Soccer Football - Premier League - Swansea City vs West Bromwich Albion - Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Britain - December 9, 2017 Swansea City’s Wilfried Bony celebrates scoring their first goal with team mates REUTERS/Rebecca Naden
Dec 9 (Reuters) - SWANSEA CITY 1 WEST BROMWICH ALBION 0
Striker Wilfried Bony smashed home from close range with nine minutes left as Swansea City defeated fellow strugglers West Bromwich Albion 1-0 on Saturday for their first Premier League victory in nearly two months.
Ivorian Bony punished West Brom with an unstoppable drive after the visitors failed to clear a Swansea corner, ending Swansea's seven-game run without a victory and lifting them off the bottom of the table.
Soccer Football - Premier League - Swansea City vs West Bromwich Albion - Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Britain - December 9, 2017 West Bromwich Albion's Jay Rodriguez in action with Swansea City's Jordan Ayew Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine
Substitute Tammy Abraham nearly doubled Swansea's lead in stoppage-time but the on-loan striker from Chelsea failed to find the target despite beating West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster with a deft chip after a swift counter-attack.
Alan Pardew is still looking for his first win since taking charge of 17th-placed West Brom, who are winless in 14 games, with fixtures against Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal coming up.
Swansea's first league victory since beating Huddersfield Town 2-0 eased the pressure on manager Paul Clement ahead of their clash with leaders Manchester City on Wednesday.
Soccer Football - Premier League - Swansea City vs West Bromwich Albion - Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Britain - December 9, 2017 West Bromwich Albion's Hal Robson-Kanu in action with Swansea City's Martin Olsson REUTERS/Rebecca Naden
"There has been frustration in the club that we have not performed how we are capable of," Clement said.
"But we did what was needed to be done. The timing of the goal put us in a great position.
"This has to be a springboard. We have a difficult test against Manchester City, the best team in the league, but there are points up for grabs so let's see what we get."
Soccer Football - Premier League - Swansea City vs West Bromwich Albion - Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Britain - December 9, 2017 Swansea City's Roque Mesa in action with West Bromwich Albion's Salomon Rondon REUTERS/Rebecca Naden
Pardew rued his side's missed chances on an evening when both teams struggled to create openings.
"We had three or four great opportunities on the break and didn't take them," he said. "We lacked conviction and then a set-play goal. It was a tight game."
Soccer Football - Premier League - Swansea City vs West Bromwich Albion - Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Britain - December 9, 2017 West Bromwich Albion's Allan Nyom in action with Swansea City's Tom Carroll REUTERS/Rebecca Naden
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
Soccer Football - Premier League - Swansea City vs West Bromwich Albion - Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Britain - December 9, 2017 West Bromwich Albion's Jake Livermore in action with Swansea City's Kyle Naughton Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine Soccer Football - Premier League - Swansea City vs West Bromwich Albion - Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Britain - December 9, 2017 West Bromwich Albion manager Alan Pardew reacts Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine Soccer Football - Premier League - Swansea City vs West Bromwich Albion - Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Britain - December 9, 2017 Swansea City's Jordan Ayew in action with West Bromwich Albion's Claudio Yacob Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine
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