(Reuters) - Southampton made a big step towards securing Premier League football next season after two first-half goals from Nathan Redmond steered them towards a 3-1 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
The result left the Saints 16th on 36 points from 33 games, eight points above the relegation zone, while Wolves stayed eighth on 47 points from 33 games.
Delighted Southampton players saluted their fans on the final whistle after closing in on top-flight survival and their coach Ralph Hasenhuettl was also pleased with the outcome.
"You know how much pressure we have been under the last few weeks and now it seems we are coming out of the trouble," the Austrian told the BBC.
"It's the most beautiful moment of the weekend if you can win and celebrate with the fans."
Redmond added: "Wolves have had a fantastic season and maybe this was a hangover from last week's (FA) Cup defeat but we had to concentrate on ourselves.
"We watched a lot of video in the week and as soon as we turned the ball over, we had to look for the runs in behind."
Still reeling from Sunday's 3-2 FA Cup semi-final defeat by Watford when they threw away a two-goal lead at Wembley, Wolves put in a turgid performance, creating precious little up front even with 70 percent of the possession.
They fell behind in the second minute when Redmond poked the ball into the roof of the net at the near post after James Ward-Prowse released Josh Sims on the right flank and the winger delivered a sharp low cross.
The visitors piled on the pressure after falling behind and drew level in the 28th minute as central defender Willy Boly rose above his marker to head home a Joao Moutinho corner, but their joy was short-lived.
Redmond restored the home side's lead barely two minutes later with a dinked finish after a defence-splitting pass from Danny Ings, who again carved the visitors open in the 32nd minute only for Sims to drag his shot wide.
Second-half substitute Shane Long sealed the contest in the 71st minute with an opportunist finish from three metres out, steering in a scrambled Maya Yoshida effort after the Japanese defender saw his initial overhead kick blocked.
Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo criticised his players.
"We left too many spaces and we allowed them to play. Today they were better than us and we have to regroup and bounce back immediately," he said.
(Writing by Zoran Milosavljevic; Editing by Ian Chadband)
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