Swansea 2-2 BournemouthHome team scorers
Andre Ayew 28
Jonjo Shelvey 39 Pen
Away team scorers
Joshua King 10
Dan Gosling 26
It was not the result that either manager wanted or needed but any sense of frustration and injustice belonged to Eddie Howe after Bournemouth squandered a two-goal lead and saw an extremely harsh penalty awarded against them on a day when the Swansea City supporters briefly threatened to turn on their team.
André Ayew’s instinctive back-heel, only 87 seconds after Dan Gosling had doubled Bournemouth’s advantage, could not have been better timed from Swansea’s point of view. The mood changed and so did the momentum of the game for a period as Swansea, through a slice of good fortune, hauled themselves level when Jonjo Shelvey converted from the spot after Simon Francis was adjudged to have tripped Ayew.
It appeared to be a poor decision from Andre Marriner, the referee, yet Swansea could not take full advantage of it as they struggled to impose themselves against a Bournemouth side that played with a confidence and belief that was hard to reconcile with their league position and poor run of form.
As for Swansea, they have now won only one of their last nine league games and the crowd’s reaction at the final whistle told its own story. It was neither a performance nor a result to ease the pressure on Garry Monk, whose side have badly lost their way since the beginning of the season.
They certainly made a poor start here. Swansea were 2-0 down inside 26 minutes and some of the defending was shambolic. Bournemouth, without a goal in three matches, could not believe their luck and it was tempting to wonder what was going through Monk’s mind when boos reverberated around the stadium after Gosling swept in the visitors’ second.
Driving at the heart of the Swansea defence, Charlie Daniels carried the ball from deep inside his own half before off-loading to Harry Arter, who could easily have opted to shoot. Instead he slipped the ball to Matt Ritchie, who was afforded so much time and space that he was able to hold the ball and wait for Gosling to stride into the area before planting a 14-yard shot in the top corner.
The defending that led to the opening goal had been even worse. Breaking down the Bournemouth left, Junior Stanislas overran the ball only for Kyle Bartley, one of three Swansea players making their first Premier League start of the season, to kick his clearance against Ki Sung-yueng. Stanislas accepted the gift as the ball rebounded to him and the winger delivered a low cross that King turned in from six yards.
Wayne Routledge was denied by Adam Federici and the Bournemouth keeper produced another fine save to keep out Éder’s header but Swansea looked far from convincing and Gosling’s goal highlighted their brittle confidence. Ayew, however, struck at just the right time to throw them a lifeline.
Neil Taylor delivered a deep cross from the left and Shelvey, after Daniels could only half-clear, headed to the feet of Ayew, who was stood on the edge of the six-yard box and, in the eyes of the Bournemouth players, marginally offside. There was no flag raised, however, and Ayew, showing some dexterous footwork, controlled the ball with his right foot and back-heeled home with his left.
Bournemouth were left feeling more aggrieved after Swansea’s second goal. Running on to a clever pass from Leon Britton, Ayew seemed to trip over his own feet after slight initial contact from Francis. Marriner, though, pointed straight to the spot, Howe retreated to the dugout with one hand over his eyes in a state of disbelief and Shelvey dispatched his penalty with the minimum of fuss.
Bournemouth still carried the much greater threat in the second half, though, the visitors looking far more accomplished in possession and pinning Swansea back for long periods. Twice the ball dropped to Steve Cook in the area – the wrong man in the right place – and on both occasions the Bournemouth central defender failed to trouble Lukasz Fabianski.
Monk responded by introducing Jefferson Montero, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Bafétimbi Gomis, three players who would have been nailed on starters at the beginning of the season, but Swansea never looked like getting the winner that Monk so badly needed.
Guardian
