Bafetimbi Gomis and Andre Ayew scored as Swansea City beat 10-man Newcastle United 2-0 on Saturday to leave the visitors without a win after two Premier League games.

Gomis struck in the ninth minute to give Garry Monk’s side the lead and after Newcastle full-back Daryl Janmaat had been sent off for a second yellow card, in the 41st minute, Ayew claimed his second goal of the season.

The result left Monk’s men in fourth place in the nascent standings, while the performance at the Liberty Stadium suggested that they can aspire to even greater heights than last season’s eighth-place finish.

Having helped themselves to a valuable point at champions Chelsea seven days previously, Swansea began this game with real confidence, with Jonjo Shelvey once again dictating the pace of the game.

The former Liverpool man delivered pass after pass, with genuine menace, and played the leading role as Swansea took an early lead against Steve McClaren’s side.

Having featured twice in an intricate passage of play around the half-way line, Shelvey delivered an exquisite pass to leave Gomis with only goalkeeper Tim Krul to beat.

Last weekend, Thibaut Courtois was forced to upend the Frenchman and suffered the ignominy of not only being sent off, but conceding the penalty that would earn Swansea a laudable point.

This time, Krul avoided contact with the French striker, but was powerless to prevent Gomis from rounding him and rolling the ball into an empty net.

Newcastle, who spent more than £35 million ($54.8 million, 49.3 million euros) during the transfer window, looked anything but capable of breaking down a resolute Swansea back four.

When they finally eased their way into the final third, Gabriel Obertan nipped inside full-back Kyle Naughton and brought out a decent save from Lukasz Fabianski.

A goal down and with little to show for their first-half efforts, Newcastle found themselves a man down four minutes before the break.

Having been booked for a crude challenge on Jefferson Montero in the 16th minute, Janmaat was sent off after grabbing Montero’s shirt as the Ecuadorian once again left him in his wake.

There were no arguments from either McClaren or Janmaat, who left for the changing rooms with his head held low.

Swansea came close to doubling their lead two minutes into the second half when Gylfi Sigurdsson beat Krul from 25 yards, only for the ball to hit the bar, land on the goal-line, and bounce out.

Montero also struck a post, but Newcastle’s relief was short-lived as Swansea made the game safe when the outstanding Montero swept past Chancel Mbemba and crossed for Ayew to rise and head past Krul.

McClaren’s response was to withdraw Papiss Cisse and play the final 38 minutes without a striker.

The words ‘damage limitation’ sprung to mind and some of the visiting fans, who had seen their side draw 2-2 at home to Southampton last weekend, seemed far from pleased.

His decision did little to change the flow of the game as Swansea continued to create opportunities.

Ayew was wide with a header from yet another Montero cross and after Nathan Dyer replaced Ayew with 20 minutes remaining, Shelvey tested Krul, once again, from a tight angle.

That the score did not change said more about Swansea’s finishing than it did about Newcastle’s defending as McClaren was left to reflect on a return of one point from a possible six in his first two league games.