Swansea City secured a vital win against Fulham at the Liberty Stadium to ease their relegation fears this evening.
Jonjo Shelvey gave the hosts the lead with a deflected strike with an hour played, and Chico Flores secured the win with a header as Fulham struggled to impose their game on their opponents.
Where was the game won and lost? Sports Mole analyses the encounter below.
Match statistics
Swansea City
Shots: 14
On target: 7
Possession: 62%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 14
Fulham
Shots: 15
On target: 4
Possession: 38%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 9
Was the result fair?
Over the course of the whole match, yes. In fact, Swansea should have scored more, but in the end two proved to be enough. In the first half Fulham played decently and had a great chance to take the lead through Brede Hangeland, but he headed over from six yards out. After the break the home side were dominant.
Swansea's performance
Michael Laudrup will be delighted with his side's performance, and indeed the way they controlled the game in the second half. The Swans were solid at the back for most of the night, restricting Fulham to very little. Jonathan de Guzman was a constant threat, supported by an impressive Shelvey. Overall, there were plenty of encouraging signs for Swansea.
Fulham's performance
Rene Meulensteen will be very concerned at how his players collapsed following a decent showing in the opening 45 minutes. They were very much in the game and in with a chance of going away with three points, but a dreadful second-half performance leaves them in serious trouble at the wrong end of the table.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Jonjo Shelvey: This was a tough one to call, but Shelvey just gets it for his overall display, which included the first goal. He used the ball well and troubled the away defence.
Biggest gaffe
With the game at 0-0 Kieran Richardson delivered a wonderful cross to Hangeland's head, but the Fulham defender made a mess of the chance, directing his effort over the bar when unmarked. It proved to be a huge miss.
Referee performance
Michael Oliver went pretty much unnoticed throughout the match. He gave out two yellow cards, which were correct, and was firm but fair.
What next?
Swansea: The Swans travel to West Ham United on Saturday afternoon.
Fulham: Meulensteen's side are also in action on Saturday, when they take on Southampton at Craven Cottage.
Gary Peters
