Year in review | April
In the fourth installment of our review of 2019, we look at how the Swans fared in April.
The Swans returned to winning ways in their first match of the month, as Nathan Dyer’s first league goals for the Swans in nearly five years set Graham Potter’s men on the way to an emphatic win over Brentford.
Dyer netted twice in the opening half, having last scored for the club in the league against West Brom in August 2014.
Daniel James made the game safe with 12 minutes remaining to continue an excellent run of form at the Liberty.
The result also extended Swansea’s run of successive victories against Brentford to seven games.
The Swans then made it two home wins in the space of four days as they completely dominated Middlesbrough at the Liberty.
Matt Grimes netted a penalty on his 50th Swans appearance and Wayne Routledge’s slick finish put the hosts in control at the break, with Connor Roberts putting the seal on victory with a close-range effort.
George Saville rifled home for the visitors, but the result was beyond doubt by then.
The win meant the Swans had won four in a row at home in the league for the first time in 13 months, and had seven wins from their last 10 games in SA1.
The winning streak continued as the Swans recorded three wins in a row for the first time during the 2018-19 season as they eased past nine-man Stoke at the Liberty.
The Swans had surged into a 2-0 lead thanks to a superb strike from Daniel James and Mike van der Hoorn’s close-range finish.
They were pegged back by James McClean on the stroke of half-time, but the visitors saw Bruno Martins Indi and Tom Edwards sent off – with all their cards coming for fouls on James – to end their hopes of a comeback.
Oli McBurnie made sure of the three points by heading in his 19th goal of the season in the closing stages.
The last time Swansea had won three league games in a row had been at the tail-end of 2016-17, and this result also ended Stoke’s run of six games without conceding a goal.
The celebrations were short-lived as the Swans suffered their heaviest defeat of the season in a 4-0 loss to Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road.
Darnell Furlong headed in the opener, before Tomer Hemed fired home a second. Hemed netted his second on 17 minutes, while Massimo Luongo compounded the Swans’ misery after the break.
Back on home soil, the Swans twice came from behind to win a seven-goal thriller against Rotherham.
The Swans trailed early on to a Michael Ihiekwe header and again at the break as Matt Crooks finished from close range.
Oli McBurnie had levelled, but the Swans took control as Barrie McKay, McBurnie’s second and a George Byers effort put them 4-2 up.
Captain Will Vaulks smashed home to narrow the visitors’ deficit but the Swans emerged victorious in a remarkable contest.
It continued Swansea’s best run of home form since the 2007-08 campaign and saw Potter’s men climb to 11th place.
Ipswich were the Swans’ next opponents as Wayne Routledge ended Swansea’s run of seven consecutive away defeats.
In a sluggish end-of-season contest, Routledge was the first to react to the rebound when Daniel James’ shot struck the post in the 57th minute to sink relegated Ipswich with a fine finish.
The Swans were also boosted with the return of Leroy Fer after three months out with a hamstring injury.
In their last match of the month, the Swans saw their Championship play-off hopes ended as they lost a two-goal lead to draw with Hull.
Graham Potter’s men had looked on course for a seventh-straight home victory when Oli McBurnie’s brace had them in ascendancy.
But Jarrod Bowen pulled one back for the tigers before Nouha Dicko levelled matters.
