SUNDAY, MAY 4, 2014 SPORTS Man United beaten as Sunderland eye safety Man United 0 Sunderland 1 MANCHESTER: Louis van Gaal was served a timely reminder of the size of the re-building LONDON: West Ham’s Andy Carroll (center) heads the ball under pressure from job facing the club’s next manager as Seb Tottenham’s Michael Dawson (right) during their English Premier League soccer Larsson’s first-half goal secured Sunderland a 1- match. —AP 0 victory at Old Trafford yesterday. The result rel- egated Cardiff and Fulham while drastically improving Sunderland’s survival chances and West Ham down Spurs leaving United with a mountain to climb if they are to finish sixth in the Premier League and sharply in the hosts’ favor. secure Europa League football next season. Kaboul was sent off for clipping the Defeat also handed caretaker Ryan Giggs a West Ham 2 heels of the fleeing Downing and although harsh lesson in the unpredictable world of man- Hugo Lloris tipped over Andy Carroll’s agement and suggested his predecessor David thunderous subsequent free-kick, West Moyes may not have been solely to blame for Ham took the lead from the corner that the club’s painfully obvious current flaws. Tottenham 0 ensued. Carroll leapt to meet Downing’s The result also meant United, who are cross at the back post with a downward expected to appoint van Gaal as their new boss header and in attempting to head the ball next week, had lost seven home league games over the bar, Kane succeeded only in lifting in a season for the first time since the 1973/74 LONDON: West Ham United secured their it over Lloris and into the net. campaign, which ended with their relegation Premier League status after stemming a Spurs manager Sherwood responded by from the old First Division. run of four straight defeats with a 2-0 win introducing centre back Vlad Chiriches in OLD TRAFFORD: Scorer of the winning goal Sunderland’s Sebastian Larsson celebrates after his By contrast Gus Poyet’s Sunderland side con- team’s 1-0 win against Manchester United in their English Premier League soccer match. —AP at home to 10-man Tottenham Hotspur place of Kane, but still West Ham came for- tinued an extraordinary run which had brought yesterday. ward. Lloris had to make a fine low save to a draw at Manchester City and victory at the Sunderland penalty area. Giggs had seen enough and, after 66 min- The early dismissal of Spurs centre back touch a Matt Taylor drive around the post, Chelsea in recent weeks after Larsson volleyed Carrick’s right-wing curling cross after 16 utes, made the most audacious move yet of his Younes Kaboul gave West Ham control and but in the 44th minute West Ham doubled home on the half hour at Old Trafford. Victory minutes almost led to a goal but it was from brief tenure as United manager, bringing on they prevailed through a Harry Kane own their lead. left the north-east side three points above the Sunderland’s former United defender John Danny Welbeck and van Persie, making his first goal and a Stewart Downing free kick, his Downing’s 25-yard free-kick should have relegation zone with two games remaining. O’Shea who sliced a clearance just wide of his appearance since mid-March, in place of Young first goal for the club. Victory took West been blocked by the wall, but Adebayor Connor Wickham, the goalscoring hero of own net and the right-hand post. Juan Mata and Mata. Ham to 40 points ahead of their trip to and Paulinho inexplicably stepped apart, Sunderland’s charge to safety, set up the goal had a sight of goal on the stroke of half-time However, it was the visitors who should have Manchester City on the season’s final day allowing the ball to pass between them with strong play at the right-hand corner flag but his long shot was smothered easily by scored the next goal as Santiago Vergini swung and will relieve some of the pressure on and into the bottom right-hand corner. and a cross which beat Darren Fletcher on its Sunderland goalkeeper Vito Mannone. at Jozy Altidore’s cross and produced a shot manager Sam Allardyce, who has fallen out Carroll drilled a volley wide in first-half way to Larsson, who had slipped his marker Upon the restart, Lee Cattermole’s timely which struck the foot of the United post, with of favour with some of the club’s fans. injury time and it was only the astonishing Michael Carrick. clearance denied Javier Hernandez a clear scor- Jack Colback striking the rebound into the side- Spurs, meanwhile, are now in danger of reflexes of Lloris that kept the scoreline The Sunderland midfielder then produced a ing opportunity as he shaped to convert an Evra netting. being pipped to sixth place, which brings respectable in the second period. perfect 12-yard volley which flew past the div- cross with Nemanja Vidic powering a header Van Persie gave United fans brief hope with a with it a berth in next season’s Europa After five minutes, the France interna- ing David de Gea into the bottom left-hand cor- wide from the corner that followed. half-chance at the near post which he failed to League. tional produced an impressive double save, ner. Giggs introduced Adnan Januzaj in an effort get on target, Welbeck cut in for an 18-yard shot The defeat left Tim Sherwood’s men six parrying a spectacular overhead kick from It was a stunning development after the to add bolster United’s play in the final third of which cleared the bar and Hernandez shot dis- points above Manchester United, who have Mohamed Diame and then kicking the ball enthusiasm and support Giggs had enjoyed the pitch and the move brought about an appointingly over, unmarked from 12 yards, two games in hand and a vastly superior away from Kevin Nolan, before Taylor since taking over from sacked manager Moyes improvement with Wes Brown required to assist after being picked out by Evra’s cross. goal difference. steered the rebound wide. and winning his opening game 4-0 over Mannone after the keeper fumbled a Young cor- United were then almost caught on a classic Bidding for a third consecutive win, Moments later he came to Spurs’ rescue Norwich last week. ner. Another corner, this one from Januzaj him- counter-attack as Fabio Borini curled an impres- Spurs made an encouraging start at again, charging from his line to block with But with Wayne Rooney missing because of a self, also culminated in Phil Jones eventually sive attempt over de Gea but onto the crossbar, Upton Park, with Kane almost embar- his knee after Nolan had seized on a Carroll groin injury, and Robin van Persie on the bench, chipping to the far post, from where with Santiago Vergini hurrying his follow-up rassing West Ham goalkeeper Adrian knock-down. Lloris was then obliged to United were lacking a killer touch in and around Sunderland cleared. effort over the goal from the rebound.—AFP by charging down a clearance inside save at his near post from Taylor, before the first minute. Emmanuel Adebayor opposite number Adrian got in on the act then shot meekly at Adrian after being in stoppage time with a superb one-hand- teed up by Christian Eriksen, but in ed save to thwart marauding Spurs left Stoke end Fulham’s the 25th minute the momentum tilted back Danny Rose.—AFP top-flight stay LONDON: Fulham were relegated from Cardiff relegated, the Premier League as Stoke 4 goals from Peter Odemwingie, Marko Newcastle win Arnautovic, Oussama Assaidi and Jonathan Fulham 1 defending as Newcastle took the lead in the Walters saw them lose 18th minute. 4-1 at Stoke City yes- Newcastle 3 French midfielder Moussa Sissoko surged terday. beyond Cardiff full back Declan John before The London club were never in the game against a side floating an inviting cross to the far post, where whose safety was already assured and trailed 1-0 at the Ameobi was unmarked to head home his sec- break before tamely conceding three times in the second Cardiff 0 ond league goal of the season. Moments later half. the increasingly influential Sissoko tried his It meant that their 13-year tenure in the top flight came luck from 25 yards only to see a fierce right- to an end in sorry fashion, despite Kieran Richardson scor- footed shot deflect off Icelandic midfielder ing at 3-0. Fulham struggled to get going early on and the NEWCASTLE: Cardiff City were relegated from Aron Gunnarsson and cannon off the far post. BIRMINGHAM: Aston Villa’s Andreas Weimann celebrates scoring his side’s third goal, hosts came close to opening the scoring with just three the Premier League after just one season in the Zaha wasted two opportunities to equalise during their English Premier League match against Hull City. —AP minutes on the clock as Steven Nzonzi’s pull-back found top flight following a 3-0 defeat at Newcastle inside two minutes as his pace unsettled the Liverpool loanee Assaidi, who blazed over. yesterday. Magpies’ defence. Krul’s trailing right leg Assaidi’s inclusion in place of Peter Crouch allowed The Magpies’ victory, coupled with denied the former Crystal Palace winger in the Odemwingie to play further forward and the Nigerian went Sunderland’s win at Manchester United, sent Weimann calms 29th minute before a last-gasp tackle by the close with a shot after a Stoke break, before left-back Erik the south Wales club into the Championship France defender Mathieu Debuchy prevented Pieters shot wide from Glenn Whelan’s pass.