Steve Cooper | Our first-half display was excellent

Steve Cooper praised an excellent first-half performance as Swansea City moved back into the Championship play-off places with victory over Charlton.

Yan Dhanda’s 14th-minute strike proved the difference between the sides at the Liberty Stadium as the Swans kicked off 2020 with a victory and three valuable points.

In truth, they could – and perhaps should – have put the game to bed before the break with George Byers hitting the post, while Borja Baston and Andre Ayew missed good chances.

But the Swans were able to see out the game and climb to sixth in the table.

“It’s good to be back to winning ways and get three points,” said head coach Cooper.

“I thought in the first half we were excellent. I felt we were as good as we have been here this season.

“We were good for the 1-0 lead, but the frustration was that it was not two or three.

“We looked a real threat today, I am certainly pleased with some of the football we played.

“The second half was not a surprise, we’ve had so many games over the festive period.

“A lot of lads have played a lot of games recently, even though we made changes.

“They were obviously chasing the game so there were some long balls and direct play. We naturally played a bit deeper because we wanted to see out the result.

“I thought we defended it well, although we were not as pure with the ball as the first half.

“I know Freddie has had a couple of saves to make, but you expect him to make those, there were not any big chances for Charlton.

“For me, that’s great credit to players.”