Swansea beat Bristol City 2-0 to remove any lingering fears of being dragged into the Championship relegation battle on Sunday.
Liam Cullen and Olivier Ntcham hit their mark as Swansea claimed their first win in seven games and move 10 points clear of 22nd-placed Huddersfield with eight games remaining.
Bristol City are two points better than the Swans after a third defeat in five games.
Liam Cullen walks away to celebrate after opening the scoring for Swansea against Bristol City
The Robins did little to upset Andy Fisher, a goalkeeper under pressure after recent mistakes, though Andreas Weimann saw an effort disallowed in stoppage time for offside as Swansea collected their first clean sheet of 2023.
The hosts were fourth in the table after beating Welsh rivals Cardiff in October and were hoping to mount a promotion challenge. But a miserable run of three wins in 21 games since then had seen them edge ever closer to relegation scrap.
Bristol City had won an FA Cup replay here in January, but Swansea’s need for a quick start was greater and Joel Piroe fired wide from an angled position after just 11 seconds.
Cullen squandered a chance in the sixth minute when he couldn’t control Liam Walsh’s clever pass in front of goal and Ryan Manning saw his effort blocked by Zak Vyner.
Robins goalkeeper Max O’Leary was first tested just before the half-hour mark when Harry Darling received a diagonal ball from Matt Grimes at the far post. O’Leary pushed in Darling’s header and Cameron Pring blocked Walsh’s follow-up effort.
The visitors’ reprieve didn’t last long as Walsh found Ntcham and the Cameroonian midfielder released Cullen, who stretched to score his seventh goal of the season.
Swansea’s Joel Piroe (left) and Matt Grimes celebrate after securing three vital points
Mark Sykes shot straight at Fisher from 25 yards before Bristol City’s best start came in the dying embers of the first half. Alex Scott came to the baseline with beautiful skill and set up Andy King for a shot opportunity that Piroe snuffed out.
The pattern of the contest remained the same after the interval with Cullen barely clearing the crossbar and Piroe heading against the post.
Bristol City sent Weimann and Anis Mehmeti to provide an attacking threat, and Fisher was forced to collect Omar Taylor-Clarke’s shot from distance.
Swansea ended the contest 13 minutes from time when Ntcham plowed through a grueling Robins midfield.
Jamie Paterson’s cross was headed back by fellow substitute Morgan Whittaker, and Ntcham cleanly shifted the ball to his right foot to beat O’Leary from 14 yards out.
