Swansea City 3-1 Hull City
- Published
Gomis scores his first Premier League brace
Win moves Swansea one point from record
Hull's Meyler sent off for high challenge on Naughton
Bruce's side three points clear of relegation zone
Bafetimbi Gomis struck twice as Swansea City beat 10-man Hull City at Liberty Stadium to leave the visitors three points above the relegation zone.
Ki Sung-yueng fired the Swans in front from close range before Gomis' acrobatic volley doubled their lead.
Paul McShane's finish after a Jake Livermore free-kick gave the Tigers hope but David Meyler was soon sent off for a high tackle on Kyle Naughton.
Gomis' stoppage-time strike sealed the three points for Swansea.
The win moves eighth-placed Swansea one point away from their record Premier League total of 47, achieved in their first season back in the top flight in 2011-12, under former manager Brendan Rodgers.
With seven matches to go, Hull are 15th with 28 points from 31 games.
The home crowd in sun-drenched Swansea urged Jonjo Shelvey to shoot early on as both sides showed plenty of desire but failed to create anything of note in front of goal.
The former Liverpool midfielder obliged soon after and his stinging low shot from outside the area was parried by Allan McGregor into the path of Ki, who stroked the ball home from the edge of the six-yard box.
After going in front, the hosts looked comfortable dominating possession and territory and pinning the Tigers back when not in control of the ball.
Steve Bruce's City failed to trouble Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski during the first period.
They fell further behind when Gomis volleyed the ball into the top corner after Michael Dawson's attempted headed clearance fell to him inside the box.
However, the visitors were back in the game when McShane poked home Livermore's free-kick from close range on 50 minutes.
Two minutes later they should have been level but Dawson and Dame N'Doye had efforts blocked and saved by Fabianski from point-blank range.
And their hopes of rescuing a precious point diminished when Meyler was sent off moments later for a high tackle on Naughton.
Gomis secured the victory in stoppage time, coolly lifting the ball over the advancing McGregor.
The brace of strikes by the French forward, 29, lifted his tally to three in two games but he has scored just five in 28 Premier League appearances.
Swansea manager Garry Monk:
"I thought overall we deserved that win. The first half was excellent but I tried to warn the players at half-time just how much Hull would come out the second half, as they're fighting for their lives.
"I said the first 15-20 minutes we had to keep it solid and give nothing away, give them no momentum and we did the total opposite.
"But the commitment and desire is always there from my side and ultimately we got that deserved third goal and deserved win in the end."
Read Garry Monk's thoughts on David Meyler's sending-off here.
Hull manager Steve Bruce:
"I've seen the sending-off now six times. On three angles I'm saying, 'Well, that's a perfectly decent challenge'.
"The other three I look at it and see that he takes part of the ball but his leg collides with the boy [Kyle Naughton] but then again it is a challenge and it is a tackle."
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