BY STEVE MITCHELL

DALGLISH GOAL GIVES LIVERPOOL NARROW WIN OVER BRISTOL CITY:

A Kenny Dalglish goal after just five minutes gave Liverpool a vital win over Bristol City at Anfield this afternoon.

The win was a tonic for Bob Paisleyâ€™s side after their surprise defeat to Aston Villa on Easter Monday and ensured they got revenge on the Robins, who had beaten them in the reverse fixture back in December.

Make no mistake however, Liverpool were far from their best once again today and poor finishing ensured a frustrating 90 minutes for the league leaders, despite Dalglishâ€™s early strike.

The Scotsmanâ€™s 23^rd goal of the campaign was a scrambled effort after David Johnsonâ€™s weak shot was fumbled by City goalkeeper John Shaw; the ace marksman was first to the rebound to settle any early nerves.

Midfielder Ray Kennedy came close to doubling the home sideâ€™s lead soon after, but this time, Shaw was on hand to make a spectacular save. The visitors found it hard to get out of defence in the opening 45 minutes and when they did, they found central defender Phil Thompson in excellent form after his calamitous own-goal at Villa Park on Monday.

Former Everton striker Joe Royle, the man who got the winner at Ashton Gate in the reverse fixture, came closest to levelling for the visitors before young striker Kevin Mabbutt tested Liverpool keeper Ray Clemence with a good effort.

On a breezy afternoon on Merseyside, the 43,000 inside Anfield were getting more anxious that their side had not managed to increase the lead as we headed for the interval, and it was City who almost drew level on the stroke of half-time, but Dutch winger Geert Meijer was foiled by a last ditch tackle from Thompson.

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Veteran defender Norman Hunter was having a solid game at the back for the visitors, but he could only stand and watch as Jimmy Case combined well with Kennedy before shooting wide with the goal at his mercy.

The second-half was one-sided affair, but City never looked in danger of conceding a second with Liverpoolâ€™s finishing mediocre to say the least. Some of the crowd had their transistor radios to their ears awaiting news of what was happening elsewhere, as the visitors continued to frustrate their hosts.

With just over a quarter of an hour to go, Paisley threw on Steve Heighway in place of the ineffective David Johnson and pushed Case into a more advanced role alongside Heighway and Dalglish. The Scotsman immediately began causing havoc in the City back-line and looked to be on for a shooting chance, before Gerry Sweeneyâ€™s late tackle saved the day.

There was a flashpoint in the dying minutes when Hunter flattened Heighway; the former England international picking up a yellow card and as referee Pat Partridge blew for full-time, there was an audible relief all around Anfield as Liverpool maintained a six-point advantage at the top of the table.

FOREST MOVE INTO SECOND AND SEND BIRMINGHAM DOWN:

Nottingham Forest move into second place in the table after a 2-0 win against Birmingham City at St. Andrews. Goals in each half from Garry Birtles and John Robertson put the champions above West Bromwich Albion and at the same time, sent Jim Smithâ€™s side down to Division Two along with Chelsea.

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Forest now head to West Germany next week for the second-leg of their European Cup semi-final against Cologne knowing they will need a positive result to advance to the final in Munich next month.

ALBION HELD BY BATTLING WOLVES:

West Brom and Wolves shared the points in a pressurised Black Country derby at The Hawthorns. After a goalless first-half, the home side struck first after the break, when midfielder Bryan Robson reacted quickest to a scuffed shot from Cyrille Regis.

The visitors replied when a free-kick on the left was met by the head of big defender George Berry, he in turn flicked the ball back across the penalty area and there was John Richards to head home and give John Barnwellâ€™s team a priceless away point in their battle against relegation.

FIRST DIVISION ROUND-UP:

Queens Park Rangers are now favourites to take the third relegation spot after being beaten 3-1 by Manchester City at Maine Road. A Gary Owen double and one from Barry Silkman gave the home side the points. Martyn Busby got Rangersâ€™ consolation, but the west London side will be relegated this week if results go against them.

News of QPRâ€™s defeat will have been music to the ears of Derby County who beat Arsenal 2-0 at the Baseball Ground. Gerry Daly and Steve Buckley got the goals for the Rams, who need to pick up a point against Wolves at Molineux on Tuesday to ensure First Division survival.

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A Tony Currie goal gave Leeds United the points against Everton at Elland Road to keep their faint hopes of a UEFA Cup place alive. The Yorkshire side are four points behind third-placed West Brom but have played three games more.

Bolton Wanderers are out of danger despite being beaten 3-2 by Ipswich Town at Burnden Park this afternoon. A brace from Alan Brazil and a John Wark goal gave the East Anglian side the points; Frank Worthington and Sam Allardyce on target for the home side.

Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United shared the points after a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane; Gordon McQueen putting United in front before Chris Jones levelled for the north London side.

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An Ian Wallace hat-trick for Coventry City helped the Sky Blues to a convincing 4-0 win over Southampton at Highfield Road. Midfielder Andy Blair got the other. Aston Villa backed up their excellent Bank Holiday win over Liverpool with a 2-1 away win against Norwich City. Gary Shelton and Alex Cropley grabbed the away sideâ€™s goals; Justin Fashanu replying for the Canaries.

Finally, with relegation confirmed on Monday, Chelsea picked up a home win against Middlesbrough this afternoon. Gary Stanley and Graham Wilkins were on target for the Blues, David Armstrong grabbing a consolation for Boro.

RESULTS:

Birmingham City 0-2 Nottingham Forest (Birtles, Robertson)

Bolton Wanderers 2-3 Ipswich Town (Worthington, Allardyce; Brazil 2, Wark)

Chelsea 2-1 Middlesbrough (Stanley, Wilkins G)

Coventry City 4-0 Southampton (Wallace 3, Blair)

Derby County 2-0 Arsenal (Daly, Buckley)

Leeds United 1-0 Everton (Currie)

Liverpool 1-0 Bristol City (Dalglish)

Manchester City 3-1 Q.P.R (Silkman, Owen 2; Busby)

Norwich City 1-2 Aston Villa (Fashanu; Shelton, Cropley)

Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Manchester United (Jones; McQueen)

W.B.A 1-1 Wolves (Robson; Richards)

League Division One table after close of play on 21 April 1979

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Liverpool	35	25	6	4	71	14	57	56
2	Nottingham Forest	35	17	16	2	53	22	31	50
3	West Bromwich Albion	34	20	9	5	65	31	34	49
4	Everton	39	16	16	7	50	37	13	48
5	Leeds United	37	16	13	8	60	43	17	45
6	Arsenal	38	17	11	10	58	41	17	45
7	Ipswich Town	38	17	8	13	52	44	8	42
8	Coventry City	40	13	16	11	54	63	-9	42
9	Bristol City	40	15	9	16	47	49	-2	39
10	Aston Villa	35	12	14	9	47	39	8	38
11	Manchester United	36	13	12	11	54	58	-4	38
12	Middlesbrough	38	14	9	15	53	47	6	37
13	Southampton	36	11	14	11	44	47	-3	36
14	Tottenham Hotspur	38	11	14	13	42	57	-15	36
15	Norwich City	39	7	21	11	49	54	-5	35
16	Manchester City	36	10	13	13	49	48	1	33
17	Bolton Wanderers	37	12	9	16	50	62	-12	33
18	Derby County	39	10	10	19	44	64	-20	30
19	Wolverhampton Wanderers	37	11	7	19	36	61	-25	29
20	Queens Park Rangers	38	5	13	20	36	61	-25	23
21	Birmingham City	37	5	8	24	32	58	-26	18
22	Chelsea	38	5	8	25	39	85	-46	18