02/04/2016 14:00 v Stoke City

Swansea City roared back from 2-0 down to earn a point in a thrilling encounter at the Britannia Stadium.

Stoke went ahead as Ibrahim Afellay headed home in the first half, while the impressive Bojan made it two just eight minutes into the second half.

But the game turned on its head in the space of 12 minutes as Gylfi Sigurdsson halved the deficit with a fine finish before substitute Alberto Paloschi grabbed a deserved equaliser.

Both sides could have won it in a frantic finale, but it finished all square as Swansea moved ten points clear of the bottom three with six matches to play.

The Swans came into this fixture looking to change an unwanted statistic having not won at the Britannia in the Premier League era, but the visitors started the brighter of the two sides as Bafetimbi Gomis - on his return to the starting line-up - saw a shot deflect just wide after eight minutes.

Stoke knew that a victory could see them move closer to their best league finish in eight seasons at this level, and the Potters broke the deadlock in the 13th minute as Marko Arnautovic chipped a fine ball into the six-yard box and Afellay was on hand to get ahead of his marker and head past Lukasz Fabianksi.

That goal seemed to settled the home side and they came close to a second on 27 minutes as Glenn Whelan’s delivery into the box was met by Joselu, but the striker’s effort was straight at Fabianksi.

Bojan was causing plenty of problems for Swansea, at one moment weaving his way past two challenges before teeing up Afellay but his effort cleared the crossbar.

At the other end, Leroy Fer and Gomis both failed to hit the target with long-range strikes, but Jack Cork did come close to an equaliser on the stroke of half-time as he found a yard of space in the box before seeing his left-foot shot saved by Jakob Haugaard.

Neither side made any changes at the break but despite some early possession for Swansea, it was Stoke who doubled their lead eight minutes into the second period.

Bojan - a constant menace for the visitors in the first half - was afforded too much space in a dangerous area of the pitch and his left-foot shot found the bottom corner despite the best efforts of Fabianski.

The momentum was now with the home side and they came close to a third soon after as Giannelli Imbula was denied by Fabianski.

With just under half an hour to play - and with the score 2-0 - Swansea made a change as Leon Britton made way for Jefferson Montero.

And just eight minutes later, the visitors were back in the game as they halved the deficit.

After good work from Wayne Routledge down the right flank, the winger pulled the ball across the penalty area for Sigurdsson and he turned and fired a shot past the helpless Haugaard.

That gave the Swans renewed belief and they then started to turn the screw on Stoke, winning possession in midfield, while Montero was causing plenty of problems on the left flank.

But it was another substitute who completed the stunning comeback as Swansea hauled themselves level with ten minutes to play.

Paloschi - who was introduced in place of Gomis - took just nine minutes to make his mark as he spun inside the box and saw a right-foot shot deflect past Haugaard to send the visiting fans into raptures.

Both sides wanted to win the game in the closing stages as Anautovic saw a 25-yard free-kick ripple the side-netting, while Montero drilled wide of goal after he found some space inside the box.

But it finished all square as the Swans moved ten points clear of the bottom three with just six games left to play.

STOKE CITY: Jakob Haugaard, Phil Bardsley, Geoff Cameron, Philipp Wollscheid, Erik Pieters, Glenn Wehelan (Stephen Ireland, 81), Giannelli Imbula, Ibrahim Afellay, Bojan (Mame Diouf, 74), Marko Arnautovic, Joselu.
SUBS: Shay Given, Marc Muniesa, Charlie Adam, Peter Crouch, Choulay.

SWANS: Lukasz Fabianski, Angel Rangel, Federico Fernandez, Ashley Williams (capt), Kyle Naughton (Neil Taylor, 82), Leon Britton (Jefferson Montero, 61), Jack Cork, Leroy Fer, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Wayne Routledge, Bafe Gomis (Alberto Paloschi, 71).
SUBS: Kristoffer Nordfeldt, Jordi Amat, Ki Sung-Yueng, Marvin Emnes.