Bournemouth 2-0 Swansea City

Alfie Mawson was credited with his second own goal of the season - the first at Stoke in October

Benik Afobe had a hand in both goals as Bournemouth moved nine points clear of the bottom three and added to Swansea's relegation worries with victory over the Welsh club.

Swans centre-back Alfie Mawson inadvertently broke the deadlock when he deflected the ball past his own goalkeeper after Afobe took Marc Pugh's pass and hit a low shot from outside the penalty area.

Afobe, who had hoped to claim the opener, finished clinically via the inside of the post in the second half after Joshua King played him through.

Gylfi Sigurdsson was involved in Swansea's best attacking moments, delivering a free-kick that King glanced just wide of his own goal, and curling a 25-yard shot that Artur Boruc tipped aside.

Bournemouth would have won by a greater margin had Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski not saved superbly by his post after King headed down substitute Jack Wilshere's cross.

Swansea have dropped one place to 17th, and are three points clear of the relegation places.

• Relive Bournemouth 2-0 Swansea as it happened

Cherries continue to build on Old Trafford point

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe could not have picked a better moment for his team to record back-to-back league wins for the first time in a year.

His side had been sliding towards relegation trouble after starting 2017 by going eight Premier League games without a win.

If Bournemouth do stay up - and it looks increasingly likely - they may well look back on the 1-1 draw they secured at Manchester United on 4 March as a turning point.

Howe's side earned a point with 10 men that day, with Boruc saving Zlatan Ibrahimovic's penalty.

After that, they earned a dramatic late win over West Ham, despite missing two penalties - and against Swansea they played with a fluency and confidence missing during their poor run.

The game took a long time to get going - but once Mawson's own goal opened the scoring, Bournemouth never looked like letting victory slip.

Afobe and defence ease King's burden

Joshua King would have scored for the fourth game running but for Lukasz Fabianski's outstanding second-half save

King had scored Bournemouth's past five goals - and seven of their past eight - so it was probably time for someone else to take on the scoring burden.

Afobe, signed for £10m from Wolves in January 2016, has not had a prolific season, but he showed here just why Howe broke the club's transfer record to sign him.

The first goal was his in all but name, with a clever piece of footwork creating space to hit the shot that rolled in off the unlucky Mawson.

Afobe took the second superbly for his fourth goal of the season, with King getting the assist.

Arguably just as satisfying for Howe, though, was a first clean sheet in 11 league and cup matches - a run in which they had conceded 26 goals.

Swansea set for a nervy run-in

Paul Clement has won four of his nine Premier League matches as Swansea head coach

Paul Clement suggested before the match that Swansea's fight for Premier League survival would go to the season's final weekend - when his team host West Brom - and the head coach may well be proved right.

Clement has improved Swansea considerably since they slumped to a 3-0 New Year's Eve home defeat by Bournemouth at the end of Bob Bradley's short reign.

He has not, however, been able to stop them leaking goals; they have let in nine in their past four matches, and continue to have the top division's worst defensive record.

Swansea have tended to pick up wins this season by outscoring their opponents - a 5-4 victory over Crystal Palace in November the prime example.

That never looked likely against Bournemouth, with Fernando Llorente barely in the game before he was taken off with seven minutes left.

Defeat on the south coast came seven days after Swansea were beaten at Hull, another side in relegation trouble, and suggests Clement's side are in for an anxious few weeks yet.

Fernando Llorente, Swansea's 11-goal top scorer, touched the ball just three times in Bournemouth's penalty area

Man of the match - Benik Afobe (Bournemouth)

A goal and an assist marked one of the former Arsenal youth striker's best displays since joining Bournemouth from Wolves in January 2016

'I am delighted' - manager reaction

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe: "I am delighted with the back-to-back wins and the clean sheet. It has been a long time since we have been solid enough to do that.

"Swansea have talented players so to keep them so quiet is very satisfying. We have kept a very good striker quiet.

"The players have stuck with it. They have not got low or negative and were able to ride out a period when we weren't getting things as we wanted to. That has been key."

Swansea manager Paul Clement: "We were clearly not good enough. For periods we did OK then we suffered a blow and our performance went right down. In the second half it was a similar situation.

"I think Bournemouth were good for the victory. We have to be more clinical and we have to rebuild and go again. They got luck with the first goal and the second is a mistake by us. They deserved to win."

Swansea's unwanted own-goal record - the best stats

• Bournemouth are unbeaten in three Premier League games (W2 D1) for the first time since October (4 games).

• Swansea have kept just one clean sheet in their past 14 games and have shipped a league-high 63 goals this season.

• The Cherries have scored two or more goals in seven of their past eight games against Swansea.

• Swansea have netted 10 own goals in the league over the course of the past two seasons, more than any other side in the Football League in that period.

• Mawson is one of just three players - along with team-mate Jack Cork and Bournemouth's Tyrone Mings - to score two top-flight own goals this season.

• Wayne Routledge made his 181st Premier League appearance for Swansea, equalling Ashley Williams' record for the most games for the club in the competition.

• Afobe has scored two Premier League goals against Swansea, more than against any other side.

• King has been directly involved in eight goals in his past six Premier League games (7 goals, 1 assist).

What's next?

Swansea face a crucial home match against relegation rivals Middlesbrough on 2 April, the day after Bournemouth make their shortest away trip of the season when they visit Southampton.