Phil SumblerTwo games in four days. Two of them decided by a penalty in the last minute of stoppage time. On both occasions the Swans leading scorer in Andre Ayew has put the penalty away with a composure to be admired. How important will those four points gained be come the middle of May?
On both match reports I have referenced that if ever there was a man you would want in that situation it would be Andre Ayew and on both occasions he has delivered what every Swansea fan would want him to.
An Andre Ayew penalty miss is as rare as Neil Warnock praising a referee and it does seem at times as if he thrives on the pressure situations. And while much of the focus will be on the two penalties we should not dismiss completely the composure he showed when putting the Swans ahead in the first half – as comprehensive as the finish was it was not an easy chance especially in a game where any goalscoring chances were so few and far between.
Ayew says he is always happy to take on the responsibility when needed “I’m happy to take the responsibility on my shoulders. I will never shy away from fronting up and facing the pressure situations, so it’s my duty to take penalties at difficult moments.
“Being the penalty taker is not always rosy, but it’s something I must do for the team.
“I’m not going to give away any secrets on my penalties, but all I want to see is the ball hit the net.
“It was such a late moment in the game, and it was a great relief to see the ball go in.”
Ayew’s penalty technique is one that will always make fans nervous – especially those fans who want him to score – but it is effective and he does seem to have the knack of outwitting the goalkeeper and forcing them to commit before he actually strikes the ball.
Ayew has now scored 9 of his 10 penalties for the Swans. Agonisingly his last miss was in the pressure cooker position of the play off semi final last year but he has not let that put him off and scored four from four this season which of course includes three in the last three games.
It has now been a year since the Swans played a match in front of their fans and Ayew was quick to join manager Steve Cooper in saying that the wins this week were for the fans
“The wins this week – it’s all for the fans. We know they are watching from home and can’t be at the stadium, but we know they are smiling after these games,” said the Swans top scorer.
“I’m sure they’ve enjoyed this week – sorry we’ve left it late with the winning goals! I’m sure they celebrated even louder at the final whistle because of the lateness of the goals.
“But we want them to know that we are always giving our all for our club. I’m sure they see that in our performances.”
