Swansea City 1-0 Rotherham United: Andy Rinomhota own goal leaves Swans all but safe

Liam Cullen wasted a golden chance to give Swansea an early lead

Swansea City all but confirmed their Championship survival as an Andy Rinomhota own goal gave them victory over already-relegated Rotherham United.

On-loan Cardiff City midfielder Rinomhota headed Liam Walsh's corner into his own net to condemn the Millers to the 28th league defeat of their miserable season.

For a while Rotherham seemed destined to claim just their fifth away point of the campaign, with Swansea looking toothless despite their domination until Rinomhota's unfortunate contribution.

A second successive victory lifts Swansea to 53 points and, though they are not mathematically safe, Luke Williams' side can surely now look forward to a seventh straight season in the second tier.

That was the primary goal for Williams following his appointment as head coach in early January, with his players conjuring just enough positive performances to pull clear of the relegation picture with three games to come this season.

Bottom-club Rotherham, who last triumphed away from home in November 2022, have won only one of their last 19 league games.

The South Yorkshire club's wait for an away success never looked like coming to an end in Wales, with Swansea controlling possession and territory almost throughout.

They ought to have been ahead early on when Jamie Paterson played in Liam Cullen, but his shot flew straight at Viktor Johansson.

For all their control of the ball, Swansea lacked the tempo to trouble Leam Richardson's defence again until just before the break, when Paterson dispossessed Cameron Humphreys near halfway and drove goalwards.

With recovering defenders bearing down, Paterson took aim from 20 yards - and Johansson produced another sharp save.

Swansea City winger Ronald is tackled by Rotherham's Cameron Humphreys

The Rotherham keeper was in action in first-half stoppage time, beating away Ronald's fierce drive.

The pattern of a forgettable contest continued in the second period, with Swansea continuing to look after the ball without looking like breaking Rotherham down.

It was perhaps no surprise that the breakthrough came in somewhat comical fashion, with Rinomhota turning Liam Walsh's set-piece into his own net at the near post.

Rotherham offered almost nothing going forward until the last seconds of the game, when Arvin Appiah crossed for fellow substitute Tom Eaves but he could only head wide of the target.

Swansea head coach Luke Williams:

"It wasn't thrilling but I don't think anyone could question whether or not the players approached the game with the correct mentality. I don't think anyone could question the work rate and the aggression.

"We attacked the box so much that it would have been much more fun if we scored more, converted more chances and came away with a much different feeling.

"But for me I'm happy with the base, I'm happy with the energy and intensity and how much we controlled the game.

"I think we had 12 shots inside the box. It would be lovely to score more goals when you're that dominant. You feel more happy with everything then."

Rotherham head coach Leam Richardson:

"It's a cruel game at times. The goal conceded, obviously it's cruel because Andy's been very good and he's been committed.

"Coming from Wednesday night away at West Brom and then back on the coach again, travelling down to Swansea with a small number of players. It's commendable, the lads who have made themselves available and put the work ethic in today.

"We were probably wasteful in possession so that probably helped them a little bit. We wanted to pose a bit more of a threat like towards the end of the game when Eavesy misses a chance to make it 1-1.

"Credit to Swansea on the victory. We know where we are. We know which moment we are in and we know how we want to go forward with it. We want to put our best foot forward to return to this level and be a better version of ourselves."