SM
Barcelona vs. Valencia: 20 hrs 32 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
BL
Championship
Jul 29, 2020 at 7.45pm UK
Griffin Park
SL

Brentford
3 - 1
Swansea

Watkins (11'), Marcondes (15'), Mbeumo (46')
Dalsgaard (9'), Benrahma (83'), T. (90+3')
FT(HT: 2-0)
Brewster (78')
Cabango (54'), Dhanda (75'), Ayew (82'), Roberts (90+3')

Steve Cooper warns Swansea against playing for a draw against Brentford

:Headline: Steve Cooper warns Swansea against playing for a draw against Brentford: ID:408239: from db_amp
Andre Ayew gave the Swans a slender first-leg advantage over Brentford with a late strike at the Liberty Stadium.

Swansea boss Steve Cooper has warned about the dangers of sitting on a lead ahead of their play-off return at Brentford.

Andre Ayew's brilliant first-leg strike secured the Swans a slender 1-0 advantage heading into Wednesday's semi-final rematch at Griffin Park – the final competitive game to be played at the 116-year-old stadium.

But former England youth boss Cooper has no intention of playing for a draw as he attempts to end his first season of management in senior football by steering Swansea to the Sky Bet Championship play-off final at Wembley.

"We are going to treat the game as if it's 0-0," Cooper said. "I think it's a dangerous game if you don't do that.

"Of course a draw would be good, but we won't be playing for it. I don't know how you do that. It's not in our mentality to sit back.

"At times you have to manage games and sit back and see things out.

"That's part and parcel of football and getting over the line, but that's not the way we want to go."

Sixth-placed Swansea finished three places and 11 points below Brentford in the Championship standings after 46 games.

But the form guide is in Swansea's favour after a dramatic end to the season saw them claim the final play-off spot and Brentford miss out on automatic promotion.

Swansea have won their last three games, while the Bees have lost their last three.

"Brentford are obviously a good team and you can't take anything for granted," Cooper said.

"But we're focusing on ourselves rather than who we come up against, and we're in a really good place playing exciting football.

"I said before we're the afterthought of the four teams, but we're OK with that and believe in what we're doing."

Cooper says Swansea have been practising penalties in training, with the possibility of a spot-kick contest deciding the winner at Griffin Park.

Ayew had a penalty saved in the first leg before scoring the winner but the Ghana striker – who might have left Swansea last summer after a season on loan at Turkish club Fenerbahce – will step up should the visitors get a penalty in west London.

"He's our penalty taker. There's no reason to change," Cooper said of 18-goal Ayew.

"He's our big player. He's played in World Cups and the Champions League and he's in complete control of what he does.

"I thought he was as good as anybody on the pitch anyway before it (penalty miss) and he stepped up even more after it.

"He came in late last summer because of the Africa Cup of Nations but we hit it off straight away and he's been brilliant.

"We've never had a conversation about him going elsewhere. I'm sure he had opportunities and offers, but I've never had to persuade him to stay.

"He's never behaved like he wanted to go, the opposite in fact. It's been great to see a guy with his experience and ability operate as he has."

amp_article__408239 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2020-07-28 11:27:31:
html db last update - 2021-03-11 11:28:30 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Steve Cooper

Click here for more stories about Brentford

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal35255585285780
2Manchester CityMan City34247382325079
3Liverpool35229477364175
4Aston Villa35207873522167
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs33186967521560
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd34166125251154
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle341651374551953
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham351310125665-949
9Chelsea33139116359448
10Bournemouth35139135260-848
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves35137154855-746
12Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton341111125257-544
13Fulham35127165155-443
14Crystal Palace351010154557-1240
15Everton35128153748-1136
16Brentford3598185260-835
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3579194262-2026
18Luton TownLuton3567224877-2925
19Burnley3559213870-3224
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd3537253497-6316
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .