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Villa eased for drop after last-gasp victory

A LAST-MINUTE penalty by Christian Benteke gave Aston Villa a crucial 2-1 victory over local rivals West Brom in the Premier League on Tuesday, moving them out of the bottom three and prompting Coral to ease them from 5-4 to 6-4 for relegation.

Gabriel Agbonlahor put Villa in front, but West Brom’s Saido Berahino netted his 12th league goal of the season to level things up and the game looked to be heading for a draw until Baggies goalie Ben Foster had a rush of blood in the dying seconds and felled Matthew Lowton in the penalty area.

Relegation rivals Hull and Sunderland are both 10-3 to go down with Coral after a 1-1 draw at the KC Stadium.

Dame N’Doye gave the Tigers an early lead and Sunderland’s night got worse when their manager Gus Poyet was sent to the stands and Lee Cattermole picked up his tenth yellow card of the campaign, meaning he will be banned for the next two matches at home to Aston Villa and away to West Ham.

But Hull failed to get a crucial second goal and paid the price after 77 minutes when Jack Rodwell headed an equaliser.

Meanwhile, Southampton moved up to fifth after Sadio Mane scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace. Saints are 11-2 with Coral to finish in the top four. 

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