Bae Jun-ho's Stoke City survive relegation with 1-0 win over Southampton

Stoke City midfielder Bae Jun-ho [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Stoke City’s Bae Jun-ho played 84 minutes in his side’s 1-0 in win over Southampton on Saturday in the Championship that locks in survival from relegation to the League One.

Bae, 20, started as a winger in the match at St Mary's Stadium in Southampton, England. He did not make any goal contribution, but the team secured a crucial three points thanks to the winner by Tyrese Campbell in the 36th minute.

The three points put Stoke in 18th place on the 24-team table with 53 points as of press time Sunday.

A six-point gap with 22nd-place Birmingham City guarantees Stoke survival from relegation to the third division with one more league fixture left to go.

Bae has played as a regular pick at Stoke since he joined the club from K League 1 side Daejeon Hana Citizen in August last year, having recorded two goals and six assists for Stoke so far.

Bae's impact for Stoke has been clear, as manager Steven Schumacher did not release him for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup, where Korea made a quarterfinal exit after a loss to Indonesia and failed to qualify for the Olympics for the first time in 40 years.

The ongoing Asian Cup serves as a Paris Olympics qualifying event in which the top three finishers earn direct tickets to the Games. The Asian Cup does not run during a FIFA international break and comes during the final phase of multiple seasons in Europe, and European clubs may not be keen to lose a player as they fight to avoid relegation.

The bottom three Championship teams face relegation to the third division each year.

Last-place Rotherham United and 23rd-place Huddersfield Town have already faced relegation, while 22nd-place Birmingham, with 47 points, are on the verge of doing so.

Birmingham, home to Korean midfielder Paik Seung-ho, can still avoid relegation, if they win their next game and 21st-place Plymouth Argyle, with 48 points, record a loss in their final match.

Over at the top of the table, Leicester City locked in promotion to the Premier League.

The top two Championship teams earn promotion to the Premier League, while the third to sixth place teams enter two-legged semifinals where a final winner reaches the top tier in the end.

The regular Championship schedule will end on May 4, with Stoke playing their last game against Bristol City at home on the last day of the league schedule.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]