Swansea City recorded their first win in five Premier League games on Saturday, beating Fulham 2-0 at the Liberty Stadium.
A forgettable first half was eclipsed by a frantic second, with Scott Sinclair's deflected shot opening the scoring 11 minutes after half-time.
Martin Jol’s side pushed for an equaliser but were thwarted by Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm, with Clint Dempsey denied from the penalty spot by the Dutchman, before substitute Danny Graham put the game beyond doubt in stoppage time.
Neither side took hold of the game early on, although Fulham striker Andrew Johnson and his Swansea counterpart Leroy Lita looked lively.
The only real threat from either side was coming via set pieces, but both Dempsey and Sinclair failed to test the goalkeepers with their efforts.
The first real chance of note came via the recalled Luke Moore who, after some intricate play, unleashed a twenty yard effort at Mark Schwarzer’s goal.
With the big Australian scampering across goal, the ball flew just inches over the crossbar.
Both sides were struggling to create chances, and some half-hearted penalty appeals from the home crowd summed up the feeling of desperation around the Liberty Stadium as their side entered the half-time break on course for their third home game in succession without a goal.
Swansea came out after the break with renewed vigour, and they soon reaped the rewards of their pressure.
Following a cleared corner, Wayne Routledge returned the ball with interest.
It broke for Sinclair, who fired an instinctive effort at goal and it came off Dempsey leaving Schwarzer helplessly committed to the original effort.
The goal sparked the game into life, as the visitors looked to hit back immediately.
Moussa Dembele’s intricate through ball set Bryan Ruiz away, only to be thwarted by the outstanding Vorm, who parried the ball away.
The visitors again came close to restoring parity just minutes later, as John Arne Riise fired an unstoppable 20-yard free-kick towards Vorm’s goal, only to see it fly just wide of the post.
Kemy Agustien replaced Moore with 20 minutes to go, as Brendan Rodgers looked to shore up his midfield.
Just minutes later the Dutchman nearly did the opposite, as he struck the post with a beautifully placed effort from outside the box, following some tricky wing play from Sinclair.
With just five minutes to go, Fulham were handed a golden opportunity to rescue a point.
Substitute Kerim Frei weaved his way into the Swansea area, before being body checked and brought to ground by Ashley Richards.
Referee Jonathan Moss pointed to the spot to the disbelief of the Swansea defenders.
American international Dempsey stepped up, but the unbeatable Vorm saved the spot kick to the delight of the home crowd.
Martin Jol’s misery was compounded just minutes later, as substitute Graham neatly slotted home from close range to put the game to bed.
The result sees Swansea leapfrog Fulham into 11th place in the Premier League with 17 points for the season.
A forgettable first half was eclipsed by a frantic second, with Scott Sinclair's deflected shot opening the scoring 11 minutes after half-time.
Martin Jol’s side pushed for an equaliser but were thwarted by Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm, with Clint Dempsey denied from the penalty spot by the Dutchman, before substitute Danny Graham put the game beyond doubt in stoppage time.
Neither side took hold of the game early on, although Fulham striker Andrew Johnson and his Swansea counterpart Leroy Lita looked lively.
The only real threat from either side was coming via set pieces, but both Dempsey and Sinclair failed to test the goalkeepers with their efforts.
The first real chance of note came via the recalled Luke Moore who, after some intricate play, unleashed a twenty yard effort at Mark Schwarzer’s goal.
With the big Australian scampering across goal, the ball flew just inches over the crossbar.
Both sides were struggling to create chances, and some half-hearted penalty appeals from the home crowd summed up the feeling of desperation around the Liberty Stadium as their side entered the half-time break on course for their third home game in succession without a goal.
Swansea came out after the break with renewed vigour, and they soon reaped the rewards of their pressure.
Following a cleared corner, Wayne Routledge returned the ball with interest.
It broke for Sinclair, who fired an instinctive effort at goal and it came off Dempsey leaving Schwarzer helplessly committed to the original effort.
The goal sparked the game into life, as the visitors looked to hit back immediately.
Moussa Dembele’s intricate through ball set Bryan Ruiz away, only to be thwarted by the outstanding Vorm, who parried the ball away.
The visitors again came close to restoring parity just minutes later, as John Arne Riise fired an unstoppable 20-yard free-kick towards Vorm’s goal, only to see it fly just wide of the post.
Kemy Agustien replaced Moore with 20 minutes to go, as Brendan Rodgers looked to shore up his midfield.
Just minutes later the Dutchman nearly did the opposite, as he struck the post with a beautifully placed effort from outside the box, following some tricky wing play from Sinclair.
With just five minutes to go, Fulham were handed a golden opportunity to rescue a point.
Substitute Kerim Frei weaved his way into the Swansea area, before being body checked and brought to ground by Ashley Richards.
Referee Jonathan Moss pointed to the spot to the disbelief of the Swansea defenders.
American international Dempsey stepped up, but the unbeatable Vorm saved the spot kick to the delight of the home crowd.
Martin Jol’s misery was compounded just minutes later, as substitute Graham neatly slotted home from close range to put the game to bed.
The result sees Swansea leapfrog Fulham into 11th place in the Premier League with 17 points for the season.
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