Swansea City kept their Premier League top-eight ambitions well on track this afternoon courtesy of a 2-0 victory over 10-man Stoke City at the Liberty Stadium.
A dour first half of football was followed up by a far more entertaining second 45 minutes, but there was only one team ever likely to take maximum points.
Garry Monk's charges hit the crossbar within two minutes of the restart through Gylfi Sigurdsson, before goals from Jefferson Montero and substitute Ki Sung-yueng in the final 13 minutes wrapped up the win for the Swans.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at how the contest unfolded in South Wales.
Match statistics
SWANSEA CITY
Shots: 16
On target: 4
Possession: 47%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 9
STOKE CITY
Shots: 9
On target: 3
Possession: 53%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 18
Was the result fair?
On the viewing of the first half alone, it is safe to say that neither of these sides truly wanted the victory enough. Just two shots on target in the opening 45 minutes, both of which came in the closing stages, provided a sloppy affair that looked destined for the final slot on Match of the Day.
That all changed following the restart, though, as Swansea came out far stronger. They almost made a breakthrough two minutes into the half through Sigurdsson's delicate shot from range, but the crossbar came to Stoke's rescue. The momentum very much remained with the home side throughout, and they finally had a goal to show for their efforts when Montero ghosted in to head home his first goal for the club.
Stoke introduced Peter Crouch and Peter Odemwingie for the final 10 minutes, the former having scored four goals in his previous six meetings against the Welsh outfit, but it was Monk's side who found the second goal late on thanks to Ki's seventh of the campaign. That came shortly after Marc Wilson had been shown his marching orders for two bookable offences, sealing what was a bad day out for the Potters.
Swansea City's performance
City's first-half performance was predictable. There was simply not enough penetration or guile to match their rare attacking moves, with their best moment coming when Shelvey tested stand-in opposition stopper Jack Butland from range. The Swans have been struck down by numerous injuries in recent weeks, but they have done well to claim six points from six to essentially fend off Stoke for eighth place in the Premier League.
They had Shelvey to thank for this pivotal victory, with his quick thinking to keep the ball in play and strength to brush aside Phil Bardsley allowing Montero to find a way through. Monk has been able to rotate things a little over the past month, as witnessed by Ki's goalscoring appearance from the bench, making this his finest season ever in terms of goals. In the end, 2-0 just about proved to be the correct scoreline, but novice manager Monk will no doubt have his players geared up for their final three games.
Stoke City's performance
While Swansea were surprisingly sloppy on the ball for large parts this afternoon, they could often afford to get away with it due to Stoke's inability to capitalise on openings. They, like their opponents, badly struggled to get a foot on things in the first half, although there was not enough of an improvement in the second 45 minutes.
It was not until Crouch was introduced that City were finally able to change their attacking approach, but it was a case of too little, too late. Their defending for the second goal was also poor, allowing the lively Shelvey to pull back in the simplest manner possible for Ki to round off the scoring. Stoke can be more than happy with their season to date, but it is now one league win in seven for them, and perhaps a case of the squad looking ahead to their well-deserved summer break.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Jonjo Shelvey: Not too many standout candidates for this accolade, but Shelvey was just about the best player on the field this afternoon. Sigurdsson was often involved in play, but he was guilty of missing one sitter in particular, whereas Shelvey claimed a couple of assists while proving a real thorn in Stoke's side throughout the second half.
Biggest gaffe
In a first half of very little action, Sigurdsson appeared to be the only player who had a little bit of quality about him. He was also involved following the break, but he was guilty of missing a free header from five yards out which could have cost his side. As it was, the hosts were able to find the net twice in the final quarter to wrap up the win.
Referee performance
Craig Pawson had an eventful afternoon, but one that he can be happy with on the whole. Mame Biram Diouf felt as though he should have had a penalty when he went down under the challenge of Federico Fernandez, but replays showed that he was quite clearly on his way to ground before contact was made. The official also had little choice but to issue Wilson with a second yellow card, meaning that he has now reached into his back pocket eight times this season.
What next?
Swansea City: A tough trip to the Emirates Stadium awaits Swansea next Monday, knowing that a victory could see them claw even further away from Stoke in the race for a top-eight finish.
Stoke City: Mark Hughes's charges also take on a North London outfit in their next outing as they play host to Tottenham Hotspur.
Daniel Lewis
