Middlesbrough 0-3 Swansea City: Rhian Brewster brace helps Swans to victory
- Published
Despite only joining on loan in January, Rhian Brewster, shown here scoring his second goal, is Swansea's top scorer this term with six goals
Swansea City impressed as the Championship resumed as a powerful display at the Riverside earned them a 3-0 win over a poor Middlesbrough.
Liverpool loanee Rhian Brewster scored twice in the opening 30 minutes and Andre Ayew added a penalty as the Swans tore into the hosts.
Aldo Kalulu's wild lunge earned a yellow card on the stroke of half-time with the Swans lucky it was not red.
Middlesbrough were more competitive after the break but Swansea held firm.
Steve Cooper's side, who started the season so well, ended the day a point off the play-offs after looking buoyed by the long break and utterly dominated the first half at the Riverside.
They hit the woodwork twice before they opened the scoring, with Kalulu clipping the post after racing clear from George Friend's slip after only six minutes.
They were even closer when Conor Gallagher headed Ayew's cross across goal on 15 minutes, but Brewster could only hit the post from an acute angle.
Ayew was causing Jonathan Woodgate's side all sorts of problems and his powerful run produced the opener on 18 minutes as he picked out a perfect cross for Brewster, who slotted home through the legs of goalkeeper Dejan Stojanovic.
That lead was doubled three minutes later as Brewster volleyed into the net via the ground after Kalulu's cross, a fine finish to complete a sweeping Swans attack.
Steve Cooper's side were rampant and when Friend clipped Gallagher in the box on 32 minutes, Ayew calmly dispatched the penalty to make it 3-0 and cap a brilliant individual display.
A superb first half performance by the Swans was only tarnished by Kalulu's wild, head-high lunge on Hayden Coulson, which saw him receive just a yellow card, though it could easily have been red.
Friend headed wide for the hosts, but they looked second best and it was no surprise that Woodgate opted to make a double change at the break, introducing Patrick Roberts and Djed Spence for Ryan Shotton and Adam Clayton.
The second half was a far more even contest of few chances, with the home substitutes impressing, but Swansea were easily able to hold firm and set a marker down to the other sides chasing a Championship play-off berth.
They almost added a fourth in injury time, but George Byers' effort from 25-yards crashed back off the post with subs Jordan Garrick and Bersant Celina just unable to turn home the rebound.
Middlesbrough manager Jonathan Woodgate BBC Radio Tees Sport:
"We were very poor and got caught too easily.
"Swansea have some excellent players and we just couldn't live with them.
"It is not nice to see that kind of performance and it wasn't good enough.
"There were no signs on the training ground of that performance coming. It isn't good enough, it is concerning and now we've got a week to put it right."
Swansea manager Steve Cooper told BBC Radio Wales Sport:
Swansea City: Victory away at Middlesbrough 'very pleasing' - Steve Cooper
"To win 3-0 away from home is a fantastic result at anytime in the season, never mind after however many months without playing.
"We deserved the clean sheet and could have scored a fourth as well.
"It's a fantastic result and a great re-start for us. It is important to enjoy victories like this.
"It was a real team performance."