The Championship Playoffs: Ayew helps Swansea to a first leg advantage

Swansea City scraped past Barnsley to a 1-0 win at Oakwell in South Yorkshire with Andre Ayew curling in the only goal of the match.

Despite Barnsley having the larger portion of chances throughout the game, it was the Welsh side that took the first step to the final with Ayew curling in a shot from just inside the box to silence a strong 4000 or so crowd.

The game wasn’t the easiest to navigate for either team, with both sides playing to their strengths; the Tykes continuously attempting to use USA international, Daryl Dikes size to get through the Swansea back line.

Barnsley seemed to be on top through the first half, but Ayew’s solo effort on 39 minutes stunned the Reds who had to galvanise themselves for the second half.

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Carlton Morris was introduced for the Yorkshire side at half time by boss Valerien Ismael and immediately helped up the tempo to the way Barnsley had been at this season.

Morris immediately made an impact forcing on-loan Swansea goalkeeper Freddie Woodman into a double save.

Barnsley Captain Alex Mowatt had a shot deflected off target before Cauley Woodrow forced Woodman into another low save. But try as they would and the Tykes would not find that elusive home goal.

Ismael stated that “Anything can happen in the Playoffs”.

With Swansea boss Steve Cooper saying he knew Ayew could always pull a goal out of nothing:

"I was pleased with the effort. We knew what kind of game it would be and we stood up well to it. The two centre backs [Guehi and Cabango] are both 20 years old and they were excellent.We know Andre can do that. It was a real moment of excellence.It was a really good atmosphere and that has whetted the appetite for Saturday now. It will be a special moment to play in front of our fans again. (Via: BBC Sport)"

Barnsley travels to South Wales to try and overturn the 1-0 deficit and defy the odds. Hopefully, there are a lot more goals to look forward to from both second legs.