Steve Cooper’s Swansea City side picked up a crucial 1-0 home victory against Brentford in the first-leg of their Championship playoff semifinal tonight. The fixture was a fairly drab affair right from the off, and despite a flurry of shots being registered on the board by either side, there was an apparent lack of quality all over the pitch. The energy of the fixture picked up only on the back of the Bees going a man down, after a rash challenge by full-back Rico Henry. The Swans then produced one moment of pure quality in the late stages where Andre Ayew blasted in a sensational volley to give the home side a vital 1-0 advantage.
Here Are The Swansea City Player Ratings Vs Brentford:
Swansea City Player Ratings Vs Brentford
Erwin Mulder – 7
The stopper wasn’t called into action on too many occasions by the Brentford attackers, but he dove well to keep Ollie Watkins’ effort out in the opening half. Never really looked fazed.
Ben Cabango – 7.5
The defender put in an assured shift down the side of central defence tonight as he won multiple key headers in the box. Calm and collected on the ball and distributed it efficiently as well.
Mike Van der Hoorn – 8
The big centre-half was solid at the back, and he used his physicality to excellent effect all through the fixture. Made multiple important tackles and cleared the ball effectively too.
Marc Guehi – 8.5
The Chelsea loanee put in a sensational shift at the back as he was completely dominant inside the box. Cleared away any aerial attempts that the Bees made to penetrate the Swansea area.
Connor Roberts – 6.5
The speedster tried to bombard forward and overlap on every opportunity that was presented to him, but he wasn’t allowed as much room as he would’ve liked by the Brentford defenders.
Jay Fulton – 6.5
Sat in front of the Swans’ back-line tonight and provided some much-needed cover. Lost his man on a couple of occasions but made up for it with some neat moments in possession.
Mark Grimes – 6.5
The skipper had a couple of decent shots from a distance over the course of that fixture, but he didn’t manage to find the target. Passed the ball around with decent composure and defended well too.
Jake Bidwell – 6.5
The wing-back spent a majority of the second half in the Brentford half, and he linked up with the midfielders as well. Moved the ball around with confidence and tracked back when required.
Andre Ayew – 7
The veteran forward was deployed in one of the wide roles tonight, but he ensured to cut inside and go for goal on every opportunity. Broke the deadlock with a quite brilliant volley in the box.
Conor Gallagher – 6
The prodigious Chelsea man was far from his best upfront as he struggled to hold up play well enough to bring others into the game. Came up with an excellent touch on the lead up to the goal though.
Rhian Brewster – 6.5
The Liverpool academy graduate didn’t have his most influential of outings down the flank tonight as he struggled to make the ball stick in the attack. Unfortunate not to win a penalty in the second half.
