ROARING AT LIONS!
Ayew & ‘classy’ Lowe rule Den
JAMAL LOWE brought his tough week to a happier close with a double that breathed new life into Swansea’s promotion bid.
The Jamaica striker scored his first club goals since January and along with another superb strike from Andre Ayew that earned a vital victory at the Den.
Disgusting racial abuse aimed at Lowe recently on Instagram led directly to the Swans suspending all use of social media this week.
And he responded with wonderful finishing that keeps faint hopes of an automatic promotion spot alive, and also helps shore up a place in the top six.
For Millwall this loss may well signal the end of their remote chances of gatecrashing the play-offs.
But delighted Swans boss Steve Cooper, after seeing his side end a 492-minute goalless streak in style, said: “We needed that win, yes, but it was also a stylish
Bialkowski 7; M Wallace 6, Pearce 6 (Zohore 62, 6), J Cooper 6; McNamara 6 (Romeo 62, 6), Evans 6, Kieftenbeld 6 (Mahoney 62, 6), Mitchell 6 (Williams 78), Malone 6; J Wallace 6, M Bennett 6 (Bodvarsson 78). Unused subs: Fielding, Bradshaw, Ferguson, Woods. SWANSEA: Woodman 6; Naughton 6, Guehi 7, R Bennett 7, Manning 6; Fulton 7, Hourihane 7, Grimes 6; Ayew 8 (Whittaker 90), Lowe 9 (Cooper 90), Routledge 7 (Roberts 78). Unused subs: Hamer, Smith, Dhanda, La Tibaudiere, Bidwell, Cabango. MAN OF MATCH: Jamal Lowe. Cracking goals and the very least that the striker’s performance deserved. REFEREE: Robert Jones 6.
performance. Jamal Lowe ended his drought, but it has also been a tough week for him.
“He has shown a lot of class, and the guy that he is.
“He didn’t need to score two goals for us to know he is a brilliant person and dad, but that he did is pleasing.
“We are proud of him and others that suffered abuse – the club did what it felt was
right. Andre scored at a brilliant time for us. We created chances, were clinical, kept a clean sheet.
“It was important after four losses.”
Millwall started well with chances for Billy Mitchell, while Lowe was denied by a brave save from Bartosz Bialkowski.
But the visitors broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time. Conor Hourihane picked out Ayew on the right of the area, and he cut back onto his left foot and buried a curling shot.
Bialkowski kept his side in the match with a brilliant save after 52 minutes to deny Wayne Routledge, and Lowe had a shot blocked soon after that.
Mason Bennett could not get his shot on target from Danny McNamara’s cross, then at the other end referee Robert Jones waved away
Ryan Manning’s appeals for a penalty. Lowe, sent clear by Routledge, crashed in his side’s second on 76 minutes.
And he added a third with five minutes left, teed up by Ayew.
Lions boss Gary Rowett said: “Conceding 20 seconds before half-time was a bad blow, but we didn’t play well enough to get anything.
“It’s a long season and it has been hard on the players, so I don’t want to be too tough on them.”