Stoke City 2-0 Swansea City: Clucas and McClean helps Potters ease relegation fears

Stoke City's Joe Allen challenges Swansea City's Conor Gallagher

Stoke City eased their relegation worries as Sam Clucas scored against his former club in the day's only game in the Championship.

James McClean added the hosts' second in added time as the visitors missed the chance to rise into the play-off zone against a team who began the day 14 places below them.

Stoke rose two places to stand seven points above the danger zone.

Swansea stay seventh, a point behind Preston North End, in sixth.

Stoke's second straight win, to follow Monday night's victory over Championship leaders West Bromwich Albion, was their seventh in 14 league games under manager Michael O'Neill.

Steve Cooper's Swansea are now winless in their last nine away Championship games.

Second-half strikes for Stoke

Swansea started brightly when Jack Butland saved Conor Gallagher's powerful ninth-minute shot but Freddie Woodman then underlined why Swans boss Cooper is keen to hold onto his keeper when he saved one-handed from Stoke's other Swansea old boy Joe Allen before denying Clucas with his legs.

McClean fired straight at Woodman then Wales striker Sam Vokes headed over from close range just after the restart, before McClean failed to get his head on a brilliant Clucas cross a minute later.

But Stoke's pressure finally paid off when Clucas drilled home from just outside the box after 55 minutes.

Swansea went closest to levelling when Matt Grimes' free-kick hit the bar, but McClean wrapped it up when he robbed Marc Guehi before putting the result beyond doubt when he smashed the ball through Woodman's legs.

Stoke City manager Michael O'Neill:

"We have got momentum building. It has been a good start to the year from us and there are a lot of positives. But we have to keep working to improve our home form.

"The atmosphere in the stadium in the second half helped drive the team forward. That positivity makes playing a bit more enjoyable and helps the team. It is important we send the fans home happy.

"We didn't start well and there was as nervousness in our play in the first 15 minutes. It took us a while to work out how to make it more difficult for Swansea to build from the back.

"But, once we got over that period we created belief and opportunities and we were good. We had the best chances in the first half, we were worthy winners with our second-half display."

Swansea City head coach Steve Cooper:

"This was a missed opportunity. The game was there to win with the way we started. The crowd were against Stoke at the start and we should have capitalised on that.

"We never felt like we were under the cosh. It was never a 2-0 game and there wasn't an awful lot between the teams. But we did not manage certain situations well enough.

"If you are not going to win a game, you have to make sure you don't get beat. And we've let them in too easy for their first goal.

"For the second we're obviously chasing the game a little bit and that can happen when you're throwing bodies forward. But we didn't do enough in terms of creating."