Swansea City vs West Bromwich Albion. Premier League.
Swansea.com StadiumAttendance20,789.
Saturday 26 December 2015 18:22, UK
Swansea moved out of the Premier League relegation zone after holding on to beat West Brom 1-0 at the Liberty Stadium.
The only goal of the game came in the ninth minute when Angel Rangel's shot hit the post and Boaz Myhill failed to hold the rebound, allowing Ki Sung-Yueng to finish from close range.
Neither side created many clear chances in a scrappy contest and Swansea, whose last victory was on October 24, held on for a much-needed victory under caretaker manager Alan Curtis.
It is Curtis' first win since taking charge after the sacking of Garry Monk a fortnight ago and sees the Swans move just two points behind West Brom in the table.
The defeat means the Baggies, who were on the front foot for much of the second half, have not won in five matches - their worst run under manager Tony Pulis.
Both sides made two changes from their last outings, with Rickie Lambert starting ahead of Saido Berahino for the visitors and Bafetimbi Gomis on the bench for Swansea.
With confidence low at the Liberty, an early goal was just what was required and it arrived thanks to a mistake from Myhill.
It looked as though the Wales international would gather Rangel's shot after it hit the post and rebounded into his body, but he was unable to hold on and Ki followed up quickly to finish.
It was just the start that Swansea wanted and they continued to apply pressure as Gylfi Sigurdsson shot at Myhill after good work from Wayne Routledge.
But the out-of-form hosts were unable to build on the goal and West Brom grew into the match, even if they failed to fashion many clear opportunities.
Their best moments came from set pieces as Chris Brunt's free-kick deflected just over and an enticing corner was flicked across the face of goal by Gareth McAuley.
There was little in the way of goalmouth action at either end even after West Brom's introduction of Berahino and Stephane Sessegnon in the second half.
Most of the chances were created by the visitors as Lukasz Fabianski saved quite comfortably from James Morrison and Lambert while Craig Dawson headed into the ground from a corner.
West Brom continued to push for a late equaliser but were unable to break down a stubborn Swansea defence as they held on for victory.
Player ratings
Swansea: Fabianski (6), Rangel (6), Fernandez (5), Williams (7), Taylor (6), Britton (7), Ki (7), Sigurdsson (5), Routledge (6), Montero (5), Ayew (5).
Subs used: Cork (5), Shelvey (5), Barrow (5).
West Brom: Myhill (4), Olsson (6), Yacob (5), McAuley (6), Dawson (6), Evans (7), Fletcher (6), Morrison (6), Gardner (6), Brunt (6), Lambert (6).
Subs used: Berahino (5), McManaman (5), Sessegnon (5).
Man of the match: Leon Britton.
