Swansea bounce back from successive defeats with victory at Derby

Zan Vipotnik and Ronald scored early in the first half to help Swansea bounce back from successive defeats with a 2-1 victory at Derby.

The Rams had only lost once at Pride Park since their return to the Sky Bet Championship but were staring down the barrel at a second on home turf when early goals from Vipotnik and Ronald handed the Swans a deserved half-time lead.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing dispatched from the penalty spot to give Derby hope of salvaging something from the contest but Swansea withstood a barrage of late pressure to hand the Rams just a second defeat in their last nine.

County made six changes from their draw with Preston and were without loanee Jerry Yates, who was ineligible to play against his parent club, while Luke Williams opted to bring Kyle Naughton and Vipotnik into the Swans side, a call which immediately paid dividends.

Swansea put themselves in front with 107 seconds on the clock thanks to a moment of brilliance. Myles Peart-Harris’ cross found Vipotnik, who touched out of his feet and sent a rocket past Jacob Widell Zetterstrom.

The hosts wanted a penalty after Callum Elder was brought down under a challenge inside the area but referee Ben Toner waved away the appeals.

Swansea were too slick for their opponents in the early stages and made their opponents pay for a lazy start with a second goal.

Derby were caught in transition and Liam Cullen fed into Ronald, who slotted home in an ice-cool fashion inside the box.

The Rams were simply not at the races and the visitors were passing it around their opponents with ease until Widell Zetterstrom’s injury allowed boss Paul Warne to gather his players.

They upped their intensity and Lawrence Vigouroux was called into action for the first time as he turned Curtis Nelson’s close-range header behind.

Derby were coming back into the contest and ought to have had a goal – Vigouroux made a mess of a cross and Kayden Jackson was unable to capitalise as he saw his snapshot bounce off a post.

The hosts should have cut the deficit in half after the restart as Marcus Harness saw his volley saved by the diving Vigouroux and Jackson was unable to turn home the rebound from two yards out in front of an open goal.

Derby were given the chance to score from the penalty spot after former Derby defender Cyrus Christie brought down substitute Tom Barkhuizen inside the area and Mendez-Laing made no mistake from 12 yards.

The hosts ramped up the pressure in search of an equaliser, Jackson coming close only to watch his deflected effort bounce straight into the grasp of Vigouroux again as Swansea held on to take the points back to south Wales.