TheCable

Southampton won 1-0 at Swansea on Tuesday night to all but preserve their English Premier League status, a result which automatically relegated West Brom down to the English Championship League.

Prior to kick-off, both teams occupied the 17th and 18th positions on the EPL log with the same points tally, and with just one game left to play after this encounter, the match at Swansea’s Liberty stadium was billed as a relegation six-pointer, winner takes all encounter.

Substitute, Manolo Gabiadini scored the only goal of the game on 72 minutes in a rather dull game that was devoid of quality and reeked of desperation from both sides.

Mark Hughes’ Southampton, now 16th on the log with 36 points, go into their final game of the season against Champions, Manchester City, on Sunday needing to preserve a 10-goal difference ahead of both Huddersfield who are 17th and have similar points tally to the Saints, and Swansea who occupy the last relegation spot and are a further three points adrift.

Relegated West Brom have occupied relegation position in the league since November, and only a late run of form had prevented the expected. The Midlands club sacked Tony Pulis earlier in the season due to relegation fears, while his replacement Alan Pardew, was also shown the exit after just one win in eighteen games and gross squad indiscipline.

Current caretaker manager, Darren Moore’s rescue act of 11 points from five games, including a 1-0 win at Old Trafford, was, sadly, too late to stop West Brom from ending their eight-year stay in the EPL, joining Stoke City who were relegated last weekend. The final relegation slot would be confirmed on Sunday when the final round of fixtures are played.