Two goals in the final 11 minutes at the Liberty Stadium secured Swansea City a 2-0 win over poor travellers Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League this evening.
Ki Sung-yueng and Wayne Routledge struck late on as the Swans broke a stubborn Rangers resistance to inflict a seventh straight away loss on their opponents.
The result leaves the Hoops in the relegation zone, while Garry Monk's side climb to sixth in the table.
Here, Sports Mole reflects whether Swansea were worthy winners, or if QPR deserved to hold on.
Match statistics
SWANSEA
Shots: 18
On target: 7
Possession: 59%
Corners: 9
Fouls: 8
QPR
Shots: 5
On target: 1
Possession: 41%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 12
Was the result fair?
The late goals suggest that Swansea pinched this one, but that is far from the truth. They were worthy winners, having been on top from the first whistle to the last. QPR produced a solid defensive display for long periods, but mustered little going forward and it would have been four or five had it not been for Robert Green.
Swansea's performance
They flew out of the blocks, with Green forced into the first of numerous outstanding saves within three minutes as he blocked from Routledge. Swansea threatened a couple more times in the opening 10 minutes, but when an early goal didn't come, the crowd seemed to get very anxious and their play fell flat going into the break. Gylfi Sigurdsson and Wilfried Bony again combined well on several occasions to re-energise them in the second half, but still Green was keeping the hosts at bay with a string of fine stops. Eventually, their persistence paid off and two very accurate finishes from Ki and Routledge earned them the points. Their start to the season under Garry Monk has raised expectations at Swansea, but they met them tonight.
QPR's performance
Green produced one of the performances of the season so far, only to end up on the losing side because Rangers had no way of transferring the ball upfield. Charlie Austin had his quietest game in a long time, and perhaps the presence of Bobby Zamora alongside him would have helped the Hoops maintain possession better. Instead, Harry Redknapp went for an extra body in midfield, but they were outmanoeuvred in this area and rarely got the ball down on the floor themselves. Defensively, they were excellent as Steven Caulker and Richard Dunne, on his return to the side, made countless important blocks and interceptions, while working well in tandem to cover each other's occasional positional mistake. However, their luck ran out in the end, and QPR desperately need to find a way of winning away from home.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Robert Green: Seldom will you see a goalkeeper on the end of a 2-0 defeat receive man of the match, but so good was Green's performance tonight that the rule book goes out the window. There were at least five top-class saves from the former England stopper, the pick of which probably came from Sigurdsson's first-half free kick. Routledge, Bony and Kyle Bartley were also denied in style, and it would have been a killer blow to him when he was eventually beaten by Ki on 79 minutes.
Biggest gaffe
Jonjo Shelvey was dropped by Monk for this game after the conceding of a penalty in the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday, but he was given the last 10 minutes off the bench. He should have scored a third for Swansea when he was played in by Bony, only to foolishly overcomplicate things having rounded Green and pass up a certain goal. Moments like this will not help him regain his place in the team. It stunk of arrogance.
Referee performance
Kevin Friend dealt well with the limited problems that he faced. He showed two yellow cards to each side - none of which can be disputed - and also sensibly halted proceedings a couple of times when players were down with head injuries - which is a fairly topical subject of caution.
What next?
Swansea: Having had two home games in three days, the Swans are back on the road this weekend and travel to West Ham United, who are two points and one place above them in fifth spot.
QPR: Rangers will be glad to return to Loftus Road and have a big bottom-of-the-table match with fellow Premier League new boys Burnley, who are two places and one point above them in 17th.
Joe Fish
