Liam Cullen was on the scoresheet for the second game in a row to help Swansea City start 2024 with victory over West Bromwich Albion at the Swansea.com Stadium.
The forward – scorer of the late equaliser at Coventry on Friday – was the man on the mark again as he dispatched what proved to be the winner 10 minutes into the second half as the home side beat the Baggies on home turf for the third season in a row.
Jamal Lowe and Harry Darling had been unable to convert earlier chances for the hosts, while Josh Tymon was denied by the crossbar late on.
At the other end keeper Carl Rushworth made a couple of key first-half saves when the game was still goalless to help the Swans make it 11 points from seven games under caretaker head coach Alan Sheehan.
The Swans had shown two changes from the draw at Coventry, with Cullen and Lowe coming in for Sam Parker and Yannick Bolasie respectively.
The hosts enjoyed a good spell of early possession, with Ben Cabango’s lofted pass nearly finding Lowe’s run in behind the defence.
But Swansea suffered a blow when Liam Walsh, who has been so impressive since his return to action, was forced off early with an injury; Charlie Patino taking his place.
The delay disrupted the flow of the game, with the sodden conditions also causing issues for the two sides.
Jamie Paterson was unable to find Cullen’s run into space on the right of the area after Swansea had pinched the ball in an advanced area.
At the other end, Conor Townsend forced Rushworth into a fingertip save with an angled drive from the left side of the box.
Darling met a Tymon cross after Jay Fulton had seized on a loose ball in midfield, but the defender’s final header was easily held by Alex Palmer in the Baggies goal.
Fulton then scuffed an effort wide after Tymon and Lowe had combined down the left.
West Brom’s first clear opening came when Brandon Thomas-Asante got into space down the right and picked out Jayson Molumby, whose close-range header flew high over the bar.
Rushworth then made a fine save to hold Thomas-Asante’s firm strike after Tom Fellows had raced through the middle to tee up the striker.
The Swansea keeper was soon in action again, denying Fellows after Patino’s stray pass had gifted the visitors possession.
It then took a strong block to keep out Darnell Furlong’s header as the opening half ended goalless.
Swansea started the second half better, Paterson having a first-time volley blocked by Furlong from Patino’s lofted ball to the far stick.
Darling’s close-range header was then palmed away by Palmer from a Patino free-kick, before Lowe was unable to convert from a fantastic Tymon delivery from the left.
But Cullen made no mistake as he got the breakthrough in the 55th minute.
Darling’s knockdown took a deflection into his path, and the forward swept home first time with his right foot.
Paterson then spooned an effort wide as Swansea threatened to double their lead after the midfielder had found Lowe’s run into the box.
It was all Swansea, and Cullen narrowly missed out on a second when his effort from 20 yards flicked off Cedric Kipre and bounced wide of the post with Palmer scrambling.
West Brom made a trio of changes as Nathaniel Chalobah, Semi Ajayi and Adam Reach were introduced from the bench and they had a better spell, but Swansea defended stoutly and lifted that spell of pressure.
Indeed, they came close to adding to their tally as Tymon’s lofted effort came back off the crossbar with Palmer beaten.
West Brom came forward again in the closing minutes but the Swans saw out the game to seal the three points.
Swansea City: Carl Rushworth, Jay Fulton (Joe Allen 73), Ben Cabango, Harry Darling, Matt Grimes (captain), Jamal Lowe (Yannick Bolasie 85), Jamie Paterson (Jerry Yates 73), Josh Tymon, Liam Cullen, Liam Walsh (Charlie Patino 10), Bashir Humphreys.
Unused Substitutes: Andy Fisher, Kristian Pedersen, Nathan Wood, Kyle Naughton, Sam Parker.
West Bromwich Albion: Alex Palmer, Darnell Furlong, Conor Townsend (captain), Cedric Kipre (Nathaniel Chalobah 64), Kyle Bartley (Semi Ajayi 64), Jayson Molumby (Gonzalo Avila Gordon 75), Grady Diangana (Adam Reach 64), Brandon Thomas-Asante, Alex Mowatt, Tom Fellows, Okay Yokuslu (Erik Pieters 80).
Unused Substitutes: Josh Griffiths, Caleb Taylor, Akeel Higgins, John Swift.
Referee: Andy Davies
Attendance: 16,797
