[monks data]

Premier League

Oct 19, 2015 at 8pm UK

Swansea Swansea City
0-1
Stoke Stoke City

FT(HT: 0-1)

Bojan (4' pen.)

Bojan penalty leads Stoke City to win over Swansea City

By Callum Mulvihill, Reporter | 19 October 2015

Bojan's early penalty proves to be enough as Stoke City claim a third successive Premier League win by beating Swansea City 1-0 at the Liberty Stadium.

Stoke City have claimed a third successive victory by beating Swansea City 1-0 at the Liberty Stadium.

Bojan proved to be the difference maker with an early penalty as Stoke continued their recent resurgence, but it was another disappointing evening for Swansea, who have not won any of their last five Premier League games.

A bright start from the Potters was rewarded when the influential Bojan skipped a couple of tackles on his way into the box, before going down under a challenge from Swansea skipper Ashley Williams, who could have no arguments as the referee pointed to the spot.

Bojan Krkic of Stoke City celebrates with Xherdan Shaqiri (22) as he scores their first goal from the penalty spot during the Barclays Premier League match between Swansea City and Stoke City at Liberty Stadium on October 19, 2015 © Getty Images

The Spaniard stepped up from 12 yards and the opening goal never looked in doubt as he sent Lukasz Fabianski the wrong way to break the deadlock.

Despite struggling to retain possession in the way Garry Monk would expect, Swansea could have been gifted a goal when Jack Butland passed the ball straight to Andre Ayew before sprinting out to challenge the Ghanaian with a tackle that could have been punished with at least a free kick.

Stoke were unable to build on their impressive start in the first half, but they remained stubborn at the back and Butland was comfortable in keeping out a low effort from Jonjo Shelvey.

As Swansea looked to apply more pressure before the break, Stoke threatened to double their lead against the run of play when Xherdan Shaqiri played in Glen Johnson, who could only drag his shot wide of the post from a tight angle.

Joselu of Stoke City attempts an overhead kick as Angel Rangel of Swansea City challenges during the Barclays Premier League match between Swansea City and Stoke City at Liberty Stadium on October 19, 2015 © Getty Images

It was a familiar pattern after the interval as Swansea continued to enjoy more possession without finding a cutting edge as the ineffective Bafetimbi Gomis fired a speculative long-range effort wide of the target.

The hosts were inches away from an equaliser when Shelvey burst into the box but his powerful strike came back off the inside of the post after going through Butland's legs when scoring looked impossible from a difficult position close to the byline.

Stoke rarely threatened on the break as Mark Hughes watched his side focus their efforts on remaining difficult to break down, but they could have made the task even tougher for Swansea had Marko Arnautovic not flicked the ball wide after a clever run allowed him to collect Shaqiri's lobbed pass.

Mark Hughes manager of Stoke City reacts during the Barclays Premier League match between Swansea City and Stoke City at Liberty Stadium on October 19, 2015 © Getty Images

Changes did arrive early in the second half as Ki Sung-yueng and Gylfi Sigurdsson, who were the players to lose their places in the Swansea lineup, were introduced and the latter almost made an immediate impact when a swerving effort drifted just past the post.

Swansea committed more men forward as they desperately searched for an equaliser in the closing stages, with substitute Eder pulling a shot wide of the post shortly before Ki miscued his header in a congested box.

Stoke refused to offer up a clear opportunity late on as they held on to move up to 11th, while another frustrating display from Swansea leaves them two places further back.