SWANS ON HIGH THANKS TO LOWE
Strikers are back in groove
STEVE Cooper breathed a sigh of relief as Andre Ayew and Jamal Lowe ended Swansea’s costly barren run in front of goal.
Four straight defeats, without scoring, effectively ended the Swans’ automatic promotion hopes.
But their dented confidence came flooding back after Ayew ended their goal drought just before half-time, with Lowe adding two goals after previously going 17 games without finding the net.
Cooper said: “I thought we were a real attacking threat all game.
“Wayne [Routledge] coming into the team, was excellent, Andre has scored at a brilliant time, just before half-time, and he was a real nuisance for the Millwall defenders.
“But Jamal, brilliant, two excellent goals. I haven’t seen his chance back, but I could see he was in an excellent position in the first half and it’s not affected him and he then scores two.
“To have character like that is a sign of a really good player.”
Swansea started nervously as Mason Bennett teed the ball up for Billy Mitchell, whose shot from the edge of the box was deflected just wide, with keeper Freddie Woodman stranded.
The Swans had a big chance to take the lead in the 27th minute when Jay Fulton’s pass got Lowe in behind, but Bartosz Bialkowski stood strong to make a good block.
Swansea’s goal drought finally came to an end on the stroke of half-time, as Conor Hourihane helped the ball on for Ayew, who bent a superb shot beyond Bialkowski into the far corner of the net. Their lead was almost cancelled out within a minute of the restart as Cooper’s header from Scott Malone’s cross came back off the inside of a post.
Fresh from surviving that scare, the Swans nearly doubled their lead when Ayew poked the ball through for Routledge, whose rising effort was beaten away by Bialkowski.
Bennett then slammed Danny McNamara’s cut-back wide for Millwall, as Lions manager Gary Rowett brought on Kenneth Zohore, Connor
Mahoney and Mahlon Romeo in an attempt to salvage something from the game.
However, in the 76th minute Lowe ran on to a smart pass by Routledge and progressed into the area before crashing in his first goal in 18 matches.
Zohore almost forced a grandstand finish when his terrific shot on the turn was tipped over by Woodman.
But the Swans added a third with five minutes to go when Ayew’s cut-back found Lowe in space and he calmly lifted the ball into the top corner for his second.
With Millwall’s play-off hopes surely over, boss Rowett said: “We wanted to keep the season going and see if someone slipped up in those positions.
“We didn’t do our bit, which was perform as well as we could. We knew it was a big ask to beat Swansea, they’re a good side, but I thought they played well.
“It’s been a tough season in many ways, so I can forgive the players every now and then for maybe not performing at the same level that we have done in recent weeks.”