Crystal Palace 2 Southampton 2: The struggle to stay in the Premiership has become not so much a nailbiter as a thumbscrewer and it is just as well that the issue will be settled this weekend. Otherwise, the League Against Cruel Sports might have been tempted to bring a private prosecution.
At least the players can have a direct influence, for better or worse, on which one of the bottom four teams stays up. The real sufferers are the helpless onlookers.
Southampton manager Harry Redknapp starts every match looking like a man with a slow puncture and, when the third of the four minutes of stoppage time arrived with Crystal Palace leading 2-1 and Southampton above the trapdoor of relegation, he appeared beyond the help of even a foot pump.
At which point the Palace defence went into freeze frame, allowing Nigel Quashie's long through-pass to reach Kevin Phillips in space on the left and his half-paced low cross to make it to the far post, where Danny Higginbotham's first goal for Southampton kept alive their hopes of survival.
And so the torture goes to the last Sunday with Southampton needing to repeat last season's home win against a Manchester United side a week away from the FA Cup final while Palace will trust that Charlton do not suddenly rediscover their form at The Valley. It will all be academic should Norwich win at Fulham.
Neither Southampton nor Crystal Palace will be helped by the absence of Peter Crouch and Gonzalo Sorondo who needlessly got themselves sent off early in the second half following a mass jostle.
Palace took the lead in the 34 minute when Michael Hughes' free-kick was half-cleared, the ball eventually falling to the centre back, Fitz Hall, who hooked it past Antti Niemi like a centre forward.
Straight from the kick-off Tony Popovic handled under pressure from Henri Camara to concede a penalty which took an age to take. Crouch's kick, however, was nerveless and true.
In the 72nd minute substitute Nicola Ventola ran on to Tom Soares's ball to restore Palace's lead. When Gabor Kiraly flung out a hand to deny Camara an equaliser in the 89th minute that lead looked safe, but Higginbotham proved otherwise.
