MX23RW : Tuesday, October 1 00:40:16| >> :120:12552:12552:

Swansea City pile misery on Fulham

Danny Graham and Jonathan de Guzman get the goals as Swansea City beat out-of-form Fulham at Craven Cottage to climb back into the Premier League top half.

Swansea City beat struggling Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage this afternoon to climb three places to ninth in the Premier League table.

Danny Graham celebrates after scoring the opener against Fulham on December 29, 2012© PA Photos

With top-scorer Michu injured, Michael Laudrup handed Danny Graham a rare start and the striker rewarded his manager with the opening goal.

Fulham goalkeeper David Stockdale could only palm Nathan Dyer's shot back out into the danger zone and Graham pounced to smartly convert the rebound on 19 minutes.

A long-range Bryan Ruiz strike forced Gerhard Tremmel into an excellent save, and the Fulham playmaker was also a goal threat after the interval.

His 20-yard bending free kick seemed to have the visiting stopper beaten, but it drifted narrowly wide of the post.

Almost immediately after, Swansea moved further clear with a second goal that came courtesy of another Stockdale mistake.

Jonathan de Guzman is congratulated by team mate Nathan Dyer after scoring his team's second goal on December 29, 2012© PA Photos

The England Under-21 international miscued a clearance straight to Pablo Hernandez, who released Jonathan de Guzman to calmly apply the finish.

Ruiz's frustration in front of goal was ended four minutes later when he diverted Dimitar Berbatov's shot into the home net.

Byran Ruiz celebrates his goal with Kerim Frei against Swansea on December 29, 2012© PA Photos

Fulham were denied an equaliser when the Bulgarian was flagged offside before tapping in the rebound to Giorgos Karagounis's shot.

Despite having several more chances, Martin Jol's side were unable to rescue a point and they have now only won one of their last 12 top-flight matches.

ID:61540: cacheID:61540:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5052:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Danny Graham celebrates after scoring the opener against Fulham on December 29, 2012
Read Next:
Live Commentary: Fulham 1-2 Swansea - as it happened
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
12.30am
Titans
@
Dolphins
1.15am
Seahawks
@
Lions
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom7511125716
2Sunderland7502146815
3Blackburn RoversBlackburn7430146815
4Burnley7421134914
5Leeds UnitedLeeds7421124814
6Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd743093613
7Watford74121210213
8Middlesbrough732285311
9Swansea CitySwansea732285311
10Norwich CityNorwich7322119211
11Oxford UnitedOxford Utd7313108210
12Hull City72329819
13Derby CountyDerby7304101009
14Bristol City7232913-49
15Millwall7223121028
16Plymouth ArgylePlymouth7223811-38
17Queens Park RangersQPR7142811-37
18Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds7214914-57
19Luton TownLuton7214611-57
20Stoke CityStoke7205411-76
21Coventry CityCoventry7124611-55
22Preston North EndPreston7124412-85
23Portsmouth7043713-64
24Cardiff CityCardiff7016217-151


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!