Swansea City 1-0 Preston North End: Manning stunner for Swans

Preston have never won back-to-back away league matches in Wales in their history, with this their 99th visit.

Swansea City got back to winning ways thanks to Ryan Manning's thunderous strike against Preston North End.

A poor first half saw little in the way of chances at either end, but Swansea deserved to win on the balance of play.

The decisive moment came in the 51st minute as Manning's superb strike flew into the top corner of the net.

The contest marked the return of fans to the Swansea.com Stadium following a change to Welsh government Covid-19 restrictions.

This tight contest could be important for Swansea, who had been on a poor run of results recently.

Swansea boss Russell Martin named an unchanged side from the one that impressed in a 1-1 draw at Huddersfield, with new loan signing, Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Hannes Wolf, named as a substitute.

Midfielder Jamie Paterson was not involved after telling the club he is not in the right frame of mind to play, with Swans boss Russell Martin insisting the 30-year old will only leave Swansea this January if his valuation is met.

Preston boss Ryan Lowe made three changes to the side that came from behind to draw with Sheffield United in midweek, with Ched Evans, Greg Cunningham and Joe Rafferty recalled.

Martin's Swansea side have been in poor form at home recently, losing their last two in the league and conceding seven goals, with no clean sheets in their previous five league games.

However, the hosts did create the better opportunities in a quiet first half, though clear chances were few and far between.

The best opportunities of the half came as a result of poor passes from the respective goalkeepers, but Olivier Ntcham hit the side-netting after Daniel Iversen's wayward pass, while Daniel Johnson volleyed wide from Ben Hamer's mistake.

The hosts also had a penalty appeal waved away as Joel Latibeaudiere went down on the edge of the area, while Ben Cabango's alert defending stifled a Preston break.

This was a contest absolutely desperate for a moment of quality and it arrived in the 51st minute when Manning's superbly struck left-footed shot from 25-yards flew into the top corner.

The Swans could have been out of sight three minutes later, but Iversen was at full-stretch to deny Cyrus Christie as the game began to open up.

Iversen also did well to deny Manning a second goal from distance as he pushed his shot from outside the penalty area around the post, while at the other end Matt Grimes blocked Johnson's dangerous effort.

Swans sub Wolf forced Iversen to save on 67 minutes as the hosts pushed for a second goal, but their failure to do so gave the visitors hope in the closing minutes, with Ryan Ledson's blocked shot the closest they came.

However, the hosts held on and remain 17th in the Championship, while Preston slip to 15th.

Swansea City boss Russell Martin told BBC Sport Wales:

"I'm really pleased that we won the game and kept a clean sheet. We limited a very good team to one shot on target.

"I feel like we should have scored more goals. I think we started off a bit tense, it's to be expected after not playing here or in front of our fans for six weeks. But once we scored the goal I really liked us.

"We limited them to very little and the guys defended properly. We got the three points we deserved.

"I love Ryan Manning as a character and a player, playing in a position a lot of people were surprised to see him play in."

Preston boss Ryan Lowe said:

"I thought we were going to get something at the end from Ryan Ledson's shot.

"We gave the ball away too cheaply today. The goal is a great strike, but I wanted us to be braver with the ball.

"I am learning about the players game-by-game. I analyse the squad on a daily basis. I just want a bit more quality at crucial times.

"We have to make sure we are fit and ready for the next game now, we know anyone can beat anyone in this division."