Steve Cooper’s sublime substitutes against Reading secure Swansea play-off spot

The result was just what the doctor ordered as just one point was required to confirm the Swans’ place in the play-offs.

The visitors started the more brightly and after the first minute they were inches away from the perfect start.

Jamal Lowe, who started as a left-winger instead of through the middle, shifted the ball on to his stronger right foot and delivered a mouth-watering cross for Ben Cabango of all people to attack. The defender’s header failed to hit the target but it was a statement of intent from Cooper’s men.

Regardless of going 1-0 down in the first-half, courtesy of Yakou Meite’s terrifically taken diving header, Cooper’s flurry of substitutes after 64 minutes turned the game on its head for Swansea after Andre Ayew, Morgan Whittaker and Connor Roberts were introduced.

The former was the man of the moment.

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The Ghanaian was sidelined midweek because of a hamstring problem but he showed no signs of fatigue during his 30-minute cameo.

He was emphatic after coming on for Liam Cullen and injected energy as soon as he entered the field.

Ayew was at the forefront of Swansea’s attack immediately. Three minutes after coming on, the Swans’ highest earner played an integral part of Lowe’s equaliser.

He pinned Liam Moore before flicking the ball in between the legs of the Reading central defender. He took three players out of the move in the process, allowing Jay Fulton to drive 20-yards into the penalty area.

The midfielder’s strike stung the palms of Rafael Cabral, but Lowe was there to instinctively tap in the rebound.

Just short of 20 minutes later, Ayew put his side in front by completing an exquisite team goal.

Although Reading switched off defensively, Swansea capitalised in fine fashion. Jake Bidwell played a one-two with Lowe before he drifted into the area.

With no pressure on the ball, Bidwell managed to pick out a perfectly positioned Ayew who made no mistake from eight yards out.

Despite players blocking all avenues on the line, the forward still managed to rifle the ball into the back of the net to provide his side the all-important one-goal cushion.

Ayew was just as creative off the ball as he was on it. Reading flooded bodies forward and were caught 2v2 on the counter. Lowe and substitute Ayew broke forwards with the Ghanaian doing the unselfish work, dragging away the defenders with his movement for Lowe to go alone.

The Jamaica international rattled the woodwork with his shot before Whittaker followed up with a rash rebound.

Swansea manager Steve Cooper was full of praise for his ‘big player’ Ayew:

“Andre is a really good player and a really good person.

“The team comes first with him, not himself. You saw that today.

“He thrives on being the big player and we’re very happy to have him.

“In the first half, there was nothing much between the teams. They got the lead and, though we threatened a few times, we didn’t have enough shots on goal.

“The message at half-time was to keep on going and keep calm and be a bit more positive with our forward passing.

“We did that, scored two good goals and then, basically, we just wanted to get that point.”

Reading piled on the pressure as they needed three points to stand any chance of sneaking into the play-off places and going all-out attack paid dividends. Substitute Tomás Esteves latched on to a Sone Aluko cutback before firing back across Freddie Woodman’s goal.

Regardless, the Swansea City dugout roared at the final whistle as they completed a top six finish for the second time in two seasons.

The draw, which felt like a win for Cooper, gives the Swans respite before the play-off semi-finals. They’ll join Barnsley, Bournemouth and Brentford in the contest for Premier League football next season.

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