Swansea claim much-needed win over Bristol City

Liam Cullen put Swansea ahead with his sixth goal of the season, but his first since 4 February

Swansea City ended a six-game winless streak as goals from Liam Cullen and Olivier Ntcham secured a deserved victory over Bristol City.

Swansea's much-needed triumph eased the pressure on boss Russell Martin and his team, who have been heavily criticised after a miserable run.

They climb to 16th in the Championship, while Bristol City remain 14th.

This was a second successive defeat for the Robins, who look destined to finish the season in mid-table.

Swansea will hope to join them having eased concerns that they could be drawn into a relegation scrap with this result, with the gap to the bottom three now 10 points.

• Swansea end winless run against Bristol - reaction

It was only a fourth victory in 22 league games for the Welsh club, while Bristol City have won only once in their last five second-tier outings.

This was a fourth meeting of these two clubs this season, the most recent of which saw Bristol City win an FA Cup third-round replay on the same ground.

That was two months ago, a time when Martin's team were still talking about a play-off push, but an alarming run of form has left Swansea looking down the table rather than up.

They looked determined to change the mood from the outset here, with Joel Piroe slicing a shot wide only 15 seconds into the game.

Swansea dominated possession for most of the first period, going close again when Harry Darling's powerful header was saved by Max O'Leary before Liam Walsh's acrobatic effort on the rebound was blocked.

Walsh was involved when the goal Swansea deserved arrived, as his searching pass hit Ntcham on the back and dropped invitingly for the Cameroon international to feed Cullen.

His first-time finish had just enough power and precision, the ball rolling beyond O'Leary's dive and into the far corner.

Cullen's strike stirred Bristol City into life, with Alex Scott scuffing a volley into Andy Fisher's arms before teeing up Andy King for a shot which was well blocked by Piroe.

Swansea missed chances to double their lead early in the second period, with Cullen lifting a shot too high before Piroe's header beat O'Leary but bounced to safety off the post.

Bristol City countered, Omar Taylor-Clarke shooting straight at Fisher before sustained penalty appeals for handball by Ben Cabango were ignored.

Ntcham had been without a goal since 8 November

With that Swansea found the pressure-relieving second goal, as Jamie Paterson crossed for fellow substitute Morgan Whittaker at the far post.

His header back across goal hit King and dropped for Ntcham, who turned away from Taylor-Clarke and swept the ball into the bottom corner from 15 yards.

Paterson came close to adding a third before Bristol City substitute Andreas Weimann saw a stoppage-time reply ruled out for offside.

With that Swansea could celebrate a first clean sheet since December - and a welcome win.