From correspondents in London, England, 02:03 PM IST

Aston Villa secured themselves a place in the Europa Cup next season after beating relegation-threatened Hull City 1-0 in the English Premier League.

John Carew scored the only goal of the game in the first half Monday night to put Villa fifth and leave Hull still in big trouble, just three points above the bottom three with three games to go.

The win means that Villa can now finish no lower than sixth.

Norway striker Carew finished off a cross from Ashley Young after 34 minutes and Gareth Barry almost doubled their lead only to be denied by a great save from Boaz Myhill.

Hull huffed and puffed in search of an equaliser but to no avail and they are now in serious danger of going down after just one year in the top flight.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)