Hull City fell to a 3-1 defeat against Swansea City to see their Premier League survival hopes take another dent at the Liberty Stadium.
First-half goals from Ki Sung-yueng and Bafetimbi Gomis put the Swans in command, although Paul McShane's close-range finish five minutes after the restart gave his side a real chance of claiming a share of the spoils.
Those hopes were soon ended when David Meyler was shown a straight red, however, leaving the Tigers down to 10 men for the remainder, before Gomis eventually punished them on the break with his second of the game to seal Swansea the points.
Here, Sports Mole takes a look at how the rather one-sided contest unfolded in South Wales.
Match statistics
SWANSEA CITY
Shots: 9
On target: 4
Possession: 59%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 11
HULL CITY
Shots: 10
On target: 1
Possession: 41%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 14
Was the result fair?
This was hardly Swansea at their free-flowing best, but even still they claimed all three points this afternoon with little fuss. Hull simply failed to turn up, as has so often been the case this season, and bar a five-minute spell at the start of the second half, they never looked likely to take anything out of this game.
In what was a first half devoid of any real action, the Swans made the most of their only two chances to take control of the contest. McShane pulled one back for the visitors, which led to a brief moment when Swansea were on the ropes and looking vulnerable, but Meyler's dismissal - a decision which Andre Marriner just about called correctly - took the wind firmly out of their sails.
Swansea City's performance
Garry Monk's men are now just two points away from their previous record Premier League points haul and, with seven games still left to play you would back them to not only surpass that tally, but to also firmly cement their place in the top half of the table. The big difference between the two sides was the ability to create openings, with Gylfi Sigurdsson in particular proving to be a real menace to the opposition with his sublime passing ability.
It also helps when you have a striker in form, much like Gomis at this moment in time, while the midfield diamond Monk opted to start with also proved efficient. The Swans boss changed things around in the second half by adding some width through Nathan Dyer, but the damage had already been done at that point. It was not a classic performance from Swansea, yet once more they have taken maximum points on home turf to ensure that their impressive season continues to roll on.
Hull City's performance
Just for a moment, despite their hugely disappointing first-half showing, there was a moment when it looked as though Steve Bruce's charges were going to steal something from this game. Much like they did against Chelsea a fortnight ago, Hull found a goal from out of nowhere when two goals behind and used it to really spur them on.
A goalmouth scramble just moments after McShane had found the net almost proved to be a deja vu moment following on from that eventual defeat against the league leaders last time out, but, in the end, it was not to be against a Swansea side who have thrown away 16 points from winning positions this season. Some bad discipline once again cost the Humberside outfit, with Meyler's red their sixth in this season's Premier League - the joint most alongside Aston Villa. A tough run now awaits Hull, and if they replicate this performance then a drop down to the Championship is a serious possibility.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Bafetimbi Gomis: His two goals, the second of which was a sublime chipped finish to round off a solid performance from his side, sees the Frenchman edge out Sigurdsson for this prize. This is just the third time that Swansea have scored more than twice in a game since Wilfried Bony's departure to Manchester City in January, but with Gomis finally feeling confident in front of goal, they may have another £30m man in their ranks.
Biggest gaffe
Just when the tide looked to be turning, Meyler's studs-up challenge on Kyle Naughton proved to be Hull's downfall. Some may suggest that a red card was a little too extreme, but Marriner was left with little choice in the grand scheme of things. Hull's poor disciplinary record this campaign could come back to haunt them.
Referee performance
As well as that red card issued to Meyler, Marriner also dished out a further six cautions in the second half alone. It was not a particularly dirty game as such, but things did threaten to boil over on a few occasions so the experienced official had to be on his guard throughout.
What next?
Swansea City: The Welsh club welcome former manager Roberto Martinez back to the Liberty Stadium next weekend. While Everton may be struggling this season, there is no such trouble at Swansea as they close in on their record points haul.
Hull City: A daunting few weeks lie in wait for City, who follow up today's game with a trip to European chasers Southampton next weekend.
Daniel Lewis
