Baggies go down after defeat by Reds
Steven Gerrard scored his 24th goal of the season
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Sunday, 17, May 2009 08:54
West Bromwich Albion have been relegated after suffering a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at the Hawthorns.
The Baggies will play in the Championship next season after going down to goals from Steven Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt.
And the Midlands side will have few complaints after failing to take their chances against the Reds.
The hosts made an impressive start with Pepe Reina making a double save to deny Jonathan Greening, while Jason Carragher blocked Marc Antoine Fortunes venomous effort.
But not for the first time this season, Tony Mowbray's side were punished for making defensive blunders. On 18 minutes, Shelton Martis lost the ball to Gerrard who calmly lobbed the ball over the keeper to make it 1-0.
Fernando Torres came close to doubling the visitors' lead in the closing minutes of the half after just failing to connect with Gerrard's cross, before flicking a header over the bar on the stroke of half-time.
West Brom continued to look dangerous going forward in the second half with Juan Carlos Menseguez's low shot saved by Reina, while their penalty appeals were turned down when Carragher knocked over Fortune in the box.
And to add salt to the wound, Liverpool went 2-0 minutes later when Kuyt dribbled past Jonas Olsson and fired the ball into the corner on 63 minutes.
Despite their looming relegation, the Baggies continued to battle with Luke Moore's shot-on-the-turn hitting the post before Fortune headed over, while the striker had a goal ruled out for offside soon after.
The only cheer for the home fans came when Jamie Carragher pushed team-mate Alvaro Arbeloa in the chest for failing to mark Fortune, with Xabi Alonso pushing Carragher away before the referee intervened.
Ryan Babel should have scored a third late on but side-footed wide as the Reds held on to stay in second place in the table, while the Baggies stay rooted to the bottom of the table.