Williams hails ´heroic´ Swansea for earning first win of 2025

Luke Williams praised Swansea City’s “heroic” effort as they earned a 1-0 victory over Bristol City in the Championship on Sunday.

It was Swansea’s first win since December 29, as they flipped the script by beating the play-off chasing Robins, who had won each of their last four home matches in the division.

Josh Tymon scored the all-important goal in the 55th minute, firing in the rebound of Goncalo Franco’s saved shot in front of the travelling fans, netting his first Championship goal since November 2022 when he played for Stoke City.

Swansea had nine shots, five of which hit the target as they limited Bristol to just three efforts on target despite having 19 chances overall.

Having ended a six-match winless run in the Championship, the Swans leapfrogged Oxford United into 16th, and Williams was delighted with what he saw from his team.

“I think it was a special moment because we’ve been under a lot of pressure,” Williams told Sky Sports.

“Today the players were heroic. They’ve shown they can be tough and overcome and pick themselves up when many people doubted them, so I’m very proud of them.

“I don’t think there was a huge difference. We showed we have extra strength within us, and they were incredible today.

“I believe in them, and hopefully they believe in me because they looked like they wanted to play for the club and for each other.

“If that’s the bare minimum performance – we can play better with the ball – there’s no substitution for grit and determination, and they showed that in abundance.”

GET INNNNNNN!!!!!#BRCvSWA | @SkyBetChamp pic.twitter.com/E8xr34EzX8

— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) February 9, 2025

The Robins have now won just one of their last five league matches and missed the chance to move level on points with sixth-place Blackburn Rovers, who were not in action this weekend due to FA Cup commitments.

The hosts dominated the ball and had two brilliant chances to open the scoring through Lawrence Knight, who saw a header reflexively tipped onto the bar, and Luke McNally, with his low drive also excellently kept out by Lawrence Vigouroux.

The goalkeeper also denied Sam Bell an equaliser with 14 minutes left, helping it onto the inside of the post, with manager Liam Manning left frustrated by their struggles in front of goal.

“First half, especially our set-piece threat was excellent, and the keeper has made two excellent saves,” Manning told Sky Sports.

“I thought the tempo and intensity was good. We predominantly lost the game because of a five-minute spell when we were passive, and we lacked the quality to break them down.

“It’s tough because it hurts now. How do you turn strong performances into wins? That’s what we’re learning as a group.

“I spoke very little [in the changing room]. It comes down to quality in the box. It didn’t come down to attitude.

“The lads are frustrated, but we’ve got 15 [games] to go, you’ve got to suck it up and move on quickly.”