IRISH INTERNATIONAL Michael Obafemi’s first-half header helped Swansea beat promotion hunters, Blackburn.
Obafemi’s 16th-minute header was enough to claim all three points for the hosts at the Swansea.com Stadium, despite Galway defender Ryan Manning’s dismissal eight minutes into the second half.
The victory, only their second in 10 games, saw Swansea climb to 16th in the Championship table, while Rovers remain second but they missed the chance to gain ground on leaders Fulham.
John Buckley could have given them a dream start in only the second minute but he scuffed his shot into the grateful arms of Andy Fisher from Ryan Nyambe’s cross.
But the hosts weathered the early storm and took the lead in the 16th minute with their first attack of note.
And it was Jamie Paterson who made the difference on his return to the side with a superb cross for Irishman Obafemi to head home at the far post.
Paterson curled a shot just over the top from the edge of the area soon afterwards but Blackburn responded well.
Meath’s Darragh Lenihan headed against the post from Giles’s free-kick before Buckley poked the rebound over the bar.
Giles then saw a shot palmed to safety by Fisher before Hedges flashed a shot across goal and wide from the left in first-half stoppage time.
Lenihan produced a vital last-ditch tackle to deny Piroe a one-on-one with Thomas Kaminski in the Rovers goal five minutes into the second half.
But the momentum shifted when Manning was shown a second yellow for a high boot on Lenihan on 54 minutes. Blackburn pressed for an equaliser but Swansea held out.
Elsewhere, Wes Hoolahan’s FA Cup dream ended as Luton reached the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in nine years with a 3-0 success at Hoolahan’s Cambridge.
There are 29 places between the sides and goals in the first quarter of the game from Reece Burke and Carlos Mendes Gomes ensured there was rarely much likelihood of League One Cambridge springing a surprise for the second successive round.
The home side were missing the presence of injured forward Joe Ironside, scorer of the winner in their famous triumph at Newcastle in the round three, as well as influential defender Jack Iredale. Even Hoolahan’s brilliance could not help his side to victory.
