MX23RW : Friday, January 3 21:19:18| >> :600:295286:295286:
[monks data]
Swansea logo
Championship | Gameweek 16
Dec 5, 2020 at 3pm UK
Liberty Stadium
Luton Town

Swansea
2 - 0
Luton

Roberts (2'), Ayew (90')
Roberts (45')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Rea (52'), Pearson (59')
Pearson (69')

Swansea close the gap on Norwich with victory over 10-man Luton

The Swans could go top of the table on Tuesday if they beat former leaders Bournemouth and other results go their way.

Swansea moved to within two points of Sky Bet Championship leaders Norwich with a 2-0 victory over 10-man Luton.

Connor Roberts' goal inside the first two minutes and Andre Ayew's seventh of the season took the Swans back into the play-off places after starting the day in seventh.

Luton's inconsistent form continued as they suffered their second defeat in a week on Welsh soil to remain 12th.

Swansea could now go top on Tuesday if they beat former leaders Bournemouth and other results go their way.

Steve Cooper made five changes to the Swans side beaten at Middlesbrough in midweek, with captain Matt Grimes returning to the starting XI alongside Yan Dhanda after his consolation goal on Wednesday night.

Kyle Naughton, Jake Bidwell and Liam Cullen returned in place of Ryan Bennett, Ryan Manning and Jamal Lowe.

Nathan Jones returned to South Wales a week on from Luton's 4-0 humbling at the hands of Cardiff.

The Hatters recovered with a stunning victory over high-flying Norwich in the first competitive match attended by supporters since the Covid-19 outbreak in midweek.

Jones made two alterations to the successful XI, handing Dan Potts and James Bree their first starts in the league this season, in place of Rhys Norrington-Davies and Martin Cranie.

After conceding after four minutes on their last trip to Wales, Luton found themselves behind inside the second at the Liberty Stadium.

Ayew combined with Cullen on the edge of the penalty area before laying the ball off for Roberts, who fired a left-footed shot past goalkeeper James Shea via a deflection off Dan Potts for his second goal in three matches.

The Hatters launched a response and should have found the equaliser in the 26th minute after Ayew's wayward pass allowed Jordan Clarke to send a low cross into the box.

Swansea goalkeeper Freddie Woodman could only palm the ball into the path of Luke Berry, but the midfielder fired over the bar from eight yards with the goal gaping.

Luton centre-half Matty Pearson was shown a yellow card for a cynical late foul on Ayew on the hour mark.

He then received a second yellow and subsequent red card 10 minutes later after making contact with the head of Marc Guehi with an attempted overhead kick at a corner.

The 10 men of Luton would have been level moments later had Ayew not got back on his own line to clear Glen Rea's header away at the last.

And the Ghana striker made his mark at the other end of the pitch in the 90th minute when he picked up the ball from Kasey Palmer, turned to drive at goal and unleashed a powerful left-footed shot into the bottom corner.

ID:425267: cacheID:425267:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5923:
Written by
P A
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Teemu Pukki celebrates after scoring for Norwich City against Stoke City in the Championship on November 24, 2020
Read Next:
Saturday's Championship predictions including Norwich vs. Sheffield Wednesday
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds25157345162952
2Burnley25131023092149
3Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd25156434161849
4Sunderland25138438221647
5Middlesbrough25117742311140
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom25912431201139
7Blackburn RoversBlackburn2411672822639
8Watford2411493434037
9Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds2510693638-236
10Bristol City2581073230234
11Norwich CityNorwich258984136533
12Swansea CitySwansea2596102929033
13Millwall247892221129
14Coventry CityCoventry2578103335-229
15Preston North EndPreston2561182733-629
16Queens Park RangersQPR2561182733-629
17Derby CountyDerby2576123134-327
18Oxford UnitedOxford Utd2476112739-1227
19Stoke CityStoke2568112432-826
20Luton TownLuton2574142642-1625
21Portsmouth2358103040-1023
22Hull City2557132233-1122
23Cardiff CityCardiff2457122439-1522
24Plymouth ArgylePlymouth2447132453-2919


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!