Swansea City ended a six-game winless streak as goals from Liam Cullen and Olivier Ntcham secured a deserved win over Bristol City.
Cullen headed home on the corner before the break and Ntcham’s low shot sealed the points late in the game.
Swansea’s much-needed triumph eased the pressure on boss Russell Martin and his team, who were heavily criticized after a miserable run.
They climb to 16th place in the Championship, while Bristol City remains 14th.
It’s a second loss in a row for the Robins, who seem destined to finish the season in mid-table.
Swansea are hoping to join them after allaying concerns they could be dragged into a relegation slump with the result, with the gap to the bottom three now at 10 points.
It was just a fourth victory in 22 league appearances for the Welsh club, while Bristol City have won only once in their last five Second Division outings.
It was a fourth meeting for these two sides this season, the most recent of which saw Bristol City win an FA Cup third round replay on the same ground.
That was two months ago, at a time when Martin’s side were still talking of a push into the play-offs, but alarming form left Swansea looking down rather than up.
They seemed determined to change the mood early on here, with Joel Piroe cutting a wide shot just 15 seconds into the game.
Swansea dominated possession for most of the first half, going close again when Harry Darling’s powerful header was saved by Max O’Leary before Liam Walsh’s acrobatic effort on the rebound was blocked.
Walsh was involved when the goal Swansea deserved arrived, as his fetch pass hit Ntcham in the back and dropped invitingly for the Cameroon international to feed Cullen.
His first time had just enough power and precision to beat O’Leary, the ball rolling past the goalkeeper’s dive and into the far corner.
Cullen’s strike brought Bristol City to life, with Alex Scott scuffing a volley into the arms of Andy Fisher before launching Andy King for a shot that was blocked well by Piroe.
Swansea squandered chances to double their lead early in the second half, Cullen raising a shot too high before Piroe’s header beat O’Leary but bounced safely off the post.
Bristol City replied, Omar Taylor-Clarke firing straight at Fisher before sustained penalty appeals for Ben Cabango’s handball were ignored.
With that, Swansea found the second goal relieving the pressure, as Jamie Paterson crossed for fellow substitute Morgan Whittaker at the far post.
His header across goal hit King and fell for Ntcham, who turned away from Taylor-Clarke and swept the ball into the bottom corner from 15 yards out.
Paterson nearly added a third before Bristol City substitute Andreas Weimann saw a response in stoppage time ruled out for offside.
With that, Swansea could celebrate a first clean sheet since December – and a welcome win.
