Southampton continued their impressive march towards automatic promotion with a hard-fought 2-1 comeback victory at Swansea, courtesy of Cameron Archer's stunning late winner. The Saints substitute volleyed home in the 90th minute to secure a seventh consecutive Championship win for Tonda Eckert's side.

This victory propelled fourth-placed Southampton to within a point of second-placed Millwall and level with third-placed Ipswich, who have two games in hand. The win marked the Saints' eighth consecutive victory in all competitions, following their recent FA Cup success against Arsenal.

Swansea, who led at halftime through Marko Stamenic's 20th-minute opener, dropped to 15th place. The visitors' fightback began when substitute Shea Charles equalized in the 57th minute, paving the way for Archer's decisive strike.

Despite a bright start, Swansea's tempo slowed, but they still managed to take the lead after 20 minutes through Stamenic. The goal came from a throw-in on the left, which ended with Eom Ji-sung's deep cross being headed back across goal by Zan Vipotnik.

Ben Cabango was unable to turn the ball in, but Stamenic scored his third goal of the season. The match was marked by yellow cards, with Swansea's Goncalo Franco and Melker Widell, as well as Southampton's Flynn Downes, all being cautioned. A penalty appeal by Southampton for a trip on striker Ross Stewart by Cabango was waved away by referee Oliver Langford. As the visitors ended the half strongly, Swansea goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux produced a fine save to deny Saints' James Bree.

Southampton began the second period with the same sense of urgency, but a combination of resolute defending and delays in shooting meant Swansea survived a prolonged scramble inside their own penalty area. Vigouroux then produced another excellent stop to thwart Stewart as Southampton sensed an equalizer was on its way. The equalizer duly arrived in the 57th minute through Charles, who headed home from close range after Leo Scienza had flicked on a probing cross from the left from Finn Azaz.

With their tails up, Saints had a chance to take the lead, but when Ryan Manning drilled a low cross across goal, there was no one to add the decisive touch. Swansea, though, survived the storm and created more openings themselves in the late stages. A forceful run by Eom opened up space for Gustavo Nunes, but the substitute's shot was deflected wide before Franco also went close.

Just when it seemed both sides would have to settle for a point, Caspar Jander's cross was volleyed home by Archer, despite Jay Fulton's attempted block on the line. Swansea's Vitor Matos reflected on the game, stating, 'The details make the difference, small things make the difference, and that's something that we need to learn when we want to compete against these kinds of teams.' Southampton's Tonda Eckert added, 'For me, it's not the time for any big reflections.

The records are a nice side fact, but it doesn't take us anywhere. I think you saw a team full of desire and belief to win a game and then the way to win it is always different.'