Hull City 0 Manchester United 0
Farewell then, for now, Hull City. Steve Bruce’s game but toothless Tigers claimed the final relegation spot at the KC Stadium, an energetic but ultimately fruitless 0-0 draw with Manchester United insufficient to lift them out of the bottom three. With Newcastle winning 2-0 at home to West Ham this was always not one but two steps too far for the home team, who entered the final day in need of a dual defibrillation to a moribund season, with victory here irrelevant unless a demob-happy West Ham could win at St James’s Park.
In the event Hull played with enough energy and invention to suggest things might have ended differently had they showed the same qualities more often over the past six months. Instead, for the fans at least, this was a restrained but still mildly defiant farewell to the Premier League, marred by some sourness near the end over a reckless challenge by Marouane Fellaini on Paul McShane that earned a straight red card.
From the start on a breezy, balmy day, the KC Stadium was not so much a cauldron of noise as a cauldron of polite, resigned expectancy. As far as the immediate task went there few good omens around. Hull still have not beaten United since 1974. Steve Bruce has yet to beat his former club as a manager in 19 attempts over 17 years, while this Hull team have now finished the season with just seven points from a possible 48 against the top eight.
For United Wayne Rooney, the hammer of Hull in recent seasons, returned to the starting XI. David de Gea missed out and may yet have said his final goodbye depending on how an extended summer of epic-scale transfer wrangles shapes up. Similarly Rademal Falcao was a no-show on the final day. So no real change there, then.
Hull started brightly enough, Dame N'Doye climbing well only to head straight at Victor Valdés in the second minute. And as United settled into another bespoke Louis van Gaal styling, this time a kind of 4-1-3-1-1, with Daley Blind in the anchor role and Angel Di María just behind Rooney, Hull found space on the flanks, Ahmed Elmohamady getting in behind Marcos Rojo, but seeing his cross-shot on the run bounce wide.
Midway through the half Hull had the ball in the net twice in two minutes. First Valdés was judged to have been fouled as he leapt for the ball and spilled it in front of Paul McShane, who poked it across the line. Then Stephen Quinn’s low shot from the left pinballed into the net, but with two offside players obstructing the keeper. The KC was, briefly, in uproar. On the touchline Bruce patrolled his rectangle, shoulders slumped. Still, no news from Newcastle was good news.
With news filtering through that Arsenal were 2-0 up against West Brom – wringing the last drop of life from United's season in the process – the game settled into a nervous kind of stasis, a team sleepwalking towards relegation against another simply sleepwalking. For United Adnan Januzaj came on for the injured Di María. There were some nice passing triangles from Rooney, Juan Mata and Ander Herrera, albeit with the air of a slightly sleepy cat toying with a doomed mouse.
For Hull it was a familiar story with some promising interchanges but no real sense of drive and precision in attack. Robbie Brady looked lively on the left, twice delivering deep, drilled swirling crosses that tested Valdés handling in welcome-to-England style. United's full debutant goalkeeper looked happy enough taking the ball. But then, he does have three Champions League winner's medals to his name.
Half-time shuffled into view with no goals here, but no goals up there either. And for all the caginess of a three-quarter speed first half, Hull were a single goal from staying up as the scores stood, the great-ish escape still on.
Hull pressed again at the start of the second half, David Meyler shooting over from 10 yards out on the half volley after Nikica Jelavic had headed the ball down. At which point, with 54 minutes on the clock, and Hull starting to strain finally at the leash, the news came through that Newcastle had scored, and instantly the competitive life began to drain out of the occasion.
With Hull’s support divided into stony silence and pockets of defiant encouragement the sense of the world tipping away from them elsewhere will have communicated itself to the players on the pitch. Still, Hull kept going, N’Doye running across the line willingly and a couple of deep crosses from the right twice fizzing wide of goal. With 17 minutes remaining Jelavic drew another fine reaction save from Valdés from Sone Aluko’s pull-back.
For their part United played well enough in patches, Januzaj twinkling with the ball at his feet and Blind showing guile and craft in central midfield. But really this was all about their slowly drowning opposition, and the noises through the wall from St James’ Park. At the end there was applause from the home fans for their relegated team; and for United’s players too at the end of a season that for all its ups and downs sees them heading the other way, back into the Champions League.
(Guardian service)
