Swansea City 1-2 Middlesbrough: Carl Rushworth error condemns hosts to first defeat under Alan Sheehan

Swansea City fell to defeat for the first time under interim boss Alan Sheehan as they were beaten by out-of-form Middlesbrough at the Swansea.com Stadium.

Sam Greenwood gave the visitors the lead against the run of play on the stroke of half-time, after Bashir Humphreys and Liam Walsh, the only two changes from Tuesday's draw at Stoke City, both spurned good opportunities for the hosts.

Jamal Lowe's stooping header restored parity midway through the second half, but Boro would go back in front 12 minutes from time.

Harry Darling's touch inside the box was deemed as a pass by referee Matthew Donohue, who then penalised goalkeeper Carl Rushworth for picking the ball up.

Substitute Samuel Silvera then fired home from the resulting freekick inside the box to restore the visitors' lead. Isaiah Jones nearly compounded Swansea's agony with the final kick of the game, but saw his effort come clattering off the crossbar.

Sheehan, overseeing the first home game of his interim tenure, will have been encouraged by a lot of what he saw here, but will clearly be disappointed that his side ultimately didn't test Seny Dieng nearly enough in the Middlesbrough goal.

This result certainly did little to ease any concerns about Swansea's home form. Indeed, fans have now seen their side win just two of their 11 games at the Swansea.com Stadium.

For different reasons, this performance further underlined the amount of work that lies in wait for the new manager, whoever that may be.

Chris Davies remains the name on everyone's lips, although the sight of the Tottenham assistant on the sidelines at the City Ground on Friday night will have ramped up any existing anxiety over whether the move will happen.

That anxiety will quickly morph into panic for