ALBION keeper Mathew Ryan has been praised for his part in a third clean sheet in six games as he aims for World Cup qualification with Australia.

Ryan had little to do at Swansea but spread himself to deny Tammy Abraham early in the second half.

Manager Chris Hughton believes his positioning was also pivotal to substitute Luciano Narsingh hitting the bar and not the back of the net for the Welshmen in stoppage time.

Hughton told The Argus: “Maty Ryan made a good save and then affected with his positioning their best chance of the game, when they hit the crossbar. He’s had a fairly resilient team in front of him that tried to limit the opportunities he had to face but that’s good goalkeeping.

“That’s the margins. They score that and it’s a different feel at the end but I thought we did enough as the away team to warrant getting points.”

Ryan faces a play-off with Honduras over two legs for Australia to reach next summer’s World Cup in Russia, likewise central defender Shane Duffy with the Republic of Ireland against Denmark.