LOWE AT THE DOUBLE FOR THE SWANS
Ayew and Lowe get the Swans’ promotion bid back on track:
Ayew 45 (+1) Lowe 76, 85
ASTUNNING strike from Andre Ayew along with a Jamal Lowe brace ensured Swansea City got back to winning ways with an emphatic 3-0 triumph over Millwall.
After a slow start, the Swans fully clicked into gear and looked much the better side at The Den.
They went ahead as Ayew fired home his 15th Championship goal of the campaign on the stroke of half time.
The chances kept on coming as Swansea continued to ooze the kind of confidence that has been absent from their game in recent weeks.
Lowe doubled his side’s lead on 76 minutes with a cool finish from the edge of the box to bring an end to his run of 17 Swansea appearances without a goal.
And the Jamaica international struck his second of the afternoon soon after as Steve Cooper’s side brought an end to their four-game losing streak in brilliant fashion while keeping their 19th league clean sheet of the campaign in the process to get their promotion push firmly back on track.
The Swans desperately needed some fresh impetus following a torrid spell, and they made three changes to the side that started in the 1-0 defeat to Preston at the Liberty Stadium on Easter Monday.
The headline alteration saw Connor Roberts - who had played every single minute of Championship action this season - drop to the bench, with Kyle Naughton coming in for the Wales international.
Elsewhere, Wayne Routledge was handed his first league start of the season as Morgan Whittaker was listed among the replacements while Ryan Bennett came in for Ben Cabango.
It was a fairly scrappy to start to proceedings, and after Matt Grimes volleyed well wide, Billy Mitchell had a shot deflected just wide before Jake Cooper was off target with a header from the resulting corner.
The hosts were certainly the brighter side in the opening stages,
and while they looked decent on the ball, the Lions were more than happy to go direct when needed as Mason Bennett headed straight at Freddie Woodman from a long throw-in.
After a slow start, Swansea opened up Millwall with a slick passing move on the left flank that allowed Lowe to cross, although he couldn’t pick out a team mate in the box.
However, the Swans looked dangerous when they showed confidence on the ball as Lowe had a shot saved by Bartosz Bialkowski midway through the opening half following a patient period of play.
And the lively Lowe spurned a glorious chance soon after as he got into a one-on-one position with Bialkowski, although the Millwall goalkeeper denied the 26-year-old from close range.
The signs of improvement were encouraging though, and while they remained largely blunt in the final third, Swansea looked far better in possession than they have done for many weeks.
But the deadlock was broken in stunning fashion on the brink of half-time as Routledge and Conor Hourihane combined to set up Ayew who cut inside and curled beyond Bialkowski to put the Swans ahead.
The relief among the travelling players and coaches was evident, with the Ghanaian’s strike being Swansea’s first in eight hours and 12 minutes of league action.
However, their joy almost turned to dismay moments after the restart as Jake Cooper headed at goal from a set piece, but Jay Fulton and Marc Guehi were on hand to clear the danger to ensure Swansea remained ahead.
But the visitors quickly rediscovered their rhythm, and a burst forward from Ayew led to Routledge stinging the palms of Bialkowski with a rasping strike from inside the box before Fulton volleyed over from the following corner.
Lowe then had a shot blocked as Swansea continued to cause problems - something that has been a rarity of late.
Ryan Manning wanted a penalty just after the hour mark after appearing to be caught when bursting into the box from the left wing, but referee Robert Jones refused to point to the spot as Millwall made a triple change - with Kenneth Zohore, Mahlon Romeo and Connor Mahoney all being sent on.
The Swans remained threatening in attack while Woodman was untroubled thanks largely to the desire of all 11 men on the pitch who were delivering a fine response to what’s been a grim run.
And they doubled their lead 14 minutes from time as Routledge’s perfectly weighted through ball found Lowe who emphatically drilled beyond Bialkowski from the edge of the box to end his barren run in front of goal.
It could well represent a turning point for the summer signing who embarked on a run of seven goals in as many games earlier on in the campaign after a similar drought.
The collective effort was typified as Woodman then pulled off a stunning save to deny Zohore.
And Lowe netted his second goal in just nine minutes to cap off what was a stunning team performance and one that will no doubt give the Swans an enormous and timely lift ahead of their final six games of the campaign.