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Blackburn logo
Championship | Gameweek 25
Mar 9, 2021 at 6pm UK
Ewood Park
Swansea logo

Blackburn
1 - 1
Swansea

Dack (37')
Rankin-Costello (53')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Ayew (41' pen.)
Cabango (68')

Steve Cooper admits Blackburn draw "could have been worse"

Andre Ayew scored his fourth penalty in as many games.

Swansea manager Steve Cooper was grateful to come away with a point as his side missed a chance to move into the automatic promotion places in a 1-1 draw at Blackburn.

Andre Ayew scored his fourth penalty in as many games to draw Swansea level moments after Bradley Dack's 37th-minute opener, but Ayew's spot-kick was the Swans' only shot on target as they were left hanging on in the second half.

The point is enough to move them level with second-placed Watford, still with a game in hand on the Hornets, and Cooper was grateful to take at least something from the game given how many chances Blackburn created.

"It could have been worse," he said. "We're a point better off with one of these games in hand. If sometimes you don't play well, you make sure you don't lose.

"I am going to focus on the positives, knowing that we can play better."

Blackburn were on the front foot from the very start, appealing for a penalty within a couple of minutes and creating chances as Dack, Ben Brereton and Tyrhys Dolan combined to good effect.

Swansea struggled to build any momentum, with Cooper admitting it was well short of the performance levels he wants – and will need to see – if they are to come out on top in what looks like a battle for second place behind Norwich in the Sky Bet Championship.

"Certainly in the first half I didn't like us at all. That's not the team I want us to be in terms of our style, our identity," he said.

"If we're going to make mistakes we've got to do it our way. That wasn't the case in the first half and it needed addressing in the second, which was a little bit better but not brilliant.

"I didn't love the game, I certainly didn't love our performance but credit to Blackburn, they played well."

Things certainly would have been worse but for the nerve of Ayew, who once again converted from the spot after Jay Fulton went down under a challenge from Sam Gallagher.

"Before the Stoke game I think we'd only had two penalties and now we're up to five," Cooper said. "I haven't seen it back, but I'm just pleased we're getting into those positions."

Asked about Ayew's conversion rate, Cooper added: "I don't want to say anything, I don't want to give it the kiss of death. We'll talk about it at the end of the season."

While Cooper was grateful to leave Ewood Park with a point, Tony Mowbray was left frustrated that a good performance was not rewarded with all three.

After a seven-game winless run came to an end at Millwall at the weekend, few would have grumbled if they had made it back-to-back victories here on the balance of play.

"I think the performance level is what we've been getting," Mowbray said.

"We've played against a decent side and were in the ascendency for most of the game. I think we deserved better.

"There was enough to suggest we could have won it, scrambling around in their six-yard box a few times, so it's a bit frustrating.

"We can beat anybody in this league and tonight we nearly beat the team who could be second."

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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
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2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd1510321971231
3Leeds UnitedLeeds158522491529
4Burnley157621861227
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom15672169725
6Watford158162322125
7Middlesbrough157352317624
8Millwall156541813523
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn156451917222
10Bristol City155732019122
11Swansea CitySwansea155461110119
12Derby CountyDerby155461919019
13Stoke CityStoke155461819-119
14Norwich CityNorwich154652322118
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16Oxford UnitedOxford Utd154561718-117
17Coventry CityCoventry154472021-116
18Plymouth ArgylePlymouth154471526-1116
19Hull City153661620-415
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21Luton TownLuton154381726-915
22Cardiff CityCardiff154381423-915
23Portsmouth152671628-1212
24Queens Park RangersQPR151771225-1310


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