Bony's Late Winner Gives Swansea First Win Since October
Swansea moved off the bottom of the table as they snatched a 1-0 win at home against West Brom on Saturday.
Both sides needed to end a poor run of form, with the visitors wanting to end a 13-game run without a win. It was captain Bony’s belter in the 81st minute that sealed the win for the Swans, who until that point had been part of a very lacklustre game of football.
The first half accurately emphasised a game between two struggling sides. A fairly tepid start from either side morphed into Swansea using their home advantage poorly with aimless attacking possession moving forward, losing their shape and not giving the man on the ball enough feasible passing options.
Ben Foster was the busier of the two goalkeepers in the first 45 minutes despite only making one save, whilst Swansea ‘keeper Lukasz Fabianski only having a handful of touches for goal-kicks.
The best chance of the first half came with a Swansea free-kick, with a misplaced defensive header hitting the post, before Swansea regained possession only for Alfie Mawson to head over the bar seconds later.
The second half started with an attacking mindset from West Brom boss Alan Pardew, with James McClean being brought on for Sam Field during the break, with the Irish winger giving some immediate pace down the left wing and making the game much more even as a result.
Bony nearly put the Swans up on the 55-minute mark, with a low drive skimming past the post.
Much like West Brom’s addition of McClean, Paul Clement’s decision to bring on Jordan Ayew for the home side also injected some much-needed attacking intensity into the game, with a effort from the Ghanaian over the bar moments after joining the match.
Whilst the intent to take charge of the game was amped up by both sides, the consistency of quality did not, with a string of poor defensive decisions giving each side chances, as well as generally poor passing across the board.
Another cheap foul by Claudio Yacob, who was already booked in the first half, gave Swansea the perfect free-kick opportunity for Swansea, with a poor effort from Tom Carroll hitting the wall.
Statistically, Ben Foster had a good game for West Brom, but in reality, it was more of a lack of quality from Swansea’s many attempts, all of which proved too easy for the England international to deal with.
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Foster’s first real save of the match came with 15 minutes to go, following a sharp low drive from Jordan Ayew that Foster palmed away from his near post.
However, that attempt from Ayew signalled a second wind for Swansea, who pushed further to try and steal three points in the closing ten minutes.
It was Bony’s goal that came soon after, with a beautifully weighted delivery from Ki Sung-yueng, which prompted a scramble in the six-yard box as the defence lost their composure.
The ball eventually came out to Bony, who hit a powerful shot that rocketed into the net through a forest of clueless West Brom defenders.
Conceding the late goal visibly angered West Brom with captain Jonny Evans and Chris Brunt’s rash tackles, prompting unnecessary yellow cards.
A mild effort searching for an equaliser by the visitors barely materialised, with a second from Swansea looking more likely as the game neared the final whistle had they not decided to run the clock down in West Brom’s half.
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Swansea nearly cemented their victory with a brilliant break from Tammy Abraham, with the striker completely through on goal on the counter attack. But the young Englishman wasted his attempt to chip Ben Foster as it ended up landing wide of the post.
The result, coupled with Crystal Palace’s draw with Bournemouth, moves Swansea off the foot of the table and gives them their first win since mid-October, whilst West Brom now sit precariously over the relegation zone, only above on goal difference.
