Burnley 0 Leicester City 1
BURNLEY WERE LEFT to rue Matt Taylor’s missed penalty as Leicester City immediately went upfield and sealed a 1-0 win that lifts them out of the Premier League relegation zone.
Jamie Vardy’s goal was enough to give the visitors three vital points in Saturday’s crucial relegation clash at Turf Moor, as Nigel Pearson’s side climbed to 17th on the back of their fourth successive win.
Burnley, meanwhile, remain at the foot of the table, five points from safety. It could so easily have been a different story, with the hosts awarded a spot-kick just before the hour mark, only for Taylor – who took the ball ahead of regular penalty taker Danny Ings – to send his effort against the post with Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel having dived the wrong way.
A minute later, Leicester took full advantage when Michael Duff turned Marc Albrighton’s cross goalwards and Vardy bundled the ball over the line after Tom Heaton’s initial save.
It could be a decisive blow for the survival hopes of Sean Dyche’s side, who have now failed to score in all five matches since a 1-0 win over reigning champions Manchester City last month.
Crystal Palace 0 Hull 2
Premier League strugglers Hull City claimed their first win in seven matches as Dame N’Doye fired a brace to sink Crystal Palace 2-0. Steve Bruce’s side had been winless since overcoming QPR 2-1 in February and faced the prospect of ending Saturday in the bottom three if they came away from Selhurst Park empty handed.
N’Doye netted the decisive late goal against Rangers and he was Hull’s hero once more when he poked the ball home from close range seven minutes into the second half before sealing the points in stoppage time. Palace had belatedly rallied prior to that second, and substitute Yaya Sanogo saw a header disallowed for fouling Paul McShane.
Hull sub Liam Rosenoir then clattered the crossbar with a long-range volley in the closing moments but it was N’Doye who had the final word when he ran clear on the break and finished clinically to edge his team up to 16th – two places and a solitary point above the relegation zone.
Newcastle 2 Swansea 3
Newcastle United’s dismal Premier League form continued as they slumped to a seventh straight defeat with a 3-2 loss to Swansea City. The game took place amid a backdrop of fan frustration, with some supporters choosing to continue the boycott from last week’s reverse to Tottenham and others electing to ‘stand up to Mike Ashley’ in the 34th minute in protest at the Newcastle owner’s running of the club.
John Carver’s side nevertheless took the lead after 20 minutes as Spanish striker Ayoze Perez capitalised on some haphazard defending from the visitors. Yet Newcastle failed to build on the goal and allowed Swansea to turn the game on its head, the Welsh club securing a record Premier League points tally of 50 in the process.
Portuguese forward Nelson Oliveira levelled in first-half injury time with his maiden goal in English football, and a confidently taken second from Gylfi Sigurdsson in the 50th minute put Swansea ahead. Oliveira turned provider to set up Jack Cork for a third from point-blank range, with substitute Siem de Jong’s 87th-minute goal in his first appearance since August proving immaterial as Swansea held on to leave Newcastle just five points above the bottom three.
QPR 0 West Ham 0
QPR were left to lament Charlie Austin’s saved first-half penalty as their Premier League survival hopes took a further dent with a goalless draw against West Ham at Loftus Road. Austin’s spot-kick – which was just too close to Adrian – proved to be QPR’s golden opportunity in a game otherwise devoid of clear-cut chances, as Chris Ramsey’s side slipped four points off safety.
Wins for fellow strugglers Hull City and Leicester City compounded the result, but it could have been so different had the hosts capitalised on the penalty – awarded when Bobby Zamora’s prodded ball struck James Collins on the hand. However, Adrian – who was excellent throughout – got down to make the save, and, though QPR were the better side after the interval, there was to be no breakthrough.
On his 100th QPR appearance, former West Ham goalkeeper Rob Green was also kept relatively busy – required to deny Aaron Cresswell from a free-kick before the hour.
West Ham were unable to sink their London rivals further into the mire, as their own late-season malaise continued, with Ramsey’s men further frustrated going into their final four games when Richard Dunne’s header was disallowed late on. The Irish centre-half was making his first start since February after returning from a knee injury.
West Brom 0 Liverpool 0
Steven Gerrard’s 500th Premier League appearance was not one to remember as Liverpool were held to a goalless draw at West Brom that leaves their chances of securing a UEFA Champions League spot looking even more remote.
Gerrard was denied a farewell appearance in the FA Cup final when Aston Villa beat Brendan Rodgers’ side 2-1 in the semi-final last weekend, and they also look likely to miss out on a top-four finish in the long-serving captain’s final season before moving to LA Galaxy.
Liverpool had the better of Saturday’s clash at The Hawthorns, but were unable to respond to their Wembley heartbreak with a victory as Albion dug deep to move a point closer to safety.
Stoke 1 Sunderland 1
Sunderland slipped into the Premier League relegation zone despite collecting a point in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Stoke City. With Leicester City recording a fourth win in succession against Burnley at Turf Moor, Dick Advocaat’s side dropped into the bottom three for the first time this season as a result of their stalemate at the Britannia Stadium.
A frantic start saw Connor Wickham open the scoring for Sunderland inside the first minute with his fifth goal of the season, but Stoke were level before the half-hour through Charlie Adam.
