Swansea: Late goals from Ki Sung-yeung and Wayne Routledge saw Swansea move back into the top six of the Premier League after their 2-0 win at home to Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday meant the visitors remained pointless on the road this season.
QPR goalkeeper Rob Green had produced what looked like a sterling performance to secure a first away point of the campaign for the west London club.
The former England international made a series of fine saves to thwart Wilfried Bony, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Routledge at the Liberty Stadium.
But there was nothing Green could do to stop Ki’s 78th-minute shot which flew in via the aid of the post - only the South Korean midfielder’s second goal for the club and his first on home turf - before the Swans doubled their lead five minutes later when Routledge fired into the bottom corner.
Defeat left QPR manager Harry Redknapp’s side rooted in the relegation zone and increasingly reliant on their form at Loftus Road to pull them out of the bottom three.
But Redknapp could take heart from a defensive performance by the Hoops which for long spells kept Swansea at bay.
Yet the power, strength and class of Garry Monk’s side eventually told in the final 12 minutes in south Wales.
QPR, who had collected just one point from a possible previous 33 on the road in the top-flight, could have fallen behind as early as the third minute.
Bony gathered a long ball launched downfield, before showing a supreme piece of skill to ‘nutmeg’ Steven Caulker and then supplied an inch-perfect pass into the path of Routledge, but the wideman’s shot from 15 yards was well saved by Green.
Swansea continued to press forward, with Sigurdsson’s deflected shot off Joey Barton dribbling wide of Green’s right-hand post before the Icelandic midfielder came close to breaking the deadlock eight minutes before the interval.
After Barton was cautioned for a foul on Routledge, Sigurdsson stepped up and curled his right-footed effort over the wall and almost beyond the dive of Green, who reacted well down low to his left.
That sparked Rangers into life as an attacking force. Leroy Fer’s close-range header tested the reflexes of Lukasz Fabianski, the former Arsenal goalkeeper, before Eduardo Vargas’s shot from range skipped wide.
Redknapp would have been the happier manager heading for the dressing room at half-time.
But Swansea kept pressing for a goal.
Ivory Coast striker Bony had two chances for the Welsh club in 60 seconds as Richard Dunne produced a superb tackle to prevent the ball nestling into the net.
Barton, already on a booking, was fortunate not to receive his marching orders for a foul on Ki as referee Kevin Friend opted to give the midfielder a final warning.
But for all QPR’s hard work, they were undone in the closing stages as the double act of Ki and Routledge sealed a hard-fought victory.
