Darling delights as Swans fly high

HARRY DARLING proved to be Swansea’s sweetheart with the vital goal to put them within kissing distance of the top of the Championship.

Darling puckered up with a smacker just before halftime and although Sunderland got up close and personal after the break, the Swans held on.

The victory made it four wins on the bounce for the Swans, with Ollie Cooper scoring his first league goal for the club, before Darling made it 2-0. Jack Clarke pulled one back just after the break but the Black

Cats failed to get a second.

Inside eight days, Swans head coach Russell Martin has enjoyed victories at West Brom, Watford and now this one and he said: “I’m immensely proud of the players, staff and the fans. To get the three wins is an incredible return.

“If anyone had said at the start of the week that we’d get nine points, we’d probably be the only people who would believe we’d be capable of that.

“The league is wide open and I’m just really proud that the players have put themselves in this position after the start we had.” Jay Fulton provided the snap in midfield while Cooper’s energy was rewarded when his deflected shot put Swansea 1-0 ahead.

Darling bundled in the second as Sunderland paid the price for a passive first 45 minutes.

Clarke’s clever run and angled shot brought Tony Mowbray’s side back into the game in the 51st minute but the manager had no quibbles over a first defeat in four games.

“We wanted to go toe-to-toe with them but they got through us too easily in the first half,” said Mowbray.