Swansea 1-0 West Brom: Wilfried Bony fires Paul Clement's side off the foot of the Premier League as they claim only their third win this season

• e-mail

Wilfried Bony scored his second goal in as many games to send Swansea boss Paul Clement dancing down the Liberty Stadium touchline in celebration at a vital three points.

A poor Premier League encounter, lacking the quality befitting of one of Europe's top leagues, was decided in the 81st minute as Bony lashed the ball past West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster after the Baggies failed to clear Ki Sung-yueng's corner and Bony applied the finish.

It meant Swansea moved off the bottom of the table and dragged West Brom into further trouble as Clement eased some of the pressure that was on his back going into this game.  

Wilfried Bony was on hand to secure victory for Swansea over West Brom with a late goal at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday

The Ivorian scored the winner inside the last 10 minutes of the game as he pounced on a loose ball from a Swansea corner

Bony's late strike ensured Paul Clement's side would rise from the bottom of the Premier League table with their third win

Bony celebrates Swansea's crucial victory with his team-mates and supporters following the full-time whistle

MATCH FACTS, RATINGS, TABLE AND MATCH ZONE

Line ups 

Swansea (4-3-3)

Fabianski 6; Naughton 6, Mawson 7, Van der Hoorn 6, Olsson 6; Ki 6, Mesa 6, Carroll 5 (Abraham 77, 5); Dyer 6 (Narsingh 65, 5), Routledge 5 (Ayew 55, 7), Bony 7

Subs not used: Mulder, Fernandez, Fer, Clucas

Goal: Bony 81

Booked: Carroll 51; Mesa 86 

West Brom (4-3-3)

Foster 5; Nyom 5, Evans 6, Hegazi 6, Gibbs 6; Yacob 5, Livermore 6, Field 5 (McClean 45, 6); Rodriguez 5 (Brunt 82, 5), Robson-Kanu 6 (Burke 78, 5), Rondon 6

Subs not used: Myhill, McAuley, Krychowiak, Tulloch

Booked: Jacob 16; Field 35; Robson-Kanu 78; Brunt 88

Referee: Mike Dean

Attendance: 19,580 

Season at a glance

• Live tables
• Fixtures
• Scores

• Premier League
• Premier League
• Championship
• League One
• League Two
• Scottish Premiership
• Scottish Div 1
• Scottish Div 2
• Scottish Div 3
• Ligue 1
• Serie A
• La Liga
• Bundesliga

• More tables
• More fixtures
• More scores

Wilfried Bony is the quickest to react to the loose ball following Ki's corner as he fires Swansea to victory at the Liberty Stadium.

Bony put on a true captain's display after proving a handful for the West Brom defence.

For more key facts from Swansea's win, visit Sportsmail's exclusive Match Zone.

Advertisement

'It's a nice feeling to get the win and it was one we really needed,' he said. 'It was a scrappy game, but we just about deserved to come out on top. We deserved it and I was really pleased with the impact of the substitutions. They made a real difference.

'We got over the line in a narrow, scrappy game and it's a great feeling. My celebrations were a mixture of frustration with some of our previous results and a feeling of delight that we'd got the win. The players stood up in a big game and really put the effort in.'

Swansea remain second bottom, but are now just a point from safety while West Brom are still in trouble only one place above the drop zone.

'I felt we had to go for it and we got all three points. I thought we struggled to get Wilfried into the game in the first half, but his winner was a big moment for everybody,' Clement added.

'The most important thing was a positive result and we move on to Manchester City on Wednesday now with a bit of momentum behind us.' 

The home side arguably had the best chances of the game but weren't critical enough to find the net

Alan Pardew motivates his new side as he searches for his first win as the West Brom manager since his appointment

Claudio Yacob is infuriated as referee Mike Dean issues him with a yellow card at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday

Goalscorer Bony squanders one of the game's best chances as his effort is easily stopped by Baggies goalkeeper Ben Foster

Midfielder Sam Field holds off the challenge of Nathan Dyer on the edge of the West Brom penalty area

Tammy Abraham also made a hash of his only opportunity as he fails to beat Foster, who spreads well to make the save

Clement – already under huge pressure with his team bottom of the league ahead of the game – wasn't helped by fellow strugglers West Ham, who sealed a surprise 1-0 home win over champions Chelsea in the early kick-off. 

When the team news came in, the former Bayern Munich assistant shocked the Liberty faithful by selecting Wayne Routledge and Nathan Dyer either side of Bony. Loan star Renato Sanches was dropped from the squad entirely.

A quiet opening period saw Alan Pardew's visitors dominate possession, despite Swansea defender Alfie Mawson heading a Ki corner over the bar in what was the game's first chance. At the other end, West Brom striker Salomon Rondon had a headed opportunity of his own, but couldn't find the target and with both teams low on confidence, the paucity of the opening period was no surprise.

Baggies midfielder Jake Livermore headed a Tom Carroll free-kick against his own post in what was the only real opportunity of note during a scoreless first period.

In search of an opener, Pardew withdrew Sam Field for James McClean at half time while soon after the game's resumption, Swansea replaced Routledge with Jordan Ayew.

It was tight and tense, Bony shooting wide after a neat turn and Ayew curling over the bar almost immediately after coming on. Carroll's shocking set-piece and then Robson-Kanu's wasting of a glorious chance on an away counter-attack summed up the game to that stage. 

Jake Livermore lets his frustrations out on Jay Rodriguez after the forward missed a rare opportunity for the visitors

Livermore's frustrations were made worse as he ended the Premier League encounter with a ripped shirt

Swans manager Clement issues his players with some tactical advice during a break in play in the first half

Swansea defender Alfie Mawson heads over for the home side as Swansea begin to pile the pressure on 

Hal Robson-Kanu (right) attempts to relieve Wayne Routledge of the ball as both sides battle out a goalless first half

Knowing his team needed a win, Clement threw on Luciano Narsingh and then Tammy Abraham as he went for broke. Ultimately, the gamble paid off as Bony struck.

Ki's second corner in quick succession fell to the Ivorian and he opted for power, smashing the ball home for the crucial strike of a turgid encounter. There was still time for Abraham to run through on goal and miss a glorious late chance but by then, Bony's strike had decided the game as a contest.

'I wasn't disappointed with the effort and endeavour we showed. It was a close game, you could always sense that, and there wasn't much between the two sides,' said West Brom boss Pardew.

'Robson-Kanu had the best moment in the game. It would have been a tap-in for either Jake or Rondon, but he overcooked it. As a new manager you want to win your first couple of games, but looking at the group, they are suffering from this poor run. We need a win anyway it comes.'

Clement (left) and Pardew shake hands before the game but the latter was left heartbroken by Bony's late match-winner

Roque Mesa appeals to referee Dean at the Liberty Stadium as he feels he has been wrongly impeded

Martin Olsson calms his Swansea team-mates as they continue their search for a winning goal

The home supporters receive their captain Bony with open arms after he scored the game's only goal late on

Kanu holds his hands on his head after Pardew's side were stunned by the Premier League's joint lowest scoring side

Pardew looks a broken man as his Baggies side fall to 17th, and are clear of the drop zone only by goal difference