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Promotion all but sealed for West Brom

28/04/2008

West Brom are virtually guaranteed a place in the Premier League next season after a 1-1 draw with Southampton put them on the brink of promotion.

Substitute Chris Brunt secured the crucial goal to cancel out Adam Lallana's 77th minute opener for the away side and all but secure top flight football.

The Baggies top the Championship with 78 points from 45 games, with Stoke in second place on the same number of points and Hull a further three behind.

Their goal difference of plus-31 means Hull will have to put at least six past Ipswich and hope QPR inflict the same margin of defeat upon WBA on the final day of the season to condemn Tony Mowbray's side to the play-offs.

But slim mathematical possibilities were not enough to deter fans at the Hawthorns, who invaded the pitch after the final whistle to celebrate their team's success.

The game itself was a largely edgy affair, with the Baggies looking for the win that would guarantee Premier League football.

WBA captain Jonathan Greening went close from 25 yards, while strikers Ishmael Miller and Kevin Phillips both tested Richard Wright.

Saints broke the deadlock through Lallana's powerful drive with 13 minutes to go, but fellow substitute Brunt was on hand to level the match on 84 minutes the remaining.

The hard-earned point could not be enough for Southampton however, who remain in the relegation zone on goal difference, meaning the fates of Leicester, Sheffield Wednesday, Coventry and Blackpool are all in their own hands going into the final day of the season.