Football: West Brom keep hopes alive

A pitch invader celebrates West Brom's late winner against Tottenham yesterday. Photo / AP

Stoke was relegated from the English Premier League after a 10-year stay while West Bromwich Albion earned a stay of execution on Saturday.

Jake Livemore's dramatic injury-time goal helped West Brom stun Tottenham 1-0, and Everton's equally late equalizer against Southampton ensured West Brom still has a glimmer of hope of avoiding the drop.

West Ham took a giant step toward securing its own survival by beating Leicester 2-0, while Swansea remained fearful of relegation after losing 1-0 at Bournemouth, which secured Premier League safety.

GREAT ESCAPE

West Brom needed to beat fourth-place Tottenham to stand any chance of staying up and left it late when Livermore turned the ball past Hugo Lloris.

West Brom has dropped 26 points from winning positions this season — the most in the league — and there were few hints it would take the lead at The Hawthorns.

Spurs carried the greater threat and Ben Foster needed to be alert when Erik Lamela threatened before he palmed away Christian Eriksen's free kick after 62 minutes.

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 in stoppage time when Danny Rose and Livermore went for the ball during a goalmouth scramble and Livermore poked it in to spark wild celebrations.

Defeat meant Tottenham has yet to confirm its top-four spot. Chelsea could close the gap to two points with two games left if it beats Liverpool on Sunday.

HOPES CRUSHED

Southampton's hopes of avoiding relegation took a blow as Everton midfielder Tom Davies scored an equalizer 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 the fight very much back in Saints' hands as it would have left them needing a win at fellow struggler Swansea on Tuesday to guarantee 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.

DOWN AND OUT

Stoke became the first team relegated this season when it lost to Crystal Palace 2-1.

Stoke took the lead through Xherdan Shaqiri's 43rd-minute free kick, but James McArthur equalized for Palace in the 68th and Patrick van Aanholt netted the winner in the 86th.

Palace lost its first seven games but is mathematically safe, completing the considerable upturn in its fortunes after Roy Hodgson succeeded Frank De Boer early in the campaign.

OTHER MATCHES

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 six points clear of the bottom three.

Elsewhere, Watford ended a seven-match winless run by beating Newcastle 2-1 despite captain Troy Deeney missing a penalty.

-AP