Shelvey hails "massive" win

28th January

Jonjo Shelvey hailed a "massive" victory over Fulham after his goal sent the Swans on their way to a vital win at the Liberty.
The Swans ended an eight-game run without a win in the Barclays Premier League as Shelvey and Chico Flores struck in the second half to send Michael Laudrup's side into the top half of the table.
It proved three key points for the Swans, who are now up to tenth and six points clear of third-bottom West Ham - who play Chelsea tomorrow - ahead of the side's meeting at Upton Park on Saturday.
Victory eased the pressure slightly for the Swans, and Shelvey had no doubt of the importance of this result.



"It was a massive win for us. I felt we needed it to get us back up the table and away from the danger zone, because it is very tight down there," said the England international.
I can understand why the fans are a little nervous, but it's down to us to get us out of this. We are trying to stay calm and play without pressure even though we are in a sticky situation.
"We stepped up a gear in the second half, though. The gaffer said at half-time that we needed to up the tempo, get the ball wide and get the crosses in - that's what we did."
Shelvey, who struck the crossbar in the first half, broke the deadlock in the 61st minute after his shot deflected off Steve Sidwell and Brede Hangeland before beating the wrongfooted Maarten Stekelenburg.
Then Chico's header - from a Jonathan de Guzman corner - deflected off Dimitar Berbatov to seal victory for the Swans in the 76th minute.
Shelvey added: "I had a few shots - I should have scored the first one that was put back to me in the first half - and then I hit the crossbar, but luckily in the second half my goal took a deflection and went in. It was on target anyway, so I'm claiming it.
"And the second goal really took the pressure off straight away - I'm glad Chico got it.
"So it was a good night for us. This win eases the pressure a little bit, but February is a very busy month for us so it's important we win our home games."