Southampton took a step towards Premier League survival with a 1-0 victory over relegation rivals Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Tuesday night, writes DEAN WORKMAN.

The game was like a relegation playoff with both sides on 33 points and the Saints only out of the bottom three, one spot above the Swans, on goal difference. A victory for either side would relegate West Brom and give the victors the upper hand over the other side heading into the final round of fixtures.

Both sides started the game cautiously as neither wanted to make any sort of mistake.

It took 30 minutes for the first chance of note to arrive. A good counter attack by Southampton saw Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg find Charlie Austin on the edge of the Swansea box. The striker, however, fired his shot straight into the arms of Lukas Fabianski.

Carlos Carvalhal’s side then had a chance to take the lead as the game begun to open up. Andy King delivered a perfectly placed cross, but Sam Clucas failed to direct his header on target.

Goalless at half-time with neither side doing enough to be ahead.

Swansea started the second half brightly and Jordan Ayew almost grabbed the lead for his side on 47 minutes. The forward cut inside and drove into the middle of the pitch before unleashing a wonderful curling effort, only to be denied by a fantastic save by Alex McCarthy in the Southampton goal.

Mark Hughes’ team began to grow in confidence and Austin had another glorious chance after 59 minutes. Cedric Soares delivered an inch-perfect cross, but the Englishmen’s header was straight at Fabianski from inside the six-yard box.

Both managers turned to the bench in search of a goal, but it was Hughes who had the masterstroke.

The Saints boss brought on Manolo Gabbiadini who grabbed the all-important goal just four minutes later. Dusan Tadic whipped in a corner kick, it was nodded down to Austin who had his shot blocked, but Gabbiadini reacted quickest to poke the ball over the line. 1-0 to Southampton after 72 minutes played.

Carvalhal’s men pushed forward in search of a goal that would keep their survival hopes alive, but it never came as Southampton shut up shop in the final 15 minutes.

1-0 the final score, Southampton taking a massive step towards survival, relegating West Brom in the process and placing Swansea’s Premier League future in serious doubt.

Photo: Nick Potts/Backpagepix