Swansea 2-0 Bristol City: Liam Cullen and Olivier Ncham score their first win in seven matches.
Swansea beat Bristol City 2-0 to remove any lingering fears of being sucked into a relegation battle in the Championship on Sunday.
Liam Cullen and Olivier Ncham scored the goal as Swansea secured their first win in seven matches and moved within ten points of 22nd-placed Huddersfield with eight matches remaining.
Bristol City are two points better than Swans after their third defeat in five matches.
Robins did little to trouble Andy Fischer, the goalkeeper under pressure after recent errors, although Andreas Wiemann did see an injury-time try disallowed for offside as Swansea recorded their first clean sheet of 2023.
The hosts were fourth in the standings after beating Welsh rivals Cardiff in October and are hoping to meet the challenge of promotion. But a run of three wins in 21 games has taken them ever closer to losing relegation.
Bristol City won the FA Cup replay here in January, but Swansea’s need for a quick start was greater and Joel Beroy fired a wide ball from an angled position after just 11 seconds.
Colin missed a chance in the sixth minute as he failed to control Liam Walsh’s clever pass in front of goal and Ryan Manning saw his flailing effort saved by Zack Fenner.
Robins goalkeeper Max O’Leary was tested for the first time just before the half-hour mark when Harry Darling met Matt Grimes’ diagonal ball into the far corner. O’Leary pushed Darling’s header and Walsh’s follow-up effort was stopped by Cameron Bring.
The visitors’ reprieve was short-lived as Walsh found Ntcham releasing Cameroonian midfielder Colin who stretched for his seventh goal of the season.
Swansea’s Joel Perroy (left) and Matt Grimes celebrate after picking up three vital points
Mark Sykes fired straight at Fisher from 25 yards before Bristol City’s best opening came in the dying embers of the first half. Alex Scott reached the byline with great skill and set up Andy King for a shooting opportunity that Piroe put out.
The pattern of the contest remained the same after the break as Colin cleared the crossbar and Berwe headed for the post.
Bristol City sent on Faymann and Anis Mohammadi to provide an attacking threat, and Fisher had to collect Omar Taylor-Clark’s drive from distance.
Swansea put the competition to bed 13 minutes from time when Ntcham sprinted through the tired Robins midfield.
Jimmy Patterson’s cross was headed in by fellow substitute Morgan Whitaker, and Ntcham deflected the ball onto his right foot to beat O’Leary from 14 yards.
