West Brom RELEGATED as Gabbiadini winner gifts Southampton crucial victory over Swansea

WEST BROM have been relegated from the Premier League after Southampton edged a narrow 1-0 victory over Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.
The Baggies, who have won three of their last four Premier League matches, sat just one point above bottom-placed Stoke City ahead of tonight’s match but needed a draw in Wales to take their chances to the last day of the campaign.

But it wasn’t to be or the Baggies and they’ll be playing Championship football next season, along with Stoke.

It was tight and it was downright tense but Manolo Gabbiadini’s goal decided this £180million relegation battle in Southampton’s favour as the Saints took a giant step towards survival.

Three points for the visitors means Swansea now need a miracle to avoid the drop and you got the feeling this was a game they simply had to win to have a chance of staying in the Premier League.

In the end, they did not do enough and the Welsh side’s seven straight seasons in English football’s top-flight now looks like coming to an end.

Gabbiadini was the man to put a dagger to Swansea hearts.
The substitute rose from the bench in the second half to put a loose ball into the home net and this result pushes Southampton three points clear of danger.

Saints host champions Man City on the final day while Swansea welcome Stoke, but it’s the men from St Mary’s who now have their heads above the parapet.

The importance of this fixture was more than evident before kick-off and the tension had been stoked – certainly as far as Southampton were concerned – by the Saints being forced to switch hotels in the run-up to the game.

A nervy atmosphere was certainly apparent, Swansea opting for caution by sticking with a three-man defence and wing-backs despite needing the three points.

Southampton – backed by a noisy travelling army – matched the home side’s system and the result was an unsurprisingly cagey opening.

Jordan Ayew put a free-kick from a good position into the Southampton wall while visiting skipper Ryan Bertrand and Andy King both had shots saved.

Swansea screamed for handball and a penalty when Wesley Hoedt went to ground tackling Andre Ayew but Michael Oliver waved away the appeals.

Managers Carlos Carvalhal and Mark Hughes cut agitated figures on the touchline and that mood translated to the stands. Swansea were still the more threatening side, Jordan Ayew heading over, but every misplaced pass from the men in white lead to gasps of exasperation from the crowd.

It took until half an hour for Southampton to create a real chance of note. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg slipped in Charlie Austin but the Saints striker found Lukasz Fabianski equal to the task.

At the other end, Sam Clucas flicked a King cross just wide as Swansea raised a head of steam before the break, but neither side managed to break deadlock by the time Oliver ended the first period. Indeed it was Southa mpton who ended the opening 45 with two chances, Austin working Fabianski again and Nathan Redmond dragging a shot wide.




Jordan Ayew came so close to an opener when the game resumed. The Ghanaian cut inside from the left and unleashed a long-range, dipping effort which looked set for the top corner until Alex McCarthy intervened, the Saints stopper tipping the ball over the bar in expert fashion.

It was a superb stop from McCarthy, his opposite number Fabianksi following that up with a more routine stop from Austin’s 20-yard drive. Suddenly, it was Southampton with the upper hand.

Austin again somehow headed straight at Fabianski when it looked easier to score and both managers then gambled with it all on the line as strikers Tammy Abraham and Shane long entered the fray.

A long delay then ensued – McCarthy clattering his own defender Jan Bednarek who went down before eventually being replaced by Gabbiadini.

Football works in mysterious ways and the enforced substitution went in Southampton’s favour almost immediately. Within four minutes of coming on, the Italian striker had come up with the only goal of the game to send the away end wild.

Dusan Tadic swung in a corner, Swansea failed to clear, and the ball rebounded around the box before it fell to Gabbiadini. The former Napoli man made the hosts pay, beating a diving Andre Ayew to the ball and finding the bottom corner. It was scrappy, not that Southampton cared one jot.

Swansea searched in hope of an equaliser but it didn’t happen as McCarthy did excellently once again to tip over an Abraham header as Hughes left with the spoils despite six minutes of added time.

Hughes will see this win as justice after his team were messed around with their accommodation in South Wales and his full-time celebration told you everything about the importance of the win.

Source:www.express.co.uk