By Chloe Evans
Swansea City slipped to a deflating home defeat against Queens Park Rangers, the 34th minute sending off of Malick Yalcouye helping seal their fate.
Teenager Yalcouye, on loan from Brighton, was dismissed for violent conduct after a clash with Rangers’ Steve Cook.
The Swans were trailing to Rumarn Burrell’s 18th minute, the Jamaican striker steering home Isaac Hayden’s cross amid some porous Swansea defending.
After a minute’s silence in memory of the Aberfan disaster, Swansea started brightly without creating anything clear-cut.
Burrell punished them in the 18th minute and when Yalcouye was dispatched the writing was on the wall for Alan Sheehan’s men.
Swansea’s frustration was apparent when Adam Idah was yellow-carded for shoving QPR goalkeeper Paul Nardi to the ground five minutes before the interval.
Sheehan shuffled his pack at half-time, swapping Goncalo Franco with Joshua Key and bringing on Ronald for Zeidane Inoussa.
But reduced to 10-men it was always going to be a struggle in the second half for the home side.
There were some promising situations but no genuine threat, and Rangers might have increased their lead on a number of occasions.
Some Swans fans were leaving the ground well before the end, despite the solitary goal – an indication of a lack of expectation.
Swansea are now without a win in their last five games and without a win of any kind in the league since August.
A play-off push was the aim at the start of the campaign, but a significant improvement is needed if that is to come about.