Swansea 0 Southampton 1
Southampton moved into the top six of the Barclays Premier League with a 1-0 win at Swansea.
The in-form Saints had won four and drawn one of their previous five games and Shane Long’s 69th-minute header secured another three points for Ronald Koeman’s side as Swansea lost for the first time under Francesco Guidolin.
Swansea were accommodating hosts as they created little of note, but they were left to rue referee Jonathan Moss’ decision not to award a penalty in the final minute when Saints substitute Maya Yoshida tangled with Alberto Paloschi.
Southampton were full value for their victory and Fraser Forster, for the sixth successive game since returning from a serious knee injury, kept a clean sheet to go past the 500-minute mark without conceding.
The game’s decisive moment arrived in the final quarter when Long, finding space in between defenders, was granted the freedom of the penalty area to convert James Ward-Prowse’s cross for his ninth goal of the season.
Crystal Palace 1 Watford 2
Crystal Palace’s two-month wait for a Barclays Premier League victory goes on after two goals from Troy Deeney inspired Watford to a 2-1 win at Selhurst Park.
The Watford captain, recalled to Quique Sanchez Flores’ starting XI, scored a first-half penalty and added an impressive second late on to take Watford’s points total to 36, and his team to the brink of safety.
Emmanuel Adebayor headed his first goal for Palace before Deeney’s winner, but again the Eagles, who finished with 10 men after Pape Souare’s late dismissal, suffered because of a lack of goals.
Even with the returning Yohan Cabaye in Palace’s midfield, Watford patiently retained the ball and frustrated their opponents, so the nature of the opening goal perhaps came as little surprise. From Ben Watson’s 16th-minute corner, Palace’s Mile Jedinak dragged Deeney to his knees, leaving referee Robert Madley with no option but to award a penalty which Deeney calmly sent to Wayne Hennessey’s left as the goalkeeper went right.
Everton 0 West Brom 1
West Brom’s first league win since January 2 moved them eight points clear of the relegation zone as Everton’s brief revival came to a shuddering halt.
Salomon Rondon scored the decider in the 1-0 victory, nicking the goal off Jonas Olsson with the final touch right on the line, for his third in the last seven matches as the Baggies clinched three points with their only shot on target.
By contrast the home side threw everything at their opponents but there was far too little precision in what they did as of their incredible 34 attempts, only six were on target.
An indication of Everton’s dominance — and at times desperation — was that over the course of 90 minutes every outfield Everton player, apart from their final, late substitute Leon Osman, attempted a shot.
The Baggies, lining up with four central defenders across the back, remained unmoved and unbowed, however, as they produced the sort of typically resolute performance for which their manager Tony Pulis is renowned.
In the 15th minute Stephane Sessegnon’s inswinging corner was helped on by Olsson but Everton goalkeeper Joel Robles appeared to be convinced the looping ball was heading wide — it was not — and Rondon at the far post bundled it in on the goalline.
Everton have now conceded more goals at home (23) than any other side in Europe’s top five leagues this season and is the main reason they have managed just four wins at Goodison this term.
The first half ended with the hosts having enjoyed 74 percent possession and had 17 shots, of which only two were on target.
But with a lack of guile in the final third, coupled with West Brom’s determination to throw everything in the way of every attack, Everton came up well short.
Bournemouth 1 Stoke City 3
Stoke put their three-game Premier League losing streak to an end with a confident 3-1 win over a weak Bournemouth side at the Vitality Stadium.
A first-half goal from Giannelli Imbula and second-half strikes from Ibrahim Afellay and Joselu were enough to secure the visitors all three points and move them up to ninth in the league table.
Bournemouth struggled to compete in the game but Matt Ritchie’s consolation goal just before the hour mark led to an exciting finish to the game as the Cherries pushed on to try and achieve a much-needed draw.
The home side had a first half to forget and it took Stoke just nine minutes to break through the Cherries’ defence. Simon Francis’ block fell straight to Imbula and the midfielder hit the ball on the volley straight into the bottom corner of the net, giving Artur Boruc no chance.
Early in the second half, with only 10 men on the pitch due to an injury to Glen Johnson, Jonathan Walters took on Harry Arter down the right before passing a beautifully timed ball to the oncoming Afellay, who finished first time.
Stoke striker Joselu was brought on to replace Johnson during the celebrations and had only been on the pitch a few minutes before his head met Xherdan Shaqiri’s cross to put Stoke 3-0 up. Bournemouth were not going to give up easily and in the 57th minute Ritchie, one of two half-time substitutes, swept home a superb first-time left-foot effort from the edge of the box.
