Swansea City beat Middlesbrough only for the third time this season after being knocked down by Duncan Whatmore’s bracket at Rinside Stadium.
Whatmore set out to control Neil Warnock’s men in each half, what was his first goal of his campaign late at night after Yan Dhananda finished unstable.
But Steve Cooper’s men couldn’t pull off a draw as they tasted defeat for the first time since a 1-0 defeat against Norwich City.
Tesid’s trip marked the first of eight matches for Swann in December.
And given the predominant nature of the schedule ahead, Cooper made three changes to the side before starting a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Ryan Manning, Ben Cabango and Casey Palmer came in favor of Jack Bidwell, Kyle Naugh Ton and Matt Grimes, all of whom fell off the bench.
That meant top scorer Andre Ayu captained the visitors, who collected seven out of nine points in the offer fur after the international break.
Swansea went into the match with the best defensive record in the division while the hosts had a combined-second best record.
And the events that initially unfolded went according to the scripts of most fans and pundits because both sides had a lot of problems in a very tight championship encounter.
However, Swansea had two golden chances to break the deadlock in the 19th minute after working to the right wing.
Corner Roberts’ strike was blocked by Marcus Tavier before Jamal Loni’s shot was well saved by Marcus Bettinelli.
And they were punished for failing to hit a net as Borough broke at the other end seven minutes later and moved on, as Whatmore’s 25-yard strike took a big turn for Mark Guehi to fly ahead of Freddie Woodman.
Swansea last won after first admitting in Birmingham City in July.
Referee Keith Stroud failed to draw attention to the penalty spot as referee Keith Stroud appeared to be clipped into the lifebus.
Palmer then fired a shot behind Au before Jay Fulton made a crucial last-ditch tackle to thwart Tavenier at the other end.
The Warner Bros. men almost doubled their lead two minutes before the break, although Woodman brilliantly deflected Sam Morsi’s shot to make sure Swansea were just one goal behind.
Cooper felt clear that there was a way back into the game. And he made a triple substitute in the second half, with Victor Gyocress, Wayne Routledge and Grimes coming along with Cabango, Lowe and Fulton.
The replacement should pay a dividend within a minute of the second half, as Bettinelli was caught out on a long ball, but Gyocres’ shot was too much for Routledge’s frustration when the Swede marked the edge of the ball. The attacker fired at the goal.
Borough spelled out a hefty spell around the hour mark, and Woodman was forced to refuse Marvin Johnson before Guohi made a spectacular block on the line in an effort to keep Morsi’s goal out of the corner.
Swansea responded nonetheless, thanking DJ Spence on the home side for throwing himself in front of Corey Smith’s shot from a six-yard box corner.
Dhanda replaced Palmer for the final 25 minutes, as Hans continued to advance for an equalizer.
But soon after Whatmore charged at a target left in an acre of space, they were caught on the break, and he drilled ahead of Woodman to cut the second goal of the night to put Wood Run’s troops in commanding position.
In the final third, Swansea struggled, although they went ahead with a 12-minute hopeful break from the shining business shotdle fry.
The former Liverpool man then fired a shot as Swansea threw the kitchen sink at Middlesbrough.
Dhanda’s dominant ball sent fellow replacement Jordan Grick Rick through to the goal in the final leg, although the winger gave him a side-facing flag before moving on to Battinelli.
And Swansea couldn’t get a late equalizer as they lost for the second time this season on the road in the league.
Middlesbrough: Bettinelli; Spence, Fry, McNair, Bola; Morsi (Klson 80), Howson, Tavenier; Watamor (Seville 67), P. Capom, Johnson (Wing 80).
Subs are not used: Stojnovic, Wood, Jones, Follerin, Roberts, Assombalonga.
Goals: at Tamor 26 and 67
Yellow cards: Johnson’s 45, Akpom 57
City of Swansea: Woodman; Kabango (Gyocres 46), Bennett, Guahei; Roberts, Smith (Garrick 81), Fulton (Grimes 46), Manning; Palmer (Dhanda 65); Iyev (C), Lowe (Routledge 46).
Not using subs: Benda, Bidwell, Naugh Ton, Cullen.
Goal: Business 78
Yellow cards: Fulton 45 + 1, Grimes 85
Referee: Keith Stroud
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