West Brom keep hopes alive
Baggies stun Spurs to stave off drop for at least a few days, as Stoke go down
Stoke were relegated from the English Premier League after a 10-year stay, while West Bromwich Albion earned a stay of execution yesterday. Jake Livermore’s dramatic injurytime goal helped West Brom stun Tottenham 1-0, and Everton’s equally late equaliser against Southampton ensured West Brom still have a glimmer of hope of avoiding the drop.
West Ham took a giant step towards securing survival by beating Leicester 2-0, while Swansea remain fearful of relegation after losing 1-0 at Bournemouth, who are now safe.
West Brom needed to beat fourthplace Tottenham to have any chance of staying up and left it late when Livermore turned the ball past Hugo Lloris in the 92nd minute.
West Brom have dropped 26 points from winning positions this season — the most in the league — and there were few hints they would take the lead at The Hawthorns.
Spurs carried the greater threat but England striker Harry Kane almost scored a spectacular own goal until Lloris turned his sliced clearance over with 17 minutes left.
But the hosts kept pressing and grabbed the winner when Danny Rose and Livermore went for the ball during a goalmouth scramble from a corner and Livermore poked it in to spark wild celebrations.
Southampton’s hopes of avoiding relegation took a blow as Everton midfielder Tom Davies scored an equaliser in the sixth minute of added time to rescue a 1-1 draw.
Substitute Nathan Redmond’s first goal in almost a year appeared to put Southampton’s fate back in their hands as victory would have meant a win at fellow strugglers Swansea on Thursday would ensure their safety.
However, Davies’ deflected shot off defender Wesley Hoedt moved Mark Hughes’ side above 18th-placed Swansea on goal difference only. It was a cruel end for the visitors, who finished the match with 10 men after Maya Yoshida’s 85th-minute red card.
Stoke City became the first team relegated this season when they lost to Crystal Palace 2-1. Stoke took the lead through Xherdan Shaqiri’s 43rdminute free kick, but James McArthur equalised for Palace in the 68th and Patrick van Aanholt netted the winner in the 86th.
Palace lost their first seven games but are now safe, completing a considerable upturn in fortunes after Roy Hodgson succeeded Frank De Boer early in the campaign.
West Ham inflicted on Leicester a fourth loss in five league matches with goals in each half from Joao Mario and Mark Noble. The win moved David Moyes’ team five points clear of the bottom three. — AP