Zan Vipotnik (left) scored his third goal since joining Swansea from Bordeaux in August
Zan Vipotnik and Ronald struck inside the opening 14 minutes before Swansea City clung on for victory over Derby County despite a spirited Rams fightback at Pride Park.
Summer signing Vipotnik enjoyed his best moment yet in a Swansea shirt as his thumping half-volley put Luke Williams' side in front.
The visitors' sparkling opening continued when Ronald burst on to Liam Cullen's perfect pass to sweep home.
With that Swansea's attacking threat disappeared, as Derby put their dreadful start behind them to haul themselves back into the contest.
After Kayden Jackson wasted a glorious chance, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing cut the deficit from the spot following Cyrus Christie's foul on Tom Barkhuizen.
Derby had all the momentum, but Swansea dug deep to deliver the ideal response after successive defeats to Leeds United and Burnley.
The Swans become only the second visiting side to win at Derby this season, with Paul Warne's team seeing their three-game unbeaten run come to an end.
This was just a second loss in nine Championship outings for the Rams, though they have managed only one win during that sequence.
Swansea's triumph sees them climb to 11th, while Derby slip to 15th.
Jackson began up front for Derby in the absence of leading scorer Jerry Yates, who was ineligible to play against his parent club.
Yates was allowed to leave Swansea on loan in the summer despite netting nine times last season, with some questioning the wisdom of that decision given the Welsh side's goalscoring struggles in this campaign.
His replacement, Vipotnik, has taken time to acclimatise to life in the Championship – but instantly stamped his mark on this contest.
When Myles Peat-Harris crossed from the left, Vipotnik took one touch before beating Jacob Widell Zetterstrom emphatically at his near post.
Swansea have lacked cutting edge all too often this season, yet they doubled their advantage when Ronald steered his first league goal of 2024-25 through Zetterstrom's legs.
The home crowd aired their frustrations, partly at the referee - after penalty appeals following Ben Cabango's challenge on Callum Elder were ignored - and partly at their own team.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing's goal was his second this season
Yet the atmosphere turned as Swansea creaked at a couple of corners, with Curtis Nelson and Jackson seeing efforts cleared off the line.
Jackson's big opportunity came early in the second half, when Marcus Harness' volley was parried by Lawrence Vigouroux and he could only turn the rebound on to the bar.
Derby kept on asking questions, with substitute Christie – who came on at centre-back as Harry Darling was forced off through illness – catching Barkhuizen when Swansea went to sleep at a throw-in.
Yet another Derby draw looked distinctly possible after Mendez-Laing sent Vigouroux the wrong way from the spot but, for all the hosts' late pressure, Swansea held on for just the third win in their last 11 games.
Derby head coach Paul Warne:
"First 20 minutes, it doesn’t matter what shape you play, you have got to be intense, you have got to be aggressive in the tackle and with your press and we weren’t.
"I have said this in every interview, that's on me.
"We had a really good call for a penalty on Callum. I have seen it back and it looked more than valid.
"But from an actual effort point of view and everyone giving everything for the shirt and for the club, that was right up there."
Swansea head coach Luke Williams:
"We made it very hard for ourselves. The first 20-25 minutes, I thought we were excellent and from that point we lost a grip of the game and it was a rearguard action from us for an hour or so.
"I thought Derby were excellent in terms of the way they regrouped and the energy they threw at the game. They caused us a lot of problems and we didn’t have an answer particularly for that.
"We defended the box really well, which we have done time and again, but it would have been a better game for us if we'd been able to control it for longer.
"We struggled from 2-0 for the rest of the game. We had to stand up to the atmosphere and be strong and the players did that fantastically."
