Swansea City 0-0 Reading

Published on: 30 December 2020

Rafael Cabral gets to the ball ahead of Connor Roberts

Swansea City were forced to settle for a point as they failed to break down fellow Championship promotion hopefuls Reading.

Steve Cooper's side played some pretty football to match the resplendent new playing surface at the Liberty Stadium but could not conjure enough quality in the final third to claim victory.

Reading goalkeeper Rafael Cabral made a succession of saves to keep Swansea at bay, with Andre Ayew going closest to finding a breakthrough.

Veljko Paunovic's men finished up happy with the draw, which means they stay sixth in the table.

Swansea, who slipped a place to third after Brentford's win over Bournemouth, will be frustrated to have missed a chance to close the gap on leaders Norwich City to just two points.

The Swans have the best defensive record in the EFL - this was their 13th clean sheet in 22 league games this season - but could not find the decisive goal their performance deserved.

Before kick-off, as has become customary at matches across the country, both teams took the knee in support of Black Lives Matter.

What was not familiar was the smattering of boos and horns being sounded outside the stadium around the time the gesture was made.

Once the football got under way, it was the hosts who got into their stride first.

Swansea had taken the unusual step of replacing their pitch midway through the season, with Cooper admitting something had to be done in order to maintain the integrity of the league.

The old surface - which was damaged by disease and a particularly wet October - was ripped up after the win over Barnsley on 19 December, leaving little time for its replacement to bed in.

But there were no signs of teething problems as Ayew had Swansea's first effort, an acrobatic volley which flashed over the bar.

Ayew's 25-yard drive then flew straight at Cabral before a sweet Swansea move then saw Connor Roberts cross for the Ghana captain, whose header was clawed to safety.

The chance of the half came Jake Bidwell nodded Matt Grimes' corner down for fellow defender Marc Guehi, who sent a half-volley wastefully over the bar from point-blank range.

Ryan Bennett wins this header ahead of Sam Baldock but the Swansea defender later came off clutching his hamstring

Reading were on the back foot for most of the first period but did threaten at a couple of set-pieces of their own, with Tom McIntrye's volley forcing a sharp save from Freddie Woodman before the Swansea keeper gathered Sam Baldock's drive.

Swansea were soon threatening again after the break, with substitute Joel Latibeaudiere and Bidwell headers drawing further saves from Cabral.

Ayew looked poised to find a winner 19 minutes from time when he rose high to meet Roberts' cross, but his goalbound header was superbly saved by Reading's Brazilian keeper.

It was Woodman who made the last stop of the night, pushing McIntrye's header over to deny the visitors a smash-and-grab win.

    Line-upsMatch StatsLive Text

Line-upsSwansea

    1Woodman44Cabango2BennettBooked at 45minsSubstituted forLatibeaudiereat 53'minutes5Guehi23Roberts6Fulton8Grimes24Bidwell7SmithSubstituted forPalmerat 74'minutes10A Ayew9LoweSubstituted forGyökeresat 87'minutes

Substitutes

    3Manning13Benda14Gyökeres15Routledge21Dhanda22Latibeaudiere31Cooper41Garrick45Palmer

Reading

    33Cabral Barbosa2Pontes Esteves29Holmes4Morrison5McIntyre8Rinomhota28Laurent7Olise30SemedoSubstituted forAlukoat 58'minutes14EjariaSubstituted forRichardsat 73'minutes9BaldockSubstituted forSwiftat 67'minutes

Substitutes

    3Richards10Swift22Southwood24Aluko37Melvin-Lambert43Watson44East48Dorsett

Referee:David WebbMatch StatsHome TeamSwanseaAway TeamReadingPossessionHome58%Away42%ShotsHome11Away8Shots on TargetHome6Away3CornersHome7Away2FoulsHome12Away14Live TextPost update

Match ends, Swansea City 0, Reading 0.

90'+5'Full Time

Second Half ends, Swansea City 0, Reading 0.

90'+4'Post update

André Ayew (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

90'+4'Post update

Foul by Josh Laurent (Reading).

90'+2'Post update

Foul by Kasey Palmer (Swansea City).

90'+2'Post update

Tom McIntyre (Reading) wins a free kick on the left wing.

90'+2'Post update

Foul by Marc Guehi (Swansea City).

90'+2'Post update

John Swift (Reading) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

90'Post update

Viktor Gyökeres (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

90'Post update

Foul by Josh Laurent (Reading).

88'Post update

Viktor Gyökeres (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

88'Post update

Foul by Andy Rinomhota (Reading).

87'Substitution

Substitution, Swansea City. Viktor Gyökeres replaces Jamal Lowe.

86'Post update

André Ayew (Swansea City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

86'Post update

Foul by Thomas Holmes (Reading).

85'Post update

Foul by Kasey Palmer (Swansea City).

85'Post update

Andy Rinomhota (Reading) wins a free kick on the right wing.

85'Post update

Attempt missed. Michael Morrison (Reading) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Michael Olise with a cross following a corner.

84'Post update

Corner, Reading. Conceded by Freddie Woodman.

84'Post update

Attempt saved. Tom McIntyre (Reading) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Michael Olise with a cross.

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