Hull 0-0 Man United
by Our Sports Desk

Hull were unable to pull off another great escape as they were relegated to the Championship yesterday following a 0-0 draw against 10-man Manchester United.

Exactly six years ago, the KC Stadium was bouncing for joy. Phil Brown grabbed the microphone and yelled “we are staying up.”

But on Sunday the atmosphere was much flatter. Tears ran down the faces of the Hull fans, who just 12 months ago were cheering their team in the FA Cup final.

Steve Bruce had not won against his old employers during his 17-year management career and he could not end that hoodoo even though United — who finish the season in fourth — were way below par.

Hull had two goals ruled out for offside and United goalkeeper Victor Valdes pulled off outstanding saves to deny Ahmed Elmohamady and Nikica Jelavic.

But Hull could not find a way through, even after they played the final 13 minutes with an extra man following Marouane Fellaini’s dangerous stamp on Paul McShane.

Newcastle’s 2-0 win against West Ham confirmed Hull’s two-year stay in the Premier League was over.

The Tigers looked to have done enough to stay in the division when they earned successive wins against Crystal Palace and Liverpool last month, but a winless run of four matches has cost Steve Bruce’s team dearly and they will join QPR and Burnley in the second tier next season.

Twice in the space of three minutes, the home fans were on their feet applauding, but on both occasions they sat down again quickly thanks to the linesman’s flag.

First McShane flicked David Meyler’s goal-bound shot in after Valdes had dropped the ball but he was in an offside position.

And shortly after Valdes had saved brilliantly from Elmohamady, Dame N’Doye tapped in Stephen Quinn’s shot but again the linesman — correctly — flagged.

But that was the closest either side went to breaking the deadlock.