Early goals from Žan Vipotnik and Ronald secured a hard-fought 2-1 win for Swansea City over Derby County at Pride Park, as the visitors held off a spirited fightback from the hosts.
Vipotnik put Swansea ahead within two minutes, finishing a well-executed move with a brilliant strike. Just 12 minutes later, Ronald doubled the lead, calmly slotting home after another slick passage of play from Luke Williams’ side.
Derby, however, began to grow into the game and applied sustained pressure as the first half progressed.
That pressure paid off after the break when former Cardiff City player Nathaniel Mendez-Laing converted a penalty to halve the deficit, setting up a tense finish.
Despite Derby’s relentless push, Swansea showed grit and resilience, digging deep to claim all three points and climb back into the top half of the Championship table.
In his post-match interview, Luke Williams praised his side’s clinical finishing and spirited defending, as the Swans claimed only the second away win at Derby in over 40 years.
The Swans welcome Championship new boys Portsmouth to the Swansea. com stadium on Saturday.
Team Lineups
Swansea City: Lawrence Vigouroux, Kyle Naughton (Josh Key 66), Ben Cabango, Harry Darling (Cyrus Christie 60), Josh Tymon; Matt Grimes (captain), Gonçalo Franco (Jay Fulton 83), Liam Cullen; Ronald, Myles Peart-Harris (Azeem Abdulai 83), Žan Vipotnik (Florian Bianchini 66).
Unused Substitutes: Jon McLaughlin, Joe Allen, Nathan Tjoe-A-On, Nelson Abbey.
Derby County: Jacob Widell Zetterstrom, Kane Wilson, Eiran Cashin, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (captain), Kenzo Goudmijn (Liam Thompson 62), Marcus Harness (James Collins 78), Kayden Jackson, (Dajaune Brown 78) Callum Elder (Craig Forsyth 62), Corey Blackett-Taylor (Tom Barkhuizen 62), Ebou Adams, Curtis Nelson.
Unused Substitutes: Josh Vickers, Sonny Bradley, Ben Osborn, Nat Phillips.
Referee: Ben Toner
Attendance: 25,141 including 491 Travelling Jacks.
Match Highlights
Watch extended highlights of Swansea’s win at Derby County.
Feature Image Credit: Swansea City Football Club