Swansea City 2-1 Middlesbrough: Last-gasp Andre Ayew penalty gives Swans dramatic win

Neil Warnock leads Middlesbrough's protests after Swansea's contentious late penalty

Swansea City climbed to third in the Championship thanks to a dramatic 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough which left Neil Warnock fuming.

Andre Ayew scored a stoppage-time penalty for the second time in as many games to secure the win.

He had earlier put Swansea ahead, but Middlesbrough deservedly levelled in the 91st minute through Sam Morsy.

Ayew's spot-kick came in the 97th minute after referee Gavin Ward had initially given a corner.

Ward then changed his mind, possibly on the advice of his assistant, with the officials deeming that George Saville had fouled Jake Bidwell.

The late drama left Warnock raging at the officials as Swansea climbed to within a point of the automatic promotion places with two games in hand.

Middlesbrough stay ninth having lost despite controlling much of the game.

Warnock had been hoping to celebrate the new contract he signed this week with a positive result, with Middlesbrough announcing on Thursday that the 72-year-old has agreed to stay on as manager next season.

He is already making plans for 2021-22, though it is not yet clear which division Middlesbrough will be in given that the play-offs are within reach despite this result.

Swansea have loftier ambitions, although it was hard to tell as much during a scrappy first half in which neither side gained any control.

The visitors produced what threat there was in the opening half hour, with Marc Bola's centre creating a chance for Duncan Watmore only for Marc Guehi to make a goal-saving block.

Yannick Bolasie's long-ranger forced the first save of the day from Freddie Woodman, yet it was Swansea who went ahead through their one first-half shot on target.

Conor Hourihane's free-kick was dealt with initially, but Connor Roberts headed the ball back into the box and Bola and Jonny Howson collided as they attempted to clear.

The angle was tight as the ball dropped to Ayew, but his well-struck half-volley flashed past Marcus Bettinelli at the near post, thanks in part to a deflection off Djed Spence.

Warnock spent much of the first half berating the officials, but now his defenders took some flak.

Andre Ayew fires home his 12th goal of the season

His mood darkened early in the second half when referee Ward blew for a questionable foul by Bolasie on Jay Fulton just as Bola unleashed a fierce drive from the edge of the D which flew beyond Woodman and into the net.

Middlesbrough continued to ask questions, with Chuba Akpom firing wide before Saville headed narrowly off target.

Swansea were offering little going forward, largely because they could not keep hold of the ball, and the leveller the visitors deserved arrived when Nathaniel Mendez-Laing found Morsy and his shot beat a flat-footed Woodman at the near post.

Warnock urged his players to push on in search of victory, but it was Swansea who claimed an extraordinary win after Saville was controversially adjudged to have fouled Bidwell as he slid to clear.

Ayew had scored a 96th-minute penalty to give Cooper's men victory at Stoke on Wednesday.

He repeated the trick here, sending Bettinelli the wrong way before making a point of celebrating with Swansea's management team.

Swansea head coach Steve Cooper:

"It wasn't a fluid game. I think you come up against certain teams, managers and styles and you know it's going to look a certain way at times. It was probably a bit too much of that, truth be told.

"It's a busy schedule. It was only a couple of days ago we were four hours away, we didn't get back until 3.30am, they've had an extra day's rest, made a load of changes and they've got a massive squad to pick from.

"It was going to be tough. But if ever there's a message to give to supporters to thank them for their support having been one year away from the stadium, then that's for them.

"That is for them. That is for the Jack Army because they've seen a team there that is absolutely fighting like mad for them."

Middlesbrough manager Neil Warnock:

"I'm sure I'll get an apology now from (director of referees) Alan Wiley, which I've had three or four times in the last six weeks. I've had that many apologies I don't know what to do with them.

"He (Gavin Ward) thought it was a free-kick to them (and so disallowed Marc Bola's goal). He hadn't see (Yannick) Bolasie won the ball. It's either a penalty or a goal. He's blown the whistle before Bola's shot hit the goal and gave a defensive free-kick.

"I'm a little bit bewildered about the penalty. He pointed for a corner kick but he assures me that when he thought about it he thought George (Saville) didn't get any of the ball and he thought it was a penalty. I asked 'Why did you point to the corner flag? Were you guessing?'. That's what he said.

"We are going to have to be a good team next year, to overcome all the decisions that go against us. But we will be. We'll do it off our own bat. I thought we played some great stuff today and i was really pleased. I thought we came of age."