EPL week 34 review: Hull and Swansea with vital wins

Week 34 of the English Premier League saw Hull and Swansea pull of crucial wins in the bid to avoid the drop, Crystal Palace reach safety after a win at Liverpool, and Man Utd close the gap on neighbours Man City to one point.

With the big boys competing in the FA Cup this weekend is was left to the little boys at the bottom of the table to provide the tension and drama that the punters have become used to in the Premier League.

With Sunderland and Middlesbrough lost causes, all contact lenses were on Hull and Swansea who both faced what looked on paper to be the easiest opponent’s they will face in the run in.

Watford arrived at the KCOM Stadium with three wins from four, but last week’s victory against Swansea ensured Premier League football for next season, so you alway felt they would arrive in Hull with the handbrake slightly applied.

As it turned out, the referee was the one to loosen that handbrake when he sent Oumar Niasse for an early bath after an innocuous challenge that left the Everton loanee in utter bewilderment.

So Hull were down to ten men in a vital juncture in their season. But you wouldn’t have thought it. Hull were superb. They soaked up the Watford pressure, got a bit of luck and then hit them on the break with devastating effect. Andrew Robertson broke from the back, he set Kamil Grosicki racing down the right wing, and his cross was finished by Lazar Markovic. Nine minutes later and Hull sealed the victory after Sam Klucas scored a sensation volley from the edge of the box.

The win means Hull has now won 19 of 21 points at home since Marco Silva took over, and Watford slumped to their fourth away loss on the trot resulting in skipper Troy Deeney telling the press that his side has no balls.

Swansea Win at Home to Stoke

Paul Clement said before the game that this was a must win tie for the Welsh side, and that fact was cemented after Hull’s great performance. There were omens on both sides leading into the game. Swansea had suffered five defeats in their past six matches, but Stoke hadn’t scored an away goal since mid-January and were comfortable in mid-table.

It was imperative that the Swans got a good start, and they did, when Fernando Llorente got on the end of a corner to head the men in white into the lead in the 10th minute. It was his sixth header of the season, more than anyone else in the Premier League.

Then a pivotal moment in the match when Xherdan Shaqiri was brought down in the box by Federico Fernandez. The referee pointed to the spot and Shaqiri wanted it before being overuled by Marko Arnautovic who promptly blazed the ball over the bar.

There wasn’t even time for a grimace to bear on the face of Mark Hughes before Swansea flew down the other end of the pitch and Tom Carroll secured a vital three points for the Swans with a shot from the edge of the box that got a wicked deflection off former Swansea player Joe Allen before settling into the back of the net. It was Carroll’s first goal for the club and he couldn’t have timed it better.

The Best of the Rest

Bournemouth drove another nail into the coffin of Middlesbrough with a convincing win at Dean Court. Josh King scored his tenth goal in eleven goals within the first two minutes and Boro pressed the self-detruct button.

Gaston Ramirez was sent off for two stupid yellow card offences, and defensive howlers allowed Benik Afobe and Marc Pugh to make it three-nil. Charlie Daniels made it four after a neat piece of improvisation from a free kick.

Crystal Palace is out of the relegation scrap after beating Liverpool at Anfield. It was Liverpool who opened the scoring in the 24th minute after Philippe Coutinho rifled home a free kick for his tenth goal of the season. But Palace drew level before half time thanks to a counter-attack led by Yohan Cabaye and finished by the former Liverpool star Christian Benteke.

And the Belgian wasn’t finished.

Palace was awarded a corner in the 74th minute, and who ghosted into the box in the midst of a possee of Liverpool players was Benteke to score his second of the match and his 14th Premier League goal of the season.

Allardyce lost six of his first eight games in charge, and has now won six of the his last eight games in charge.

Palace might be safe but Burnley are anything but. A makeshift Man Utd side handed Wayne Rooney only his second start in nineteen games and he responded with a goal in a two nil win that sees Burnley drop to within three points of Hull. Sean Dyche;s side has only won one game in their last ten and they are in freefall. Anthony Martial scored the other goal for United to answer his recent critics including his gaffer.

United move one point behind Man City in the race for the Champions League spot. The two Manchester sides face each other on Thursday in a crucial tie.

Here are the rest of the weekend results in full:

Week 34 Results

Hull 2 v 0 Watford
Swansea 2 v 0 Stoke
Bournemouth 4 v 0 Middlesbrough
West Ham 0 v 0 Everton
Burnley 0 v 2 Man Utd
Liverpool 1 v 2 Crystal Palace

Premier League Table

1. Chelsea – 75
2. Spurs – 71
3. Liverpool – 66
4. Man City – 64
5. Man Utd – 63
6. Everton – 58
7. Arsenal – 57
8. West Brom – 44
9. Southampton – 40
10. Watford – 40
11. Stoke – 39
12. Crystal Palace – 38
13. Bournemouth – 38
14. West Ham – 38
15. Leicester – 37
16. Burnley – 36
17. Hull – 33
18. Swansea – 31
19. Middlesbrough – 24
20. Sunderland – 21