Swansea City have lifted their hopes of Premier League survival by claiming a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park under the watchful eye of new manager Paul Clement.
Wilfried Zaha cancelled out Alfie Mawson's opener, but Angel Rangel found the winner in the 88th minute, scoring his first goal in over three years, which pushed the Swans to within one point of safety.
With new manager Clement sitting in the stands, the players tried to impress as they started the game strongly by dominating possession and putting the hosts under pressure.
The first opportunity fell to Fernando Llorente, whose header from inside the box dropped wide after latching on to Wayne Routledge's cross, and the Spaniard was later involved again as he played in Jack Cork, but the midfielder took too long to get a shot away and the move broke down.
Yohan Cabaye also forced a save from Lukasz Fabianski when he followed up his free kick with a shot towards the bottom corner, while Ki Sung-yueng squandered an opportunity from a corner kick when his low shot fired wide.
Palace would have felt aggrieved when referee Paul Tierney waved away claims of a penalty after Christian Benteke was brought down by Fabianski, particularly as a few minutes later they went a goal down.
It came from a free kick as Gylfi Sigurdsson swung the ball into the box to find Alfie Mawson, who headed home with a flick, giving Swansea a deserved lead.
After the break, Palace looked much more lively, but it was Swansea who came close to doubling their lead in the early stages of the second half.
Sigurdsson and Llorente linked up before the latter fed the ball into Cork's feet, but the midfielder's attempt from the edge of the box sailed over the crossbar.
As the minutes ticked by, the hosts piled pressure on Swansea as a free kick from substitute Bakary Sako forced a save at the far corner from Fabianski.
Joe Ledley had an opportunity to net an equaliser when he got on the end of Joel Ward's cross in the box, but his thumping shot was blocked by Mawson.
After connecting with Damien Delaney's header, Sako tried to get past Fabianski with an effort from the edge of the area, only to blaze it over the crossbar.
Palace fought for an equaliser, and they were eventually rewarded when Zaha sent the ball into the back of the net with a volley scissor kick, but the joy was short lived.
With two minutes of normal time remaining on the clock, Rangel ran in behind and latched on to the ball before sending it low into the bottom corner.
The result means that Swansea move up from the bottom of the table into 19th spot, while Palace remain one point above the relegation zone.
Danielle Joynson
