Rovers get show of And’s
AYEW ENSURES MOWBRAY’S SWANS JINX CONTINUES
ANDRE AYEW proved why he remains so vital to Swansea City as he made it another day to forget against the Welsh club for Tony Mowbray.
Blackburn boss Mowbray has now managed in seven games against the Swans and is yet to savour a winning feeling.
Even arriving in Wales as the Championship’s top scorers with 18 goals didn’t help Rovers, who were sunk by two thumping headers – one from Ayew in the second half after a first from Ben Cabango.
Ayew is a relic from
Swansea’s Premier League days, but a priceless one for head coach Steve Cooper who handed the Ghanaian the captaincy after leaving regular skipper Matt Grimes on the bench.
The streetwise striker was the Swans’ focal point – drawing fouls and plenty of defenders – before heading powerfully home from Yan Dhanda’s accurate cross just past the hour.
The win lifted Swansea to second in the table and cut the gap to leaders Reading to four points. “Andre is a leader, regardless of whether or not he wears the armband,” said Cooper.
“He always stands up and leads by example. He’s a massive influence at this club.
“Not every game can be the purest, I think some times you have to accept that, even though that’s what we aim for.
“But it’s also a good sign that in those games, you can keep a clean sheet against a team that have scored more goals and had more shots than any other team so far.
It was a fantastic header from Cabango. You look at him and you can see that he’s a guy who is more than capable of doing that.”
Adam Armstrong should have scored for Rovers early on and Corry Evans missed a second half opportunity, but for the most part Mowbray’s men were muted.
They were also bullied when Cabango, the Swans’ 20-year-old Wales centreback, held off the challenge of Darragh Lenihan to pump his header home direct from a corner.
Mowbray admitted: “I’m disappointed, especially with the goals we gave away. They were unlike us. It must be two years since we gave away a goal from a direct header at a corner.
“It was a frustrating day because we had some opportunities. In Andre Ayew, you can see they have a class striker – one of the best in this division.” SWANSEA: Woodman 7; Naughton 6, Cabango 7, Guehi 6; Roberts 7, Smith 6, Fulton 6, Bidwell 6; Dhanda 7 (Palmer 75, 6); Ayew 8, Lowe 6 (Gyokeres 66, 5).
Unused subs: Benda, Bennett, Manning, Grimes, Routledge.
BLACKBURN: Pears 6, Nyambe 6, Lenihan 5, Williams 6, Rankin- Costello 6; Trybull 5, Holtby 6; Evans 6 (Dolan 60), Elliott 6, Armstrong 7 (Davenport 79); Brereton 7 (Gallagher 60, 5). Unused subs: Stergiakis, Wharton, Buckley, Chapman.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Andre Ayew. Drew the sting from Blackburn’s defenders then sealed the win with venomous header. REFEREE: Dean Whitestone 7.