Goals for Yorke, John in Premiership

LONDON: Trinidad and Tobago’s Dwight Yorke and Stern John ended their English Premiership season with goals for their clubs on Sunday.

Yorke’s strike contributed to a 4-0 drubbing of Tottenham Hotspur that secured a UEFA Cup spot for Blackburn, while John’s effort helped Birmingham battle West Ham to a 2-2 draw. West Ham have been relegated to the First Division after the draw and rivals for the drop, Bolton Wanderers, beat Middlesbrough 2-1 at home on the final day of the season. Rovers’ easy success at White Hart Lane, allied to Everton’s 2-1 defeat against champions Manchester United at Goodison Park, ensured European football will be played at Ewood Park again come August. Yorke opened the scoring in the fourth minute, lashing in a perfect pass from strike partner Andy Cole for his team-leading ninth goal of the season.

Craig Hignett made it 2-0 a minute before half time, while Damien Duff (47th) and Andy Cole (59th) sealed the stylish win with second half efforts. At St Andrews Stadium where all four goals came in the last 25 minutes, West Ham went ahead through Les Ferdinand on 65 minutes. Geoff Horsfield brought Birmingham level in the 79th minute, before John struck the go-ahead goal — his ninth goal League and Cup of the season — in the 87th minute. John slid in to fire Robbie Savage’s deflected pass under the crossbar. A minute later, Paolo Di Canio scored for West Ham to secure the draw but they needed a better result than Bolton to avoid joining West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland in the first division next season.