a deserved 1-0 win over Millwall.
The Swans showed plenty of confidence throughout and went ahead shortly after half-time as Piroe rifled beyond Bartosz Bialkowski. Both sides had further chances to bulge the net, although the visitors held on at The Den to register their third win in four matches while keeping their 16th Championship clean sheet of the campaign in the process.
Russell Martin made two changes to the side that started the memorable 4-0 demolition job of Cardiff City at the weekend. Jay Fulton replaced Flynn Downes who was left out of the squad as a precautionary measure due to a minor injury while Ryan Manning returned from suspension in place of Jamie Paterson who was listed among the substitutes.
The Lions – who remain in the mix for a top six place – started well and saw Daniel Ballard head over from a corner inside three minutes. South Wales derby hero Michael Obafemi failed to make contact with Piroe’s ball over the top before Benik Afobe’s deflected strike went wide as the opening stages were frantic.
Swansea soon settled into their passing rhythm though, and a slick move saw Hannes Wolf pick out Obafemi whose volley was palmed over by Bialkowski. Kyle Naughton had a shot blocked from the resulting corner as Martin’s men showed the kind of confidence that oozed through their veins throughout Saturday’s thrashing of Cardiff.
There was no sign of a hangover from that historic double as Fulton forced Bialkowski into a save midway through the opening half with a shot from distance before Obafemi had an effort blocked.
Jed Wallace’s deflected strike flew wide before Bialkowski kept out Piroe’s driven shot at the other end to ensure the score remained level at the break, although the Swans will no doubt – a few moments of sloppiness aside – have been pleased with much of their play.
And Martin’s men struck gold within a minute of the restart. The Lions failed to clear Cyrus Christie’s cross, and Piroe took full advantage by drilling beyond Bialkowski at the near post to surpass last season’s top scorer Andre Ayew’s tally of 17 with seven games to spare.
The Swans were simply dazzling, and they continuously played through the lines as they went in search of another goal. Obafemi twice went close before Manning fired well wide. But Millwall threw caution to the wind and should have levelled through George Saville who volleyed wide from around 10 yards out.
With Swansea’s possession-based game proving frustrating, Gary Rowett’s men started to lose their composure.
But the game then exploded into life. First Christie inexplicably failed to pick out Piroe in the box as Swansea spurned a chance to kill off the game following a three-on-one situation. They then had Andy Fisher to thank for pulling off a fine onehanded save to keep out Jed Wallace’s effort.
Paterson and Korey Smith replaced Piroe and Fulton shortly after Olivier Ntcham came on for Wolf as Swansea looked to find energy late on following a fine shift. And after surviving some tense moments late on, they claimed victory to make it 10 points from their last four matches on a night that once again demonstrated the fruits of Martin’s labour this term.
Millwall: Bialkowski; Ballard, Cooper (C), M Wallace; Mcnamara, Mitchell, Saville (Kieftenbeld 60), Malone; J Wallace (Ojo 78); Bradshaw (Burke 60), Afobe. Subs not used: Long, Leonard, Evans, Burey. Yellow card: Ballard 82 Swansea City: Fisher; Cabango, Naughton, Latibeaudiere; Christie, Fulton (Smith 78), Grimes (C), Manning; Piroe (Paterson 78), Wolf (Ntcham 63); Obafemi. Subs not used: Hamer, Ogbeta, Congreve, Joseph. Goal: Piroe 46 Yellow cards: Grimes 22, Latibeaudiere 49 Referee: Andy Davies